Young people were going to confession on street corners and park benches throughout Lisbon during World Youth Day, but in the 150 plywood confessionals set up in Vasco da Gama Garden three of them found themselves face to face with Pope Francis.
International News
Pope Meets WYD Pilgrims From Ukraine, Hears Their Stories
Fifteen World Youth Day pilgrims from Ukraine, most of whom had lost a father or other close relative in the war, had a private meeting with Pope Francis Aug. 3.
Pope in Lisbon Calls on Youth to Be ‘Teachers of Hope’
Pope Francis kicked off the second day of his Aug. 2-6 visit to Lisbon meeting with Catholic university students, telling them to maintain a restless search for a better future and to work toward a more inclusive and just world.
Pope Francis Meets Sexual Abuse Survivors in Portugal
On the first day of an Aug. 2-6 trip to Portugal, a country that recently has been embroiled in a clerical sexual abuse crisis, Pope Francis met with a group of abuse survivors.
Pope in Lisbon To Celebrate World Youth Day Festival
When Pope Francis arrives in Portugal for World Youth Day, he’ll be met by the colorful fanfare and palpable excitement characteristic of these gatherings, yet he’ll also have the task of wading through the aftermath of a recent report on clerical abuse in the country.
Pope Heads to WYD to Meet Faithful, but Adviser Says Youth Will Also Help Him
As Pope Francis heads to Lisbon Aug. 2 for World Youth Day, an event often dubbed the “Catholic Woodstock” due to the large and celebratory crowds it always draws, he faces the unique challenge of revitalizing the faith amid growing European secularism and progressively empty pews in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pope to Russia: Destroying Grain, Creating Hunger is ‘Grave Offense to God’
Destroying grain is a “grave offense to God,” Pope Francis said, appealing to authorities in Russia as “my brothers” and urging them to resume cooperating with a United Nations’ initiative to guarantee the safe transport of grain out of Ukraine.
American Nurse and Her Child Kidnapped Amid Rising Criminal Activity in Haiti
A nurse from New Hampshire and her child are the latest victims of kidnapping in Haiti, according to reports. Alix Dorsainvil is a nurse for the Christian nonprofit community development group El Roi Haiti, based near the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Ukraine Orthodox Priests Call For Break With Moscow After Cathedral Attack
Priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have called for breaking ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, following a Russian attack on Odesa that destroyed a historic cathedral while killing two and injuring at least 22, including four children.
Human Trafficking is Modern-Day Slavery That Can Happen Just Around the Corner, Say Advocates for Victims
Human trafficking doesn’t happen only in far away places where human rights are neglected. It happens around the corner. It’s modern-day slavery, say those working to stop it around the world.