Like St. Joseph who had other plans for his life, but lovingly embraced his role as Jesus’ foster father, a priest assigned to a new parish cannot impose his own ways on that community, Pope Francis said.
Vatican
Vatican Rules Out Church Blessings for Same-Sex Unions
Responding to efforts in some parts of the Catholic world to devise “blessings” of same-sex unions by the Church, the Vatican’s doctrinal watchdog released a statement Monday saying that such blessings are “not legitimate,” as homosexual unions are “not ordered to the Creator’s plan.”
Analysis: At His Eight-Year Mark, Will Pope Francis Try Turning Down the Temperature?
Internally, his to-do list features a long-simmering reform of the Roman Curia, a sweeping clean-up in money management, the fight against clerical sexual abuse, empowerment of women and laity, a more collaborative (“synodal,” to use his word) mode of decision-making, and more.
Cardinals Sarah, Comastri Retire From Vatican Posts
Pope Francis accepted the resignations of 75-year-old Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, and 77-year-old Cardinal Angelo Comastri, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica and vicar for Vatican City State.
Getting COVID-19 Vaccine Included in Vatican Employee Safety Regulations
As a last resort, the Vatican may sanction employees who refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine for non-medical reasons, according to a new Vatican decree.
Vatican Laments ‘Massacre of Elderly’ Due to COVID
After the “massacre of the elderly” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vatican is calling for the world to re-think the way it cares for old people.
In ‘State of the World’ Speech, Pope Francis Talks COVID, Myanmar, 9/11
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.
Naming Undersecretaries for Synod, Pope Francis Gives a Woman a Vote
Xaviere Missionary Sister Nathalie Becquart will not be the first woman undersecretary of a major Vatican office, but she will be the first woman with a right to vote at a meeting of the Synod of Bishops.
Cardinal Maradiaga, Close Papal Adviser, Hospitalized With COVID-19
Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, who leads the council of cardinals that advises Pope Francis on the reform of the Catholic Church’s central government, was hospitalized after presenting COVID-19 symptoms.
Biden’s Previous Encounters With Pope Francis May Offer Insight Into his Future Relationship With the Church
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.
