Pope Francis shakes hands with Bernice King, daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., during a private audience at the Vatican.
Pope Francis
Francis at Five Years: A Look at His Successes, What Needs to Be Done
When Pope Francis was elected five years ago today, he came into office with a reform mandate and a vow to make the Church less self-referential, focused on the peripheries rather than the center. Many of the challenges ahead seemed obvious: shaking up the Roman curia, cleaning up the Vatican’s finances, and continuing the work of clerical sex abuse reform efforts.
Pope Francis: In His Own Words
In his formal documents, many speeches and unscripted morning homilies the past five years, Pope Francis has given the church plenty of “food for thought” on many issues of great importance.
Benedict Dismisses Criticism of Francis’ Papacy
On the eve of the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ election, retired Pope Benedict XVI defended the continuity of the Church’s teaching under his successor and dismissed those who criticize the pope’s theological foundations.
Assessing Francis’ First Five Years
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope just a few days after telling the College of Cardinals that the Catholic Church faced a clear choice between being a church that “goes out” or a church focused on its internal affairs.
Solidarity Is Our Word
Pope Francis has “catapulted” the concerns of working people and placed them at the center of the conversation for the Church, said an all-star panel assessing the Holy Father’s influence on the labor movement.
Any Claims of Heresy in ‘Amoris’ Are Unfounded
Pope Francis’ exhortation on the family should prompt discussion and even debate, but accusing him and others of heresy is completely out of place, said German Cardinal Walter Kasper.
Pope to Visit Switzerland
Pope Francis will visit Geneva in June, the Vatican confirmed.
How Popular Is the Pope?
In the advent of Pope Francis’ fifth anniversary in the papacy, a new Pew Research poll of U.S. Catholics shows their regard of the pope is colored by their political leanings.
Bishop Barron: Upcoming Synod on Young People More Important Than Last Two Synods
Pope Francis’ upcoming Synod on Young People, Faith, and Vocational Discernment will be more important than the 2014 and 2015 Synods on the Family, says Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron of Los Angeles, Calif.