WASHINGTON (CNS) – Pope Francis joined Church and government leaders from around the world in crediting Nelson Mandela for a steadfast commitment to promoting human rights and upholding the dignity of all people in response to the death Dec. 5 of the former president of South Africa. In a message to South Africa President Jacob […]
Pope Francis, seen here arriving in St. Peter’s Square for a recent general audience, continues to make news as he: chatted this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu, https://thetablet.org/israel-at-vatican-pope-and-netanyahu-discuss-peace-in-middle-east-and-popes-impending-visit/; continued his efforts to “purify” the Church, https://thetablet.org/pope-purify-church-by-looking-within/; and stirred up a controversy with his remarks about economic issues, https://thetablet.org/pope-stirs-controversy-with-words-on-economy/.
WASHINGTON (CNS) – The interim multilateral accord that could put the brakes on Iran’s nuclear development program is a steppingstone for a long-range deal that “enhances genuine peace in the region,” according to Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace. In a letter […]
By Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel Dec. 2 and discussed prospects for peace in the Middle East and the pope’s still-unscheduled trip to the Holy Land. The two met privately for about 25 minutes in the pope’s library. Talked About Complex Situation A […]
WARSAW, Poland (CNS) – Church officials in Germany defended plans by the country’s bishops’ conference to allow some divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion, insisting they have the pope’s endorsement. “We already have our own guidelines, and the pope has now clearly signaled that certain things can be decided locally,” said Robert Eberle, spokesman […]
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The kidnapping of five Orthodox nuns from a Christian village near Damascus has shocked Syria’s Christian community and filled many Christians with fear, said Chaldean Bishop Antoine Audo of Aleppo, Syria. Speaking to Vatican Radio, Bishop Audo said the latest information is that the superior and four of the nuns belonging […]
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In addition to having worked sweeping floors and running tests in a chemical laboratory as a teenager, Pope Francis revealed he also used to work as a bouncer. No longer kicking troublemakers out of clubs, he has discovered the secret to bringing people back, this time, into the church, according to […]
By Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – When the Synod of Bishops on the new evangelization met at the Vatican in October, 2012, among the top items on the agenda was the threat of militant secularism in a post-Christian West. “It is as if a tsunami of secular influence has swept across the cultural […]
By Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In enunciating the principles of Catholic social teaching, popes have long stressed the Church’s special concern for the poor and the need for state intervention to promote economic justice. Pope Benedict XVI, for instance, blamed the “logic of profit” for widespread hunger and pollution; called for a […]
A Brooklyn Congressman has criticized the Obama Administration for its plan to close the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See and to consolidate it into the larger embassy in Italy. Rep. Michael Grimm, who represents parts of Bay Ridge and all of Staten Island, said that “The Obama Administration’s plan to close the Vatican Embassy […]
