Pope Francis

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Pope Dissolves Conservative Catholic Movement

Probe uncovered sexual, financial, spiritual abuses by Peru-based Sodalitium Christianae Vitae

(Newser) - Pope Francis has taken the remarkable step of dissolving a Peruvian-based Catholic movement, the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, after years of attempts at reform and a Vatican investigation. The probe uncovered sexual abuses by its founder, financial mismanagement by its leaders, and spiritual abuses by its top members, the AP reports....

Pope Picks an Early Fight With Trump

Pontiff calls plans for mass deportation of migrants a 'disgrace'

(Newser) - In his official message to President-elect Trump ahead of Monday's inauguration, Pope Francis offered "cordial greetings" and best wishes. But in an interview with Italian television, the pope took a decidedly more critical tack when discussing the president-elect's promise to order mass deportations of undocumented migrants, reports...

Biden Honors Pope With Highest Award Possible

It's the only Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction he's presented

(Newser) - President Biden on Saturday honored Pope Francis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction, the highest civilian award given by the president, saying the pontiff was "a light of faith, hope, and love that shines brightly across the world." Biden had been scheduled to present the medal...

Church Allows Gay Seminarians in Italy if They Remain Celibate

Trial program calls for consideration of all aspects of 'the young person's personality'

(Newser) - New guidelines for the Catholic Church in Italy have been approved by the Vatican that oppose the rejection of a seminary candidate because he is gay, provided the applicant stays celibate. The policy doesn't change the church's stance on homosexuality but says it's just one aspect that...

Woman to Finally Head a Vatican Office—a Vital One

Sister Simona Brambilla named prefect of department responsible for religious orders

(Newser) - Pope Francis on Monday named the first woman to head a major Vatican office, appointing an Italian nun, Sister Simona Brambilla, to become prefect of the department responsible for all the Catholic Church's religious orders. The appointment marks a major step in Francis' aim to give women more leadership...

School Bullying Prepares Students for War, Pope Says

Francis urges families to put down cellphones at the table

(Newser) - Pope Francis warned that bullying in schools prepares students for war rather than peace, in a speech to Catholic educators gathered at the Vatican on Saturday. Speaking to about 2,000 Italian teachers, educators, and parents, Francis asked the audience to pledge to fight bullying both at school and at...

Pope Opens 'Holy Door' at Prison in Italy

Symbolic move is part of the Catholic Church's Jubilee celebration

(Newser) - Pope Francis made a symbolic gesture at one of Italy's largest prisons on Thursday that is a first for any pontiff, reports the Guardian . Francis visited Rebibbia prison outside Rome, where he opened what the church calls a "holy door." During the year, Francis will open five...

Pope: I Survived 2 Iraqi Assassination Plots
Pope: I Survived 2 Iraqi
Assassination Plots
NEW BOOK
Dec 18, 2024 3:54 PM CST

Pope: I Survived 2 Iraqi Assassination Plots

Autobiography reveals alleged suicide bombers were killed amid 2021 papal visit

(Newser) - Pope Francis survived not one but two assassination plots during his 2011 trip to Iraq, the first ever by a pope, according to excerpts from his upcoming autobiography, also the first ever by a pope. Francis traveled to Mosul, the former de-facto capital of the Islamic State, at a time...

In Corsica, Pope Supports Popular Piety

Energetic and ad-libbing, Francis calls for a dynamic secularity

(Newser) - On the first papal visit ever to the French island of Corsica, Pope Francis on Sunday called for a dynamic form of laicism, promoting the kind of popular piety that distinguishes the Mediterranean island from secular France as a bridge between religious and civic society. Francis appeared relaxed and energized...

Pressure on Biden to Commute All Federal Death Sentences

Some fear the 40 inmates on federal death row risk hanging under Trump

(Newser) - No president has ever issued a mass commutation of federal death sentences, but that's exactly what advocates are asking of President Biden in his final days in office. Several letters asking Biden to commute the sentences of all 40 people on federal death row to life in prison without...

