by Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Opening a two-day meeting of the world’s cardinals, Pope Francis said the Church’s pastoral approach to helping couples must be “intelligent, courageous and full of love” because the family today is “looked down upon and mistreated.” “Our reflection must keep before us the beauty of the family and […]
by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – On a feast day commemorating the authority Jesus gave to St. Peter and His successors – the popes – Pope Francis created 19 new cardinals in the presence of retired Pope Benedict XVI. To the great surprise of most people present, the retired pope entered St. Peter’s […]
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The Vatican announced an immediate end to new hires, wage-increases and overtime in an effort to cut costs and offset budget shortfalls. Pope Francis, with input from the Vatican’s central accounting office, also determined that volunteers could be used to help provide the labor needed to make up for the hiring […]
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In a move reflecting both his drive to reform the Vatican bureaucracy and his oft-stated desire to include laypeople in the leadership of the Church, Pope Francis established a new panel – to include almost as many lay members as clerics – to oversee the finances of the Holy See and […]
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio joined a largely African Igbo congregation at St. Fortunata Church, East New York, to celebrate the model of an immigrant family: Joseph, Mary and Jesus, in flight to Egypt. “As immigrants, all of you understand this great mystery of faith,” Bishop DiMarzio said addressing the congregation. The bishop quoted from “Exsul Familia […]
DUBLIN (CNS) – Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin welcomed an Irish government decision to reopen a Vatican Embassy just over three years after closing it. Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Gilmore announced Jan. 21 that Ireland was preparing to open a scaled-back embassy but gave no date for the reopening.
MADRID (CNS) – A Spanish bishop urged medical personnel to stop performing all abortions, even though the Church has backed new legislation that would still allow abortion in cases of rape. “Those who assist with abortions are seen as automatically excommunicated because the Church wants to defend the weak,” said Madrid Auxiliary Bishop Juan Martinez […]
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis is the sovereign of Vatican City and has a Holy See passport. But even dressed in papal white, Jorge Mario Bergoglio is an Argentine citizen with a brand new passport and national identity card. “The pope wanted to continue having normal Argentine documents,” said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican […]
by Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Greeting thousands of engaged couples on the feast of St. Valentine, Pope Francis told them not to be afraid of building a permanent and loving relationship in a culture where everything is disposable and fleeting. The secrets to a loving and lasting union, he said, include treating each […]
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis met for the third time in late February with his international Council of Cardinals, an eight-member group advising him on the reform of the Vatican bureaucracy and other issues. The meetings focused on financial and bureaucratic matters even as the council was rumored to be working on a draft […]
