Pope Francis told a group of parents of LGBT children Sept.16 that God loves them as they are, and that the Church loves them because they are “children of God.” The pontiff’s words came during a short, private encounter with some 40 Italian mothers and fathers of LGBT children that took place following his Sept.16 general audience.
Ireland could see the number of Mass-going Catholics drop by nearly a quarter when the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
Catholic representatives in Belarus said they were not invited to talks between Vatican and government officials and criticized a “lack of information” about the fate of their exiled bishops’ conference president.
Four out of the five Franciscan friars working in the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo tested positive for COVID-19, with two of them dying from the disease.
Weighing into the discussion of the possible discovery of life on Venus, the Vatican’s top man on all things outer space has cautioned against getting too speculative, but said that if anything living exists on the planet, it doesn’t change the calculus in terms of God’s relationship with humanity.
Kidnapped, raped, and forced to convert to Islam while she was only 14 years old. This is the story of Maira Shahbaz, a Christian girl from Punjab, Pakistan.
On Sept. 15 at the White House, Israel signed diplomatic pacts to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. While specific details of the pacts are not yet public, the three countries will open embassies and establish economic ties including tourism, technology, and energy.
Top officials from both China and the Vatican have given indications that the controversial agreement between the two on the appointment of bishops, which expires at the end of September, will be renewed.
In a letter to people participating in a virtual Marian pilgrimage, Pope Francis offered words of encouragement to families struggling amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Sept.13, Pope Francis addressed the wave of protests that have swept through the globe this summer, some of which have turned violent, issuing an appeal for peaceful demonstrations and for those fueled by hate to let go and move toward forgiveness and reconciliation.
