Pope Francis said he is not open to the possibility of ordaining women as deacons, weeks after authorizing several Vatican study groups to look into that issue and others as part of the Synod on Synodality — although “women have always had … the function of deaconesses without being deacons,” and that “making space in the church for women does not mean giving them a ministry.”
Pope Francis Monday sent condolences to Iran following a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahain, assuring of his prayers for their families and the nation.
An increase in religious persecution around the globe was fueled in part by a rise in authoritarianism, according to a recent annual report.
In the latest comment from the Vatican on “Fiducia Supplicans,” the controversial declaration issued by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in December 2023 that includes guidelines on the blessing of same-sex couples, Pope Francis clarified that he didn’t allow blessings of “the union” but of “each person.”
The Vatican-Vietnam joint working group held its first meeting since last year’s important agreement allowing for a papal representative to reside in Vietnam and the establishment of an office there to support Vietnam’s estimated 6.5 million Catholics.
The traditional Notre-Dame de Chrétienté pilgrimage from Paris to Chartres that takes place over the Pentecost weekend had a record number of 16,000 pilgrims in 2023, but this year the number is thousands beyond that.
On Friday, the Vatican rolled out a new expedited procedure for vetting alleged Marian apparitions or other spiritual phenomena, ruling that they will no longer be deemed supernatural but simply that nothing stands in the way of encouraging devotion.
Without setting a timetable, Haitian Bishop Pierre-André Dumas of Anse-á-Veau and Miragoâne said that as soon as he is able, he will return to the Caribbean nation to accompany and give hope to his people, and also to serve as a witness of God’s love.
Catholic bishops have expressed shock and promised prayers as Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico fights for his life after being shot multiple times May 15.
The cross over Notre Dame’s choir and the eight bronze bells in the north tower can now be reinstalled in their rightful place in the iconic Paris cathedral.
