The pontiff walked his own talk by having his “charitable right arm,” Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, bring 33 migrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon and Togo who had been stranded on the Greek island of Lesbos, back to Rome under Vatican patronage.
International News
Coptic Woman Wins Inheritance Case in Egypt
Late last month, an Egyptian higher court granted a Coptic Christian woman equal inheritance with her brothers, overturning the rulings of two lower court judges.
On Day of the Disabled, Pope Calls for ‘Full Integration’ in Society
They’re often the first people he greets when holding an audience, so it came as no surprise Dec. 3 when Pope Francis released a message for the World Day of Persons with Disabilities, calling for them to be fully integrated in society, not only through legislation but a much-needed change in mentality.
Watershed Congress to Spotlight Poor Africans ‘Hanging on the Cross’
Throughout his papacy, during which he clocked some 40 trips to Africa, St. Pope John Paul II would frequently refer to the continent as both a “missionary church and a mission church.”
Persecution Has ‘Strengthened the Prophetic Role of Church’ in Asia, Priests Say
Despite rising extremism, two missionary priests in Southeast Asia believe that anti-Christian persecution has “strengthened the prophetic role of church.”
Pope Urges Display of Nativity Scenes in Both Public and Private
In a document signed in the city where the Nativity crèche was born, Pope Francis on the first Sunday of Advent urged Christians to keep the “beautiful family tradition” of preparing these scenes in the days before Christmas, but also to keep the custom of setting them up in the workplace, in schools, hospitals, prisons and town squares.
Christian Leaders in Egypt Reflect on Persecution of Coptic Minority
Two bishops, one Catholic, the other Orthodox, have remarkably different takes on how Christians are being treated in what is considered to be one of the hotbeds of Christian persecution in Egypt.
Pope Says Financial Reforms are Working, Wants Anti-Nuke Stance in Catechism
Pope Francis said Tuesday that the latest round of financial scandal at the Vatican is actually a success story, because the situation was revealed thanks to an internal Vatican probe, which he said demonstrates that new controls are working.
In Japan, Pope Calls for End to Nuclear Weapons
Fulfilling a lifelong dream, Pope Francis visited Japan Nov. 23-26 as a “pilgrim of peace. The pontiff visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki to deliver a message against nuclear weapons, calling them “immoral” and urging nations to get rid of them.
Pope in Japan Condemns Those Who Invoke Peace, But Keep Nuclear Arms
The pope said he felt a “duty” to come to Hiroshima Peace Memorial as a pilgrim of peace and stand in silent prayer, “to recall the innocent victims of such violence.”