Vatican City | NCregister.COM | Pope Francis on Wednesday asked for prayers for a “very ill” Benedict XVI. Francis made the appeal for the 95-year-old pope emeritus at the end of his weekly public audience on Dec. 28 in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. “I ask to all of you …
Read More »Life triumphs over death as Christians rebuild in Iraq, says Pope Francis says
Qaraqosh, Irag | Cindy Wooden-CSN | Amid the rubble and bombed out remains of four churches destroyed by Islamic State militants, Pope Francis paid tribute to Iraqi Christians who endured persecution and even death. While visiting Mosul and Qaraqosh in northern Iraq March 7, he also urged the Christians …
Read More »IN THE INDEPENDENT: Touching the ‘untouchables’
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | These are the top stories in this week’s THE INDEPENDENT. COVER STORY Touching the untouchables: Can Lt. Col Nakalema do it? THE LAST WORD Lessons on poverty from COVID: Why measuring poverty using income is misleading and why we need to switch to using wealth …
Read More »Some Rome churches reopen after angry Pope Francis steps in
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Some of Rome’s Catholic churches reopened Friday after Pope Francis voiced displeasure with the Italian authorities’ push to shut them because of the coronavirus pandemic. The rare standoff between the 83-year-old pontiff and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government came as Italy’s death toll …
Read More »Pope Francis finally sides with traditionalists on priest celibacy
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | In quashing the idea of married priests in the Amazon, Pope Francis has appeased traditionalists while disappointing progressives who had hoped for a historic turning point in the Catholic church. In his “apostolic exhortation” on the Amazon basin published Wednesday, Francis slammed the …
Read More »Pope Francis repeats support for celibacy after Benedict outburst
Rome, Italy | AFP | Pope Francis on Monday repeated his support for celibacy after his predecessor pope Benedict XVI urged him not to open the Catholic priesthood up to married men, in a plea that stunned Vatican experts. “The pope’s position on celibacy is well known,” the head of …
Read More »Retired Pope Benedict rejects opening up priesthood to married men
Rome, Italy | AFP | Former pope Benedict XVI has publicly urged his successor Pope Francis not to open the Catholic priesthood up to married men, in a plea that Sunday stunned Vatican experts. The ex-pontiff, who retired in 2013, issued the defence of clerical celibacy in a book …
Read More »Pope Francis ushers in Christmas with message of ‘unconditional love’
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis ushered in Christmas on Wednesday for the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics with a message of unconditional love, saying “God continues to love us all, even the worst of us”. “You may have mistaken ideas, you may have made a complete …
Read More »In Hiroshima, Pope Francis assails ‘crime’ of nuclear weapons
Nagasaki, Japan | AFP | Pope Francis Sunday described the use of nuclear bombs as “a crime”, as he took his appeal for an end to atomic weapons to Hiroshima in an emotional meeting with survivors. The visit came hours after a highly symbolic stop in the city of Nagasaki, …
Read More »‘Pope should open priesthood in Amazon to married men’
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Catholic bishops gathered at a special Vatican assembly called on Pope Francis Saturday to open the priesthood to married men in the Amazon, as well as giving women a greater role to play and making damaging the environment a sin. The bishops issued a …
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