While he skipped morning Mass due to what the Vatican called a “painful sciatica,” Pope Francis was in the saddle again for his Angelus address later in the day, reflecting on the role of Mary as Mother of God and the need for a change in attitude at the end of a tumultuous year.
Known as a globe-trotting pope who conducts the bulk of his diplomacy through words and gestures during trips, Pope Francis found himself with extra time on his hands this past year with international travel brought to a halt by the coronavirus pandemic.
After receiving what they said were “several requests for guidance” on the morality of the use of COVID-19 vaccines developed with cells derived from aborted fetuses, the Vatican’s doctrine office issued an explanatory note Dec.21 giving the green light.
At the virtual launch of his new book, Cardinal George Pell opened up about what his time in prison before acquitted of charges of sexual abuse was like, and he also offered an evaluation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s time in office as well as the need for a set of clear rules when a pope retires.
Pope Francis pledged Vatican City State would achieve net-zero carbon emissions before the year 2050, and he urged everyone in the world to be part of a new culture of care for others and the planet.
The Vatican health service will begin vaccinating employees and Vatican citizens against COVID-19 using the Pfizer vaccine, the director of the Vatican health service told Vatican News.
Church leaders in Iraq have praised Pope Francis’ decision to come in March amid a pandemic as a brave decision, voicing hope that his presence in the country will send a much-needed message of peace and solidarity, and will encourage Christians to stay, despite present difficulties.
Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the pope emeritus’ secretary, is denying media reports that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI lost his voice.
To Father Robert Boxie III, the Catholic chaplain at Howard University in Washington, the naming of Washington’s archbishop “as a cardinal is huge, it’s historic.”
When Cardinal Wilton Gregory got his red hat from Pope Francis on Saturday to become the first Black American cardinal, a group of supporters from a small parish in Glenview, Illinois, tuned in.
