Vatican City, Rome | THE INDEPENDENT | Pope Francis has told “keyboard warriors” to put aside online polemics and get out from behind their desks to proclaim the Gospel. Speaking in St. Peter’s Square on April 12, the pope urged Christians to go out and “get moving” to share the …
Read More »Pope Francis’ visit to Africa
It comes at a defining moment for the Catholic Church Kampala, Uganda | Stan Chu Ilo | Pope Francis plans to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan in February 2023. During the visit, the Pope intends to be in dialogue with African Catholics – but also to listen to …
Read More »OBITUARY: Retired Pope Benedict XVI dies at 95
He was a man at odds with the modern world who leaves a legacy of intellectual brilliance and controversy Kampala, Uganda | Mathew Schmalz | To many observers, Benedict, who died on Dec. 31, 2022 at the age of 95, was known for criticising what he saw as the modern world’s rejection of …
Read More »Benedict XVI laid to rest in historic 2-pope Vatican funeral
Pope Francis extols Benedict XVI as pastor in historic two-pope Vatican funeral ✳ 4,500 priests ✳ 500 bishops ✳ 125 cardinals Vatican City | National Catholic Online | In one of the rarest of scenes in two millennia of Catholic Church history, Pope Francis on Jan. 5 presided over the …
Read More »FUNERAL PLANS: An account of Benedict’s papacy to be sealed in his coffin
🔴 Mass starts at 11am (click to see order of mass) Vatican City | NCRonline.org | A written account of the history-making papacy of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will be placed alongside his body in his coffin for burial, the Vatican said Jan. 3 in revealing plans for the first funeral …
Read More »Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI dies at age 95
Vatican City | NCregister.COM | Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, a leading theologian of the 20th century and the first pope to resign from office in nearly 600 years, has died at the age of 95, the Vatican announced. His death was announced in Rome on Dec. 31. “With sorrow I …
Read More »Pope Francis: Pray for ill Benedict XVI
Vatican City | NCregister.COM | Pope Francis on Wednesday asked for prayers for a “very ill” Benedict XVI. Francis made the appeal for the 95-year-old pope emeritus at the end of his weekly public audience on Dec. 28 in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. “I ask to all of you …
Read More »Life triumphs over death as Christians rebuild in Iraq, says Pope Francis says
Qaraqosh, Irag | Cindy Wooden-CSN | Amid the rubble and bombed out remains of four churches destroyed by Islamic State militants, Pope Francis paid tribute to Iraqi Christians who endured persecution and even death. While visiting Mosul and Qaraqosh in northern Iraq March 7, he also urged the Christians …
Read More »IN THE INDEPENDENT: Touching the ‘untouchables’
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | These are the top stories in this week’s THE INDEPENDENT. COVER STORY Touching the untouchables: Can Lt. Col Nakalema do it? THE LAST WORD Lessons on poverty from COVID: Why measuring poverty using income is misleading and why we need to switch to using wealth …
Read More »Some Rome churches reopen after angry Pope Francis steps in
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Some of Rome’s Catholic churches reopened Friday after Pope Francis voiced displeasure with the Italian authorities’ push to shut them because of the coronavirus pandemic. The rare standoff between the 83-year-old pontiff and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government came as Italy’s death toll …
Read More »