Pope Francis has named the Vatican’s former sex crimes prosecutor, Charles Scicluna, as archbishop of his native Malta. – Francis has vowed “zero tolerance” for abusers, and Scicluna’s promotion indicates…
Pope Francis’ finance czar is coming under intense scrutiny after ruffling feathers at the Vatican as he seeks to impose order on its unruly finances. Italian weekly L’Espresso reported in…
“Hopefully, we are still in time to avoid the ‘Mexicanization.’ I was talking to some Mexican bishops and it’s a terrible situation,” Francis allegedly wrote. Mexico’s chief diplomat took offense…
(Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Pope Francis on Saturday and, apparently responding to his criticism of a heartless “dictatorship of the economy”, called for stronger regulation of financial…
(Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Pope Francis on Saturday and, apparently responding to his criticism of a heartless “dictatorship of the economy”, called for stronger regulation of financial…
That’s the treatment the roughly 50 members of the Maryland-based group gotmuch to their surprisefor Pope Francis’ weekly address Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square, according to Francis DeBernardo, the group’s…
ROME (AP) – Pope Francis’ point man on clerical sex abuse says the failure of the church to punish bishops who covered up for pedophiles has seriously hurt its credibility…
Pope Francis welcomed 20 new cardinals Saturday into the elite club of churchmen who will elect his successor and immediately delivered a tough-love message, telling them to put aside their…
VATICAN CITY (RNS) In a powerful sermon that signaled his desire to push ahead with historic reforms, Pope Francis on Sunday (Feb. 15) said the Roman Catholic Church must be…
One hails from Tonga, where climate change is threatening the very existence of the archipelago. Several live in places tormented by drug violence and organized crime. Another represents a tiny,…
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Less than a month after saying Catholics don’t have to multiply “like rabbits,” Pope Francis on Wednesday (Feb. 11) once again praised big families, telling a gathering…
VATICAN CITY (RNS) If you are a Christian, protecting the environment is part of your identity, not an ideological option, Pope Francis said Monday (Feb. 9). “When we hear that…
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis on Monday (Feb. 9) began what could be a key week for his reformist papacy, starting with meetings with his hand-picked kitchen cabinet of nine…
California’s history can’t be told without Junipero Serra, the 18th-century Franciscan missionary who introduced Christianity and established settlements as he marched north with Spanish conquistadores. Boulevards, public squares, freeways and…
VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Francis says it’s OK to spank your children to discipline them – as long as their dignity is maintained. Francis made the remarks this week…
Pope Francis will deliver a speech in front of a joint session of Congress this fall. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced in a tweet on Thursday that the pope…
Pope Francis is hosting his second Google+ Hangout from the Vatican on Thursday, giving students around the world the opportunity to speak with him directly. The Hangout was organized by…
ROME — Pope Francis has formally ratified the martyrdom of the Salvadoran archbishop Óscar Romero, who was shot to death at the altar as he was saying Mass in 1980…
VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Francis decreed Tuesday that slain Salvadoran archbishop Oscar Romero was killed out of hatred for the faith, approving a martyrdom declaration that sets the stage…
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis decreed Tuesday that slain Salvadoran archbishop Oscar Romero was killed out of hatred for the faith, approving a martyrdom declaration that sets the stage for…
The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency met Friday with Vatican officials who helped draft Pope Francis’ upcoming encyclical on ecology, evidence that the Obama administration is seeking to…
MADRID (AP) – A judge in the southern Spanish city of Granada has indicted 10 priests and two Catholic lay workers in a sex abuse case that prompted Pope Francis…
Pope Francis is urging fathers to be more involved in the lives of their children, warning that many problems adolescents run into can be traced to “absentee fathers” who are…
ROME (AP) – Pope Francis has laid out his formula for fostering Christian unity: resist competing for souls and make concrete gestures of acceptance and dialogue. – Referring to Christians…
Pope Francis reportedly held a private audience with a transgender man on Saturday, adding yet another first to his papal record. Diego Neria Lejárraga, who underwent sex-reassignment surgery and was…
Outraged activists are demanding answers after hordes of homeless children were removed from Manila during Pope Francis’ recent visit, an accusation local authorities initially denied. The Pope, who has made…
(RNS) Pope Francis on Friday (Jan. 23) warned the Vatican’s top marriage judges that they should not “lock the salvation of persons within the straits of legalism” and indicated he…
WASHINGTON (RNS) Rabbi Abraham Skorka, Argentina’s most famous Jewish citizen and a close friend of Pope Francis, was on the road this week when news from Buenos Aires shocked his…
Pope Francis made a cameo appearance during President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night. While outlining America’s rapprochement with Cuba, the President took note of Francis’…
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) – Pope Francis said Monday he hopes to visit Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay this year, as well as the Central African Republic and Uganda. The…