Pope Francis said Monday that the COVID-19 pandemic shows there are parts of the world that are “seriously ill,” not as a result of the virus but in its natural environment, its economic and political processes, and even more so in in its human relationships.
In what’s being hailed as a demonstration that Pope Francis is in earnest about empowering women within ecclesiastical structures, on Feb. 5, for the first time ever, the pontiff named a woman as the Promoter of Justice for the Appeals Court of the Vatican City State.
Remembering the Holocaust and its victims is not only an act of solidarity but also serves as a warning to humanity that such horrors could happen again, Pope Francis said.
Despite renewed security concerns after a series of recent terrorist attacks, one of Iraq’s top prelates has said preparations for Pope Francis’ upcoming visit are still underway, calling it a sign of hope that peace is possible in the war-torn nation.
In line with papal tradition, Pope Francis relayed well wishes and messages of hope and prayer to President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20. Biden is the second Catholic president, following John F. Kennedy, who was elected as the United States’s 35th president in Nov. 1960.
To sum up, for once the collective reaction to a papal health scare seems about right, which is to say, avoiding panic. For now, the interesting thing to watch may not be whether Pope Francis is up to the job, but how the job may evolve to suit what he’s up to.
In the age of instant communications and fake news, journalists — like everyone else — need to recover the practice of going out and verifying information before they share it, Pope Francis said.
Just before noon Wednesday Joe Biden put his left hand on his family’s 19th century Bible and was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, and the first Catholic president since John F. Kennedy in 1960.
Pope Francis prayed that President Joe Biden would work to heal the divisions in U.S. society and promote human dignity and peace around the globe.
A South African who’d been tapped by Pope Francis to replace Cardinal Wilfried Napier as archbishop of Durban died on Sunday Jan. 17 of COVID-19.
