Perhaps the most authoritative Catholic voice in Iraq has argued that the survival of Christianity in the country depends on the creation of a secular state where all forms of sectarianism are eradicated, allowing the nation to become an example of respectful coexistence for the Middle East.
The 85 students at Brooklyn Jesuit Prep (BJP) — spanning across grades five through eight — took their religion lessons outside the classroom on Earth Day. They spent the last hour of their school day becoming stewards of the earth, cleaning up loose litter in their school’s vicinity.
Pope Francis voiced concern over a recent Russian troop buildup near the border with Ukraine and called for efforts to ease tensions in the 7-year conflict.
Greeting visitors in St. Peter’s Square after nearly a month of tight restrictions due to the pandemic, Pope Francis said he was happy to see people allowed to gather and be present for Sunday noonday prayer.
Increasing vocations to the priesthood, improving the way laypeople and priests work together and ensuring that service, not power, motivates the request for ordination are all possible outcomes of a major symposium being planned by the Vatican in February 2022.
Pope Francis on Sunday, April 11, argued that having received mercy, Jesus’ apostles became merciful themselves, sharing ownership over everything, calling such an arrangement “not communism, but pure Christianity.”
Pope Francis said faith is not an “album of past memories” and that “Jesus is not outdated,” nor is God something that can be filed away as a childhood memory because he’s present at “every moment of our lives” on Saturday, April 3.
Pope Francis on Easter offered consolation to all those still struggling as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and he urged speeding up production of COVID-19 vaccines amid global delays and ensuring they reach the poorest countries.
In a surprise move, Pope Francis on Holy Thursday celebrated the Mass of the Lord’s Supper – one of the most sacred liturgies on the Catholic calendar – at the private apartment of Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who resigned from his post earlier this year at the pope’s direct request.
Pope Francis visited the Vatican’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Good Friday as volunteer doctors, nurses and pharmacists continued vaccinating the poor, homeless and refugees assisted by charities in Rome.
