In the long-awaited denouement of the Vatican’s “trial of the century,” which has been seen widely as a litmus test of Pope Francis’ press for reform, a Vatican tribunal Saturday sentenced Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu to five years and six months in prison for his role in various financial crimes.
Facing an imminent expansion of Canada’s assisted suicide law to make people suffering from mental illness eligible, the nation’s Catholic bishops are calling on health care providers to invest more in mental health resources to get people the help they need.
While insisting that his health continues to improve and he has no present plans to resign, Pope Francis nevertheless revealed in a new interview that he’s begun making plans for his own funeral and burial, including his desire to be entombed in Rome’s famed Basilica of St. Mary Major.
Palestine’s ambassador to the Holy See has lauded Pope Francis’ description of the current war in Gaza as “defeat” and has called for both a cease-fire and an end to Israeli settlements, urging international leaders to do more.
Away in a cave near Greccio, Italy, St. Francis of Assisi had the first Nativity scene — a live one — staged for the faithful on Christmas Eve in 1223.
As the Church begins its Advent and Christmas seasons, the pastor of Gaza’s lone Catholic parish stressed the importance of stepping up one’s spiritual life amid the tragedies of war, and said the pope’s attention to them has been a major consolation.
A deadly bomb that exploded during a Mass Dec. 3 killed at least four people and injured dozens at a university in a predominantly Muslim city in southern Philippines.
Though absent from the COP28 summit in Dubai due to ongoing concerns for his health, Pope Francis sent a message for the inauguration of the first Faith Pavilion at a United Nations climate event, stressing the responsibility of religious leaders in caring for the planet.
Pope Francis on Dec. 3 recited his noontime Angelus address from his private residence rather than St. Peter’s Square in order to avoid changing temperatures as he continues treatment for what the Vatican has described as lung inflammation caused by bronchitis.
Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, is expected to sign an immigration bill that would make it a state crime to cross into Texas from Mexico. Catholic organizations including the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops have opposed the legislation.