Pope Installs Largest Group Yet of Voting-Age Cardinals

Many are central to Francis' plans

(Newser) - Pope Francis on Saturday installed 21 new cardinals, many of whom are key figures in his agenda of change: a Dominican preacher who acted as the spiritual father for Francis' recent gathering of bishops, a Neapolitan "street priest" like himself, and a Peruvian bishop who has strongly backed his...

3 Coffins Won't Be Required When Pope Francis Dies

Francis will get the funeral 'of a shepherd ... and not of a powerful man of this world'

(Newser) - Pope Francis has revised the funeral rites that will be used when he dies, simplifying the rituals to emphasize his role as a mere bishop and allowing for burial outside the Vatican in keeping with his wishes. The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano on Wednesday published details of the updated...

Pope Wants Investigation of Israeli Campaign in Gaza

Francis raises 'genocide' in excerpt from new book

(Newser) - Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine whether Israel's attacks in Gaza constitute genocide, according to excerpts released Sunday from an upcoming book ahead of the pontiff's jubilee year. It's the first time that Francis has openly urged for an investigation of genocide allegations over...

Pope Uses Hashtags Wrong, but NFL's Saints Don't Mind

Francis kept using #Saints in his tweets, which tagged the team—and perhaps drove them to a rare win

(Newser) - Someone might want to give Pope Francis a social media primer, at least when it comes to hashtags. The pontiff has been tweeting about actual saints (people canonized by the church), but he's been including the #Saints hashtag along with many of his posts—which on X automatically calls...

Pope Names 21 Cardinals, Including a 99-Year-Old

Many come from 'the church's edges,' church historian says

(Newser) - Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals Sunday, significantly increasing the size of the College of Cardinals and further cementing his mark on the group of prelates who will one day elect his successor. They include a man who will be the oldest cardinal: Monsignor Angelo Acerbi, a 99-year-old retired Vatican...

Pope Pressures Bishops to Quit Covering Up Abuse

After leaving Belgium, Francis sticks to stances on women's issues that drew criticism

(Newser) - Pope Francis wrapped up a troubled visit to Belgium on Sunday by doubling down on his traditional views on women and abortion and demanding that Catholic bishops stop covering up for predator priests—a scandal that has devastated the church's credibility around the globe. Francis revisited the thorny topics...

University Slams Pope's Views on Women's Roles During Visit

Confrontation follows Belgian leaders' criticism over clerical sexual abuse

(Newser) - Pope Francis' burdensome trip through Belgium reached new lows on Saturday when Catholic university women demanded to his face a "paradigm change" on women's issues in the church and then expressed deep disappointment when Francis dug in. The Catholic Louvain University, the Francophone campus of Belgium's storied Catholic...

Belgium's King, PM Had Strong Words for Pope

'When something goes wrong we cannot accept cover-ups,' PM says of sex abuse scandals

(Newser) - Belgium's prime minister blasted Pope Francis for the Catholic Church's horrific legacy of clerical sex abuse and cover-ups, demanding "concrete steps" to come clean with the past and put victims' interests ahead those of the institution in a blistering welcome at the start of Francis' visit on...

Pope Allows Pilgrimages to Site of Reported Apparitions

Vatican, however, is not authenticating purported sightings of the Virgin Mary in Bosnia

(Newser) - The Vatican on Thursday gave the green light for Catholics to continue flocking to a southern Bosnian village where children reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary, per the AP . In a detailed analysis after nearly 15 years of study, the Vatican's doctrine office didn't declare that the...

Pope Francis Doesn't Like Either 2024 Candidate

Pontiff says Harris, Trump are both 'against life' and suggests people vote for 'the lesser of two evils'

(Newser) - Pope Francis would apparently like a third option when it comes to 2024 presidential candidates. Speaking to reporters Friday on a plane returning from Asia, the pope declared that both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are "against life," though for different reasons.
  • He summed up Trump and Harris,
...

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