Vatican City
-
Pope: Take a break from busy holidays to prepare for real Christmas
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published December 22, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Make time to get ready for what Christmas really is about—the child born in Bethlehem signaling that “God is with us,” Pope Francis said. “This week let’s make sure we try to find some time to stop, be quiet and imagine Our Lady and St. Joseph who are going to Bethlehem,” he said […] Full Story
-
Pope recognizes martyrdom of Oklahoma priest killed in Guatemala
By CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
Published December 22, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Pope Francis has recognized the martyrdom of Father Stanley Rother of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, making him the first martyr born in the United States. The Vatican made the announcement Dec. 2. The recognition of his martyrdom clears the way for his beatification. Father Rother, born March 27, 1935, on his family’s […] Full Story
-
Give flesh to the Gospel like Mary did, pope says on Guadalupe feast
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published December 12, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pope Francis described Mary as a strong woman who inspires believers to give “flesh to the Gospel” in societies often marked by distrust and blindness. “To look at the Guadalupana is to remember that the presence of the Lord always passes through those who manage […] Full Story
-
People need ‘ecological conversion,’ pope says, asking scientists to lead
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published December 1, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Humanity does not own God’s gift of creation and has no right to pillage it, Pope Francis said. “We are not custodians of a museum and its masterpieces that we have to dust off every morning, but rather collaborators in the conservation and development of the existence and biodiversity of the planet and […] Full Story
-
Time of mercy: Holy doors close, but mission of mercy continues
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published December 1, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The Year of Mercy brought more than 20 million pilgrims to Rome, but for Pope Francis, the idea always was that the celebration of God’s mercy would be local: have people experience God’s love in their parishes and send them out into the world to commit random acts of mercy. While concrete works […]
-
Proclaim Christ the king of mercy, pope says at end of Holy Year
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published December 1, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Following Christ the King, whose regal power is love and mercy, means the whole church and each Christian must “follow his way of tangible love,” Pope Francis said. Celebrating the feast of Christ the King Nov. 20 and officially closing the extraordinary jubilee celebration of the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis insisted, “we […] Full Story
-
Pope to interfaith leaders: Mercy is core of true religion
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published November 17, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Authentic religions help people understand that they are, in fact, loved and can be forgiven and are called to love and forgive others, Pope Francis said. “We thirst for mercy, and no technology can quench that thirst,” the pope told Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh and other religious leaders. “We seek a love […] Full Story
-
Top Vatican official congratulates Trump, offers prayers
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published November 9, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Congratulating Donald Trump for his victory in the U.S. presidential election, the Vatican secretary of state expressed hope that people would work together “to change the global situation, which is a situation of serious laceration, serious conflict.” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Pope Francis’ top aide, spoke about the election early Nov. 9 during a […] Full Story
-
Vatican releases instruction on burial, cremation
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published November 3, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Professing belief in the resurrection of the dead and affirming that the human body is an essential part of a person’s identity, the Catholic Church insists that the bodies of the deceased be treated with respect and laid to rest in a consecrated place. While the Catholic Church continues to prefer burial in […] Full Story
-
For vocations, one must go out, listen, call, pope says
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published November 3, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—In its ministry to young people, and especially in vocations promotion work, church workers must step out of the sacristy and take seriously the questions and concerns of the young, Pope Francis said. Young people are searching for meaning, and the best response is to go out to where they are, stop and […] Full Story
-
Mary’s life is a lesson in trusting God, pope says
By JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES, Catholic News Service
Published October 20, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Imitating Mary’s life of humility and gratitude, men and women in the church must place complete trust in God’s will and not in material possessions or intellectual prowess, Pope Francis said. In choosing Mary to bear his son, God chose “a simple young woman of Nazareth, who did not dwell in the palaces […]
-
Pope: Anyone who repents, desires God’s embrace can be saved
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published October 6, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The church is not just for people who are good, who think they’re good or pretend to be good, it is for everyone, especially the bad because the church is mercy, Pope Francis said. No one is excluded from God’s forgiveness, even the worst sinners, who only must draw near to Jesus with […] Full Story
-
St. Teresa of Kolkata will always be ‘Mother’ Teresa, pope says
By JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES and CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published September 23, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—With a large tapestry bearing the portrait of the woman known as the “Saint of the Gutters” suspended above him, Pope Francis proclaimed the sainthood of Mother Teresa of Kolkata, hailing her courage and love for the poor. Despite the formality of the occasion though, “her sanctity is so close to us, so […] Full Story
-
Assassinated French priest joins ranks of martyrs, pope says
By JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES, Catholic News Service
Published September 22, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—To kill in the name of God is satanic, Pope Francis said at a special requiem Mass for a French priest assassinated by youths claiming allegiance to the Islamic State. “Father Jacques Hamel had his throat slit on the cross, at the exact moment he was celebrating the sacrifice of Christ’s cross. A […] Full Story
-
Pope leads 11,000 pilgrims praying rosary for quake victims
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published September 1, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—After a strong earthquake struck central Italy and with the early news reporting many deaths and serious damage, Pope Francis turned his weekly general audience Aug. 24 into a prayer service. While the pope and some 11,000 pilgrims and tourists recited the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary in St. Peter’s Square, six Vatican […]
-
Mercy, poor at center of Blessed Teresa’s canonization events
By JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES, Catholic News Service
Published August 18, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The poor, the suffering and those who minister to them will be at the center of celebrations leading up to the canonization of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata at the Vatican. The main event—the canonization Mass—will begin at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 4, the Vatican announced Aug. 5. A “family feast” for the poor, a […] Full Story
-
For pope, Mother Teresa is model of mercy at work, fueled by prayer
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published August 18, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—When Pope Francis canonizes Blessed Teresa of Kolkata Sept. 4, he won’t simply be fulfilling a special duty of his office, he will be honoring a woman he has called “a symbol, an icon for our age.” When talking about the intersection of prayer, mercy, concrete acts of charity and peacemaking, Mother Teresa […] Full Story
-
Pope names six women, six men to panel to study women deacons
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published August 4, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Pope Francis has appointed six men and six women to a commission to study the issue of women deacons, particularly their ministry in the early church. In addition to the 12 members named Aug. 2, the pope tapped Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to […]
-
Pope: Sts. Peter and Paul were ‘two great lights,’ preaching Gospel
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published July 7, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Prayer is a key that opens the door to God, unlocks selfish, fearful hearts and leads people from sadness to joy and from division to unity, Pope Francis said on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. Prayer is “the main way out: the way out for the community that risks closing up […] Full Story
-
Retired Pope Benedict XVI says he feels ‘protected’ by Pope Francis
By JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES, Catholic News Service
Published July 7, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—In his first public address in almost a year, retired Pope Benedict XVI expressed his sincere gratefulness to Pope Francis, saying that his goodness “from the first moment of your election, in every moment of my life here, touches me deeply.” “More than the beauty found in the Vatican Gardens, your goodness is […] Full Story
