Pope Francis

'This Is Not Humanity's First Plague,' Pope Francis Says Of Coronavirus

12:47pm April 09, 2020

by Bill Chappell

The pope says the COVID-19 pandemic is exposing hypocrisy and misplaced priorities in the modern world, as he calls on people to remember their shared humanity.

Pope Francis delivers the Urbi and Orbi ("To the City and To the World") prayer in an empty St. Peter's Square Friday evening.

Pope Francis Delivers Special Prayer For End To Coronavirus Pandemic

4:54pm March 27, 2020

by Sylvia Poggioli

The "Urbi et Orbi" blessing is normally delivered at Christmas and Easter. The delivered his homily against the dramatic backdrop of an empty St. Peter's Square, glistening in the rain.

Pope Francis says married male deacons and women can "regularly assume important responsibilities" for the Catholic Church in the Amazon region, but he turned down bishops' request to allow those deacons to become priests and women to become deacons.

Pope Francis Won't Allow Married Men As Priests, Women As Deacons

12:19pm February 12, 2020

by Bill Chappell

Bishops from the Amazon region had sought the changes to address a shortage of clergy. But some Roman Catholic conservatives warned that enacting them would lead to the end of clerical celibacy rules.

Pope Francis, who delivered a blessing earlier this month at St. Peter's Square, has appointed a woman to a senior diplomatic position.

World News

In Rare Move, Pope Francis Appoints A Woman To A Senior Vatican Position

3:24pm January 15, 2020

by Merrit Kennedy

Francesca Di Giovanni is the first woman to have a managerial role in the Secretariat of State, one of the most important departments in the Vatican. She has been working there for 27 years.

Pope Francis (left) talks with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in the former Convent Mater Ecclesiae at the Vatican in 2016, three years after Benedict stunned the Catholic Church by resigning to become pope emeritus.

In New Book, Retired Pope Benedict Breaks Silence To Speak Out On Priestly Celibacy

8:00am January 13, 2020

by Scott Neuman

The surprise move is seen as a rebuke to Pope Francis, who is weighing whether to allow older, married men to be ordained in some South American countries, where a shortage of priests is acute.

Pope Francis called for compassion toward migrants in a Christmas Day speech from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

In Christmas Day Message, Pope Francis Shines Light On Migrant Suffering

1:34pm December 25, 2019

by Laurel Wamsley

"It is injustice that turns them away from places where they might have hope for a dignified life, but instead find themselves before walls of indifference," the pontiff said in his holiday address.

"The person who files the report, the person who alleges to have been harmed and the witnesses shall not be bound by any obligation of silence" about sexual abuse cases against clergy, according to a new policy approved by Pope Francis.

Pope Francis Ends 'Top Secret' Status For Sex Abuse Cases, Promising Transparency

1:55pm December 17, 2019

by Bill Chappell

The changes apply to cases of clergy committing violence or sexual assaults against anyone under their authority, as well as minors. The pope also changed rules about child pornography.

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The 20-foot-tall bronze sculpture of a boat loaded with refugees and migrants is the work of Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz. Its bread-and-fruit motif encapsulates how food is interlocked with the history of human migration.

How One Small Bag Of Food On A Giant Sculpture Tells A Million Immigrant Tales

2:49pm December 10, 2019

by Nina Martyris

The theme of the work in the Vatican's St. Peter's Square is welcoming strangers. "The bag is a metaphor for nourishment ... the idea of bringing something to the table," says artist Timothy Schmalz.

Clergymen carry a wooden relic believed to be from Jesus' manger outside the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on Saturday.

Religion

Pope Francis Sends A Relic Of Jesus' Manger To The Holy Land

5:36pm November 30, 2019

by Huo Jingnan

At the start of Christmas season, Pope Francis has sent a small piece of wooden relic reputed to be part of Jesus' manger after he was born to Bethlehem, traditionally known as Jesus' birthplace.

Marie Andrews holds a pyx, the vessel she uses to transport the consecrated Communion wafer to homebound parishioners. Andrews is an officially sanctioned Eucharistic minister in the Roman Catholic Church.

Possibility Of Female Deacons Gives Some Catholics Hope

12:27pm November 30, 2019

by Shahla Farzan

Pope Francis recently opened the door to the possibility of women as deacons in the Catholic Church. Some women have sought official recognition for the ministries they already perform.

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