by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis’ Sept. 11 meeting with Dominican Father Gustavo Gutierrez was an informal one, held in the pope’s residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae, and not listed on his official schedule. Yet the news that Pope Francis had received the 85-year old Peruvian priest, who is widely considered […]
International News
Ring! Ring! It’s the Pope Calling!
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Picking up the telephone and calling people out of the blue is no big deal for Pope Francis, according to a Vatican official. Msgr. Dario Vigano, director of the Vatican Television Center, said the pope told him that the many calls the journalists have brought to light are just the tip […]
Future Pope Helped Save Argentine Dissidents
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – While a military-backed dictatorship in Argentina was conducting a clandestine war on suspected dissidents, then-Father Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the future pope, masterminded a secret strategy to save those being targeted, according to a new book. Titled “Bergoglio’s List: Those Saved by Pope Francis; Stories Never Told,” the book also includes the […]
Pope Writes Letter to Secular Italian Paper
by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Writing in one of Italy’s major secular newspapers, Pope Francis called for a “sincere and rigorous dialogue” between the Church and nonbelievers as an “intimate and indispensable expression” of Christian love. The pope’s words appeared in a 2,600-word letter published in the Sept. 11 edition of the […]
Pope Francis Tells His Priests That Sanctity Will Overcome Scandals
by Francis X. Rocca ROME (CNS) – Acting in his capacity as bishop of Rome, Pope Francis offered words of encouragement to his diocesan priests, assuring them that recent and current scandals cannot overcome the Church’s holiness and urging them to keep their vocations alive through love of God. The pope made his remarks Sept. […]
World Youth Day Celebrations Around the Globe
Bishop Frank Caggiano accompanied diocesan youth on three World Youth Days. Below from top, Bishop Caggiano leads catechesis for English-speaking pilgrims in Rio de Janeiro, 2013… He bonds with youth after a communal dinner in Madrid, Spain, 2011… He waves to diocesan pilgrims as he processes into Mass in Sydney, Australia, 2008… Bishops Nicholas DiMarzio […]
Refugees Explain They Hope to Return to Syria
by James Martone ISTANBUL (CNS) – In the small front room of an apartment in a middle-class district of Istanbul, five young men, some with university degrees or halfway there, talked about why they fled their homes in Syria. One of them had arrived from Syria that evening, another more than a year ago, and […]
Pope Calls on Wealthy To Do More for Needy
by Francis X. Rocca ROME (CNS) – Speaking at an assistance center for foreign refugees in Italy, Pope Francis called on wealthy societies and the Catholic Church to do more to help and defend the rights of the needy. “Charity that leaves a poor person just the way he is does not suffice,” the pope […]
Pope Hears Concerns About Curial Reform
by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis met with Vatican officials Sept. 10 to hear their questions and suggestions about his ongoing reform of the Vatican bureaucracy. The Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, said the meeting lasted nearly three hours and, except for a brief greeting by the pope, was devoted […]
Cardinal Wuerl: Universal Prayer Is a Sign of Hope
by Richard Szczepanowski WASHINGTON (CNS) – As American policymakers debated military intervention in Syria, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl joined Pope Francis and Catholics around the world in calling for peace and a just solution to the violence that has wracked the country and other parts of the world. “Today we pray for those who are […]