Children rescued from Libya hitch a lift with Pope Francis

Thursday, May 16th, 2019

Pope Francis took eight children rescued from crisis-hit Libya for a ride in his popemobile Wednesday, the youngsters grinning and snapping photos as they whizzed round Saint Peter’s Square.

The children, wearing T-shirts reading “Welcome, Protect, Promote, Integrate”, hailed from Syria, Nigeria and the Congo, and were airlifted out of Libya along with their families on April 29.

A smiling Francis took them on board for a ride around the packed square during his weekly general audience, stopping several times along the way to kiss and bless babies held up to him from the crowd. Read more

Additional reading

News category: News Shorts, World.

Tags: Libya, Mirants, Pope Francis

The optimism of Timothy Radcliffe

Fr Timothy Radcliffe, the Dominican friar, was chosen by Pope Francis to lead the three-day retreat for all participants prior to the first assembly last October of the Synod on Synodality. This was a position of great trust given the Read more

Theologian: The future of the church is local

In Europe, the number of church members is declining – but Christianity remains strong worldwide. However, the structures do not remain stable, but are constantly changing. Thomas Schlag is Professor of Practical Theology at the University of Zurich, where he Read more

The perils and necessities of saying ‘I don’t know’

When I was studying political science in graduate school, I was surrounded by students who were much smarter than me. Most of my fellow students at the University of California Berkeley went to Ivy League schools as undergraduates. They were Read more

Survey: New priests are young and involved in their community

The incoming class of seminarians who will be ordained in 2024 is young and involved in their community, an annual survey released April 15 found. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops commissioned the Center for Applied Research (CARA) at Georgetown Read more

CathNews New Zealand