Tag Archives: VATICAN

Rome, Italy | AFP | Pope Francis washed prisoners’ feet at a Rome jail on Thursday, including two Muslims, an Orthodox Christian and a Buddhist, once again choosing to celebrate Holy Thursday among Italy’s incarcerated. “Everyone always has the opportunity to change life and one cannot judge,” said Francis to …

Ottawa, Canada | AFP | Pope Francis has declined to apologize for the abuse of indigenous Canadians at church-run boarding schools, drawing a polite rebuke Wednesday from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In an open letter, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote: “After carefully considering the request and extensive dialogue with …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Sunday urged young people not to allow themselves to be silenced and to stand up for what they believe in, a day after more than a million people in the United States took part in student-led protests demanding tighter gun control. …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Friday met representatives of the South Sudan Council of Churches and discussed how to promote peace in a country ravaged by a bloody four-year civil war. “The Pope holds the suffering people of South Sudan in his heart,” said Council Secretary …

Reformist pope Paul VI will soon be a saint Kampala, Uganda | AGENCIES | Pope Paul VI, who oversaw the sweeping “Vatican II” reforms of the Catholic Church in the 1960s, will soon be made a saint, the Vatican announced on March 07. Pope Francis signed decrees on March 06 giving …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis urged young people on Monday to “take risks” to help the Catholic Church rejuvenate itself, a day before his new book on the subject is released in Italy. The 81-year-old pope addressed a meeting of 300 young believers at the start …

ROME, Italy | AFP | The Catholic Church is “an empire of misogyny”, Ireland’s former president said on Wednesday ahead of a conference calling for women to be included in Church decision-making. “The Catholic Church is one of the last great bastions of misogyny. It’s an empire of misogyny,” said Mary …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Britain’s most senior Catholic said Friday that there have “never been so many victims of human trafficking” at a Vatican conference aimed at tackling the problem. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and president of the Santa Marta anti-trafficking group, said: “We estimate there are …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Wednesday praised as a gesture for a “better world” plans for a joint parade Friday by delegations from South and North Korea to open the Winter Olympics. “The traditional Olympic truce this year takes on special importance,” the pontiff said …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet Pope Francis on Monday, with a protest ban imposed in central Rome as feelings run high over Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish militia inside Syria. For the first such visit by a Turkish leader for 59 years, …