After five years of tension and top-level silence, Pope Francis and the grand imam of one of the most important Sunni Muslim universities in the world embraced at the Vatican May 23.
International News
Pope Benedict Denies Latest Rumors about Fatima ‘Secret’
Sixteen years after the Vatican released the text of the so-called Third Secret of Fatima, rumors cyclically arise claiming that the Vatican still is keeping part of Mary’s message to three children in Fatima, Portugal, secret.
Priests Will Not Officiate at Civil Weddings in Norway
A Norwegian bishop said the country’s clergy will no longer officiate at civil weddings, after the predominant Lutheran Church’s governing synod voted to conduct gay marriages in Norway.
What Pope Said About Women Deacons
Pope Francis “did not say he intends to introduce a diaconal ordination for women,” and he certainly did not speak about the ordination of women priests, the Vatican spokesman said.
Nuns Asked to Avoid ‘First-World Lifestyle’
The leaders of the world’s communities of Catholic women religious were warned against accepting an “entitlement creep” that numbs them from confronting poverty and environmental destruction.
Displaced Iraqi Nuns Respond to Refugees
When the Islamic State group rolled across Iraq’s Ninevah Plain in 2014, tens of thousands of Christians fled for their lives to Kurdish-controlled areas of the country. They still wait in limbo in crowded camps, facing an undefined future. The only certainty they enjoy is knowing that whatever happens to them, a group of Dominican nuns will be at their side.
Pope: Moral Concerns Guide Medical Research
Moral and ethical concerns must guide medical research so it will always be at the service of protecting human life and dignity, Pope Francis said. In that way, education and research can strive “to serve higher values, such as solidarity, generosity, magnanimity, sharing of knowledge, respect for human life, and fraternal and selfless love,” he said April 29, during an audience with people taking part in a conference on adult stem-cell research.
May Prayer Intention
“That in every country of the world, women may be honored and respected and that families, communities, and groups may pray the Holy Rosary for evangelization and peace.”
UN Asked to Respond To Islamic State Terror
While religious freedom in much of the Middle East is under siege and the civil war in Syria seems to have no end in sight, the Knights of Columbus and others called the United Nations to action. Sister Maria de Guadalupe Rodrigo spoke of her missionary experiences in Syria.
Pope Will Welcome Homeless to Rome
Pope Francis will welcome several thousand homeless and vulnerable people from all over Europe when they make a pilgrimage to Rome in November.