Pope Francis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met privately on Monday at the Vatican. This is the first visit by a Turkish head of state to the Vatican in 59 years. Erdoğan was returning a visit Francis made to Turkey in 2014. Vatican sources say that at the meeting Francis and Erdoğan discussed “bilateral Read more
Pope Francis has appealed for concerted action against human trafficking as we prepare to mark the Day of Prayer and Awareness against this terrible scourge. Read more
Italy’s “euthanasia in disguise” bill has been passed into law 30 years after it was first mooted. The law allows citizens to create advance directives about their treatment. These directives express their final wishes for medical treatment in case they lose the ability to communicate their choice. The Italian senate passed the bill into law Read more
Happy birthday wishes greeted Pope Francis as he celebrated his 81st birthday on Sunday. Children were among his party guests in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. The celebrations included an extra-long pizza, a cake, and a message urging the world — and children in particular — to join in the holiday mood and be joyful. Read more
A new multimedia communications hub for the Vatican will be launched before Christmas. The prefect of the Secretariat for Communication, Monsignor Dario Vigano, says vaticannews.va – would be launched in beta form “in the coming days.” (According to Google, Beta software is usually the first version – a product preview stage. End users and testers Read more
The Lord’s Prayer translation may be changed. Pope Francis believes the current translation suggests God is capable of leading us “into temptation”. Most translations used throughout the world say: “lead us not into temptation”. Francis says he’d like this amended to the phrase used in France. In this, the French say: “do not let us Read more
Conditions in South Sudan are appalling. United Nations (UN) officials have expressed concern about the fate of the South Sudanese people. The mandate for the UN peacekeeping mission in the country is set to expire. Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the UN Security Council the South Sudanese people “have simply suffered far too much for far too Read more
Pope Francis has approved the Argentinian bishops’ interpretation of his apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia (Joy of Love). The bishops have published a document saying some divorced and remarried Catholics may receive Holy Communion. Francis says the document “explains precisely the meaning of Chapter VIII of ‘Amoris Laetitia.’ There are no other interpretations.” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Read more
Jerusalem was formally recognised by the United States (US) as the capital of Israel on Wednesday. At the same time, President Trump announced plans to eventually relocate the US Embassy to the holy city. Pope Francis responded to the change in US policy, saying he wants the “status quo” to remain. He says he is Read more
Suffering is an essential ingredient of our faith and humanity. One who doesn’t suffer with suffering brothers . . . must question himself on the sincerity of his faith and of his humanity, Pope Francis says. His comments were made in the context of the Rohingya minority, who are persecuted in Myanmar. Read more