The Sept. 19 issue of the Italian journal La Civilta Cattolica, which contains a 12,000-word interview with Pope Francis in which he mentions the works of Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Merisi da Carvaggio and Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Pope as Film Critic: Mention of a Fellini Favorite Makes Headlines Too

by Kurt Jensen Never has passing praise of a Federico Fellini film drawn so much attention. The bulk of the recent interview with Pope Francis by Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, editor of the Italian journal La Civilta Cattolica, concerned how the Holy Father’s experience as a member of the Society of Jesus informs his papacy. […]

Pope Leads Prayers for Peace

by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Leading a crowd in prayer for peace in Syria, Pope Francis said that war is ultimately caused by selfishness, which can be overcome only through expressions of fraternity and never with violence. “Leave behind the self-interest that hardens your heart, overcome the indifference that makes your heart […]

Religious Leaders Do Not Support Bombing Syria

WASHINGTON (CNS) – As speculation mounted about Western air strikes on Syria, a committee of U.S. bishops called for a political solution, and Catholic leaders in Europe warned military intervention could lead to an escalation of hostilities. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the chairman of the bishops’ Committee on International […]

Pope Francis Meets the King of Jordan

by Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – As international leaders increasingly discussed the possibility of some form of armed intervention in Syria, the Vatican announced Pope Francis would interrupt the last week of his summer break in order to meet Aug. 29 with Jordan’s King Abdullah II. Jordan and Syria share a border, and Jordan […]

On the Olympic Controversy

by Jonathan Luxmoore WARSAW, Poland (CNS) — Calls for an Olympic boycott because of a Russian law banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” have become “highly politicized,” said an official of the Russian bishops’ conference. Msgr. Igor Kovalevsky, secretary-general of the bishops’ conference, said the Catholic Church would not be adopting an official stance on […]