Vatican City
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Pope offers Mass for victims of Paris attack
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published January 9, 2015VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The morning after 12 people were shot to death and 11 others injured at the Paris office of a satirical weekly newspaper, Pope Francis dedicated his early morning Mass to the victims and their families. At the beginning of the Mass Jan. 8, he told the small congregation that the attack in Paris […] Full Story
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Pope names 15 new cardinal electors, most from global South
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Catholic News Service
Published January 8, 2015VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Underscoring the geographical diversity of his selections, Pope Francis named 15 cardinal electors “from 14 nations of every continent, showing the inseparable link between the church of Rome and the particular churches present in the world.” In addition to 15 new electors, Pope Francis named five new cardinals who are over the age […] Full Story
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Pope warns Vatican officials of ‘spiritual Alzheimer’s,’ other ills
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Catholic News Service
Published January 8, 2015VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Pope Francis’ Christmas greeting to the Vatican bureaucracy this year was an extended warning against a host of spiritual ills to which he said Vatican officials are prone, including “spiritual Alzheimer’s,” “existential schizophrenia,” publicity-seeking, the “terrorism of gossip” and even a poor sense of humor. The pope made his remarks Dec. 22, in […] Full Story
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Pope: Christmas is time to heal wounds, defects, play with kids
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published January 8, 2015VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Christmas is the time to heal wounds and fix whatever defects still linger in one’s life and heart, Pope Francis told Vatican employees. And leading by example, the pope asked everyone for their forgiveness—for any errors or shortcomings he and his “colleagues” may be guilty of and “also for some scandals that cause […]
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Pope: Nativity scenes inspire even nonbelievers to love, share
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published December 23, 2014VATICAN CITY (CNS)—God did not come to the world with arrogance to impose his might; he offered his powerful love through a fragile child, Pope Francis said. The Christmas tree and Nativity scene are reminders of this mystery of the Incarnation and they both carry “a message of light, hope and love,” he said Dec. […]
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In Turkey, pope struck themes of ecumenism, religious freedom
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published December 11, 2014VATICAN CITY (CNS)—It is the complete disregard for God, not his glorification, which leads to violence in this world, Pope Francis said. That is why people of faith, particularly Christians and Muslims, must work together for peace, and governments must guarantee full religious freedom for their citizens and religious communities, he said Dec. 3 at […] Full Story
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Support Catholic religious in their mission, ministries, pope says
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published December 11, 2014VATICAN CITY (CNS)—During the Year of Consecrated Life, all Catholics are called to thank God for the gifts members of religious orders have given the church and the world, to join them in prayer and find practical ways to support them and their ministries, Pope Francis said. “Let them know the affection and the warmth […]
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Church launches Year for Consecrated Life
By LAURA IERACI, Catholic News Service
Published December 11, 2014VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The first Sunday of Advent, Nov. 30, marking the start of the new liturgical year, inaugurated the Year for Consecrated Life. The yearlong observance is dedicated to renewing hope in religious life and instilling it more profoundly with a prophetic witness of the Gospel. A number of international meetings have been planned in […]
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Acts of love, kindness, faith add up to holiness, pope says
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published November 27, 2014VATICAN CITY (CNS)—All Christians are called to holiness and to take even little steps each day to be more loving and more Christ-like, Pope Francis said. “Some think that holiness is closing your eyes and making the face of a plastic statue, but that’s not holiness,” the pope said Nov. 19 at his weekly general […] Full Story
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Rabbi, speaking at the Vatican, champions marriage as male-female bond
By LAURA IERACI, Catholic News Service
Published November 27, 2014VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The family based on marriage between a man and a woman is the “single most humanizing institution in history” and the test of any society’s future, the former chief rabbi of Great Britain told an interreligious conference at the Vatican. “Our compassion for those who choose to live differently should not inhibit us […]
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Pope confirms he will visit Philadelphia in September
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Catholic News Service
Published November 17, 2014VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Pope Francis said he would attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in September, making it the first confirmed stop on what is expected to be a more extensive papal visit to North America. The pope made the announcement Nov. 17 in a speech opening an interreligious conference on traditional marriage. “I […] Full Story
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Praying for dead, pope asks special prayers for war victims
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published November 13, 2014VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The early November feasts of All Saints and All Souls call Catholics to contemplate their ultimate destiny, hope in the eternal happiness of their beloved dead and remember the thousands of innocent people dying each day because of human evil and selfishness. Because human beings believe they are gods and the lords of […] Full Story
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Pope beatifies Blessed Paul VI, the ‘great helmsman’ of Vatican II
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA and CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published October 30, 2014VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Beatifying Blessed Paul VI at the concluding Mass of the Synod of Bishops on the family, Pope Francis praised the late pope as the “great helmsman” of the Second Vatican Council and founder of the synod, as well as a “humble and prophetic witness of love for Christ and his church.” The pope […] Full Story
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Pope Francis’ closing message to the Synod of Bishops: ‘I have heard speeches … full of faith … of wisdom, of frankness and of courage’
Published October 30, 2014
As the extraordinary session of the Synod of Bishops on the family drew to a close Oct. 18, its last working session, Pope Francis addressed the assembly, thanking the delegates for their work and reassuring them that despite the many frank exchanges and disagreements expressed during the course of the Oct. 5-19 meeting, he had […]
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Cardinal Wuerl says family synod came to ‘real consensus’
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Catholic News Service
Published October 30, 2014VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington said the Oct. 5-19 Synod of Bishops on the family came to a “real consensus” after two weeks of animated debate, and that its final report will serve as a solid basis for the world synod on the family in 2015. “What we saw and what we […]
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Pope calls for abolition of death penalty, life in prison
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Catholic News Service
Published October 30, 2014VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Pope Francis called for abolition of the death penalty as well as life imprisonment, and denounced what he called a “penal populism” that promises to solve society’s problems by punishing crime instead of pursuing social justice. “It is impossible to imagine that states today cannot make use of another means than capital punishment […]
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Synod ends by affirming tradition, leaving controversial questions open
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Catholic News Service
Published October 18, 2014VATICAN CITY (CNS)—After several days of animated debate over its official midterm report, the Synod of Bishops on the family agreed on a final document more clearly grounded in traditional Catholic teaching. Yet the assembly failed to reach consensus on especially controversial questions of Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried and the pastoral care […] Full Story
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Synod of Bishops sends message of encouragement to traditional families
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Catholic News Service
Published October 18, 2014VATICAN CITY (CNS)—On its last day of business, the Synod of Bishops on the family approved and released a three-page message expressing solidarity with Christian families around the world. The message, released Oct. 18, is distinct from the synod’s final report, which the assembly was scheduled to vote on later the same day. Following two […]
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Speechless at refugees’ plight, pope prays for open hearts
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published October 17, 2014VATICAN CITY (CNS)—People need to open their hearts to the many people who are forced to migrate as they face enormous difficulties and sometimes tragedy, Pope Francis said. “I pray for closed hearts that they may open. And everything I have available to me, is available to you,” he told a group of young Eritreans […]
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Family synod midterm report: Welcome gays, couples not in sacramental marriages
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Catholic News Service
Published October 16, 2014VATICAN CITY (CNS)—In strikingly conciliatory language on situations contrary to Catholic teaching, an official midterm report from the Synod of Bishops on the family emphasized calls for greater acceptance and appreciation of divorced and remarried Catholics, cohabitating couples and homosexuals. “It is necessary to accept people in their concrete being, to know how to support […]
