Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Monday named a former Fox News correspondent to head up the Vatican press office and appointed the tiny state’s first-ever female deputy spokesperson. American Greg Burke, 56, brought in by the Vatican in 2013 to overhaul its public-relations operation, will …
Read More »Pope visits Armenian genocide memorial
Yerevan, Armenia | AFP | Pope Francis on Saturday issued a rallying cry to remember the past after visiting the Armenian genocide memorial in Yerevan, on day two of a trip likely to stir tensions with Turkey. “A century has just passed from the ‘Great Evil’ unleashed upon you. This …
Read More »Pope Francis mulls opening door to female deacons
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis said Thursday he would set up a commission to study the possibility of women entering the Catholic clergy, in his latest potentially historic opening on a vexed issue for the Church. In apparently off-the-cuff remarks the 79-year-old pontiff promised to examine …
Read More »Pope reaches out to divorcees but holds line on homosexuality
Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis on Friday opted for no change in the Catholic approach to homosexuality but signalled a more open stance on cohabiting and divorced believers under new Church guidelines on family life. In his 260-page “Apostolic Exhortation”, a long-awaited document which is likely to disappoint advocates …
Read More »Pope Francis to issue guide to love, sex and marriage
Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis will on Friday issue new guidelines on the Church’s approach to love, sex and marriage in what is being billed as one of the defining moments of his tenure. Is he gay-friendly and relaxed about divorce and cohabitation? Or is the pontiff a conservative …
Read More »Vatican set to approve Mother Teresa elevation to sainthood
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | The Vatican committee that approves elevations to sainthood will meet Tuesday to consider a recommendation that Mother Teresa of Calcutta becomes Saint Teresa, the Holy See announced on Monday. With the long-awaited decision seen as a formality, Pope Francis is expected to sign …
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