Vatican City
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Christmas is time to feel God’s closeness, pope says
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published January 9, 2014VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Celebrating the first Christmas since his election, Pope Francis preached the goodness and tenderness of God, and prayed that men and women around the world would allow God’s grace to transform them into peacemakers. “Let us allow our hearts to be touched, let us allow ourselves to be warmed by the tenderness of […]
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Cardinal: Church reform is work of Spirit for pope
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published December 19, 2013VATICAN CITY (CNS)—For Pope Francis, the reform of the Catholic Church and its structures “isn’t a project, but an exercise of the Spirit” that will take time, said Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa. The cardinal, coordinator of Pope Francis’ Council of Cardinals, which is working on the reform of the Roman Curia and […]
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In document, pope lays out his vision for an evangelical church
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Catholic News Service
Published December 5, 2013VATICAN CITY (CNS)—In his first extensive piece of writing as pope, Pope Francis lays out a vision of the Catholic Church dedicated to evangelization in a positive key, with a focus on society’s poorest and most vulnerable, including the aged and unborn. “Evangelii Gaudium” (“The Joy of the Gospel”), released by the Vatican Nov. 26, […]
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To go forth in evangelization, Pope Francis confronts the enemy within
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Catholic News Service
Published December 5, 2013VATICAN CITY (CNS)—When the Synod of Bishops on the new evangelization met at the Vatican in October 2012, among the top items on the agenda was the threat of militant secularism in a post-Christian West. “It is as if a tsunami of secular influence has swept across the cultural landscape, taking with it such societal […]
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Best gift in life is encountering Christ, pope says at start of Advent
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published December 5, 2013VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The best present in life is encountering Jesus—an encounter that will last a lifetime, Pope Francis said. A Christian’s whole life “is an encounter with Jesus: in prayer, when we go to Mass, when we do good works, when we visit the sick, when we help the poor, when we think of others, […]
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Pope: To face death well, stay close to Jesus in needy
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published December 5, 2013VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The thought of death and losing a loved one is scary when there is no faith in Jesus guiding people to an everlasting life, Pope Francis said. “If we live united with Jesus, are faithful to him, we will be able to face with hope and serenity even the coming of death,” he […]
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Pope’s embrace was heavenly, says man with disfiguring disease
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published November 22, 2013VATICAN CITY (CNS)—For someone who has frequently been shunned and humiliated because of a disease that has severely disfigured his entire body, receiving the pope’s loving embrace was like being in paradise. Vinicio Riva, who is afflicted with neurofibromatosis, said his brief encounter with Pope Francis Nov. 6 at a general audience in St. Peter’s […]
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Share each other’s burdens in prayer, acts of love, pope says
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published November 21, 2013VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Saying, “don’t worry, we aren’t taking up a collection,” Pope Francis asked people at his weekly general audience to perform an act of charity by praying for a seriously ill 18-month-old girl named NoemiBeing part of the church means sharing “spiritual goods—the sacraments, charisms and charity”—including by helping someone or praying for those […]
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All Saints’, All Souls’ feasts are time to renew hope
Published November 7, 2013
VATICAN CITY (CNS)—At the end of the feast of All Saints, Pope Francis celebrated an outdoor Mass at Rome’s Verano cemetery and urged Christians to hang on to hope as they reflect on the promise that earthly life ends with eternal life in heaven. In his homily at the evening Mass Nov. 1, Pope Francis […]
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New U.S. envoy to Vatican: Areas of agreement bigger than differences
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Catholic News Service
Published November 7, 2013VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Disagreements need not hinder the Vatican and the Obama administration from collaborating on a broad range of peace and justice issues, including the promotion of religious freedom, said Ken Hackett, the new U.S ambassador to the Holy See. The envoy also told Catholic News Service that Pope Francis’ stratospheric worldwide popularity promises to […]
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Vatican’s media adviser offers ‘Top 10’ ways to understand Pope Francis
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published November 7, 2013VATICAN CITY (CNS)—No matter how some media may want to spin it, Pope Francis won’t fit into the political categories of left or right, and he will challenge everyone with the truth of the Gospel, said the Vatican’s media adviser. “Pope Francis is not a politically correct pope,” rather, he is “a loyal son of […]
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Young and old join pope to celebrate joy of family life
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published November 7, 2013VATICAN CITY (CNS)—A Catholic wedding is not simply a beautiful ceremony; through the sacrament of marriage a couple receives from God the grace they will need to fulfill their mission in the world, Pope Francis said. Addressing an estimated 100,000 people who came to St. Peter’s Square Oct. 26 for a Year of Faith celebration […]
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Venerating Fatima statue, pope entrusts world to Mary
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Catholic News Service
Published October 24, 2013VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Before a congregation of more than 100,000 in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis formally entrusted the world to Mary. “We are confident that each of us is precious in your sight,” the pope said Oct. 13, facing the statue of Mary that normally stands in the shrine at Fatima, Portugal. “Guard our lives […]
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Church is ‘apostolic’ only if it shares Gospel, pope says
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published October 24, 2013VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The church can describe itself as “apostolic” only if it shares the Gospel with the world, remaining faithful to the teaching of the apostles and living out Gospel values, Pope Francis said. “A church closed in on itself and its past, a church concerned only with its little rules, customs and attitudes is […]
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In interviews, Pope Francis crafts a new genre of papal language
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Catholic News Service
Published October 11, 2013VATICAN CITY (CNS)—When Pope Benedict XVI answered a journalist’s 2010 question about condom use by offering a nuanced reflection on the ethical complexities of a hypothetical case, his words led to a worldwide media sensation, a clarification by the Vatican spokesman, and a statement from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that the […]
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Pope, cardinal advisers looking at major overhaul of Roman Curia
Published October 10, 2013
VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Pope Francis and his international Council of Cardinals are laying out plans to completely overhaul the Roman Curia, underlining its role of “service to the universal church and the local churches,” the Vatican spokesman said. As the pope and the eight cardinals he named to advise him were about to begin the final […]
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Pope: Get out in the real world to find Jesus
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published October 10, 2013VATICAN CITY (CNS)—People will not find Jesus by hanging out in first-class lounges or in the library, but by being out and about in the real world and in prayer, Pope Francis said. And following him will not be easy because “Jesus creates problems,” the pope said Sept. 26 during his morning Mass in his […]
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Pope tells new bishops to be simple, close to people
Published September 26, 2013
VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Don’t be on the road all the time, aloof or deaf to people’s needs; be simple, loving and always close by, just like a spouse would be for his wife, Pope Francis told new bishops. Bishops are pastors, not princes, so always return people’s calls, listen to parishioners, recognize one’s limitations and sharpen […]
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Pope condemns abortion as product of ‘throwaway culture’
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Catholic News Service
Published September 20, 2013VATICAN CITY (CNS)—In his strongest public words to date on the subject of abortion, Pope Francis affirmed the sacredness of unborn human life and linked its defense to the pursuit of social justice. “In all its phases and at every age, human life is always sacred and always of quality. And not as a matter […]
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Praying for peace in Syria, pope calls selfishness the cause of war
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Catholic News Service
Published September 12, 2013VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Leading a crowd in prayer for peace in Syria, Pope Francis said that war is ultimately caused by selfishness, which can be overcome only though expressions of fraternity and never with violence. “Leave behind the self-interest that hardens your heart, overcome the indifference that makes your heart insensitive towards others, conquer your deadly […]
