Congress Invites Pope To Visit

WASHINGTON (CNS) – A bipartisan invitation to Pope Francis to address a joint session of Congress if he comes to the U.S. in 2015 recognizes “the importance of the qualities” the pontiff embodies that resonate with people around the globe, said Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington. Those qualities include “a desire for peace, care […]

Pope Says He Doesn’t Like Doing Paperwork

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The thing Pope Francis dislikes most about his job as pontiff is the paperwork, he told residents of an Argentine slum in which he used to minister. “Paperwork, office work, it’s the thing I always struggled with,” the pope said in response to the question, “What’s the thing you like least […]

The Top 10 Things You May Not Know About Pope Francis

by Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) – When Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran walked onto the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, telling the crowds in Latin: “I announce to you a great joy. We have a pope!,” not many people recognized the name of then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Now, just one year since […]

Pope’s Advice to Engaged Couples

by Paul Morisi and Alison Laird On New Year’s Eve 2013 at 8:30 p.m. under the Ben Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia, we got engaged. As if we weren’t excited enough, Ana Puente, the coordinator for Marriage Ministry for the Diocese of Brooklyn, arranged for us to partake in a St. Valentine’s Day event at the […]

Pope Tells New Cardinals To Be Servants, Not Royalty

by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – On a feast day commemorating the authority Jesus gave to St. Peter and His successors – the popes – Pope Francis created 19 new cardinals in the presence of retired Pope Benedict XVI. To the great surprise of most people present, the retired pope entered St. Peter’s […]

Pope Renews Argentine Passport and ID Card

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis is the sovereign of Vatican City and has a Holy See passport. But even dressed in papal white, Jorge Mario Bergoglio is an Argentine citizen with a brand new passport and national identity card. “The pope wanted to continue having normal Argentine documents,” said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican […]

Pope: Love Means Always Saying You Are Sorry

by Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Greeting thousands of engaged couples on the feast of St. Valentine, Pope Francis told them not to be afraid of building a permanent and loving relationship in a culture where everything is disposable and fleeting. The secrets to a loving and lasting union, he said, include treating each […]

Pope Says God Is Not a Sorcerer

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis met for the third time in late February with his international Council of Cardinals, an eight-member group advising him on the reform of the Vatican bureaucracy and other issues. The meetings focused on financial and bureaucratic matters even as the council was rumored to be working on a draft […]

Pope: Mass Is More Than Just a Habit

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Going to Mass and receiving the Eucharist should make a difference in the way Catholics live, Pope Francis said; they should be more accepting of others and more aware of their sinfulness. “If we don’t feel in need of God’s mercy and don’t think we are sinners, it’s better not to […]

Queen Elizabeth to Visit Pope

MANCHESTER, England (CNS) – The Queen of England will visit Pope Francis at the Vatican in April, Buckingham Palace announced. A Feb. 4 statement said Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, will meet the pope on April 3. The queen and prince will visit Rome at the invitation of […]