Vatican City
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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 […]
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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 […] Full Story
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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
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Pope elevates memorial of St. Mary Magdalene to feast day
By JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES, Catholic News Service
Published June 23, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Recognizing St. Mary Magdalene’s role as the first to witness Christ’s resurrection and as a “true and authentic evangelizer,” Pope Francis raised the July 22 memorial of St. Mary Magdalene to a feast on the church’s liturgical calendar, the Vatican announced. A decree formalizing the decision was published by the Congregation for Divine […]
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Special forces: Graduates head home armed with skills to fight abuse
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published June 23, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The Catholic Church has launched a new kind of “special forces” in the fight against child abuse. Nineteen men and women from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas became the first graduates awarded special certification in the safeguarding of minors—an initiative begun in Rome in 2016 to help dioceses, bishops’ conferences, religious orders […]
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Love, respect, not perfection, lead to happiness, pope says
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published June 23, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Love and solidarity are what make the world a better place, not a focus on physical perfection and hiding away those who do not fit a commercial ideal, Pope Francis said. “The world does not become better because only apparently ‘perfect’—not to mention fake—people live there, but when human solidarity, mutual acceptance and […]
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Pope asks YouTubers to help stop aggression, bullying
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published June 10, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Help wipe out bullying and aggression by being better listeners and offering concrete gestures of tolerance and patience, Pope Francis told a group of top YouTubers from around the world. “The level of aggressiveness in our world needs to be dialed down. (The world) needs tenderness, meekness, (people) listening and walking together,” he […]
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Pope to appoint advisory board in removing negligent bishops
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published June 10, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Pope Francis will set up a panel of legal experts to help him in deciding whether to remove a religious superior or bishop from office for failing to protect minors and vulnerable adults from sex abuse. Vatican offices will continue to investigate claims of negligence on the part of bishops, ordinaries or religious […]
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To ignore the poor is to despise God, pope says
By JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES, Catholic News Service
Published May 26, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—How Christians treat the poor is the clearest demonstration of their relationship with God, Pope Francis insisted. “To ignore the poor is to despise God! And we must learn this well: To ignore the poor is to despise God!” the pope said May 18 during his weekly general audience. The pope focused on […]
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Vatican magazine gives attention to unheard women, official says
By JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES, Catholic News Service
Published May 12, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—A new Vatican magazine will give attention to women’s voices, something that often has been missing in the church despite women’s important role in announcing the Gospel, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin. “If we do not listen attentively to the voice of women in the great decisive moments in the life of the church, […]
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Pope: Each soul vital to God, his followers must move in mercy
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published May 12, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—There is no such thing as a soul that is lost forever, only people who are waiting to be found, Pope Francis said. God is not part of humanity’s “throwaway culture” and does not shut out the sinner and those most in need, the pope said May 4 during his weekly general audience. […]
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Pope tells women religious Vatican will study women deacons
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published May 12, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Pope Francis told the heads of women’s religious orders from around the world that he would set up a commission to study the New Testament deaconesses and he also insisted more can and should be done to involve lay and consecrated women in church decision-making at every level. Asked if he would establish […] Full Story
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A little bit country: Pope looks at the nitty-gritty of family life
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published April 14, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Pope Francis’ hymn to love and family life is more like a country song than a Disney tune. In “Amoris Laetitia” (“The Joy of Love”), Pope Francis’ postsynodal apostolic exhortation on the family, there is passion and devotion, but also heartache and sweat. The “magic” he wrote about is not momentarily sparkly, but […]
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Share truth of family with mercy, help those struggling, pope says
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published April 14, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The same mercy and patience that are essential for building a strong family must be shown to those whose families are in trouble or have broken up, Pope Francis said in his highly anticipated postsynodal apostolic exhortation. The document, “‘Amoris Laetitia’ (The Joy of Love), on Love in the Family,” released April 8, […]
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Pope asks for new Catholic institutions of mercy, charity
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published April 14, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Pope Francis asked Catholic dioceses around the world to set up a permanent memorial of the Year of Mercy by establishing a hospital, home for the aged or school in an under-served area. Celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday with an evening prayer vigil April 2 and a morning Mass April 3, the pope said […]
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Reconcile with God, resurrect hope in others, pope urges at Easter
By CINDY WOODEN and JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES, Catholic News Service
Published March 31, 2016VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Easter is a feast of hope, a celebration of God’s mercy and a call to pray for and assist all who suffer, Pope Francis said before giving his solemn blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world). The risen Jesus “makes us sharers of his immortal life and enables us to […] Full Story
