Two popes sat side by side before a crowd of rain-soaked pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square May 10. Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II, patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt, was at the Vatican to mark the 50th anniversary of a joint declaration signed by St. Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III in 1973 outlining the beliefs shared by their churches.
As the death toll from flooding and landslides in Congo surpassed 400, Catholic bishops in the country expressed their deep sorrow and called for support.
Questioned by the confreres of a Hungarian Jesuit kidnapped with another priest and imprisoned during Argentina’s murderous military dictatorship, Pope Francis said, “I did what I felt I had to do to defend them. It was a very painful affair.”
After the election of the new leaders of Brazil’s bishops’ conference April 24, two Afro Brazilian priests released a public letter criticizing the fact that most of them are white and affirmed that the Brazilian church’s “power structure” is tainted by “racism” and by a “pact of whiteness.”
This week, there will again be “two popes” at the Vatican when Pope Francis meets his Coptic Orthodox counterpart, Pope Tawadros II, who is visiting in a bid to strengthen relations with the Catholic Church and bolster support for Christians in the Middle East.
Pope Francis asked 23 new members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard to draw close to the sacraments, read Scripture and meditate on spiritual texts, including during calm shifts on guard.
With the World Health Organization’s declaration that COVID-19 “no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern,” the leadership of the Italian bishops’ conference said church activities, including liturgies, could be celebrated as they were before the pandemic began in 2020.
When King Charles III and his wife, Queen Consort Camila, were crowned on Saturday, the event marked a historic juncture in Catholic-Anglican relations, as it was the first time a Catholic bishop participated in the ceremony in four centuries.
Safeguarding minors and vulnerable persons must be a priority for everyone in the church, Pope Francis said.
Marina Skulko, a Ukrainian mother of three, has celebrated Mother’s Day and all other holidays differently since saying goodbye to her husband and fleeing her war-torn homeland more than a year ago to find refuge in neighboring Moldova.
