Pope Francis has named a former Fox News correspondent as the head of the Vatican press office. Greg Burke, an American, succeeds Italian Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ, who is retiring after 10 years in the position. Mr Burke is a numerary member of Opus Dei. He served as special communications adviser in the Vatican’s Secretariat Read more
Pope Francis has chosen a Protestant theologian to edit an Argentine version of L’Osservatore Romano. Marcelo Figueroa is a personal friend of the Pope’s. Beginning in September, Mr Figueroa will edit an Argentine publication that combines material from the weekly Spanish-language edition of L’Osservatore Romano with local content. The publication is an attempt to ensure that the Pope’s Read more
Pope Francis brushed aside security considerations to make an unscheduled visit to the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. After the Pope had been to the dentist on Wednesday, he said he had the idea to visit the commission. A security officer told Pope the visit would be “very complicated”. Francis replied by calmly saying, “I Read more
Pope Francis has made a key appointment that signals he wants a pastoral voice to be involved in the selection of bishops. The Pope has appointed Chicago’s Archbishop Blase Cupich to the Congregation for Bishops. Archbishop Cupich replaces the late Cardinal Francis George on the congregation. Continue reading
The Pope has clipped Cardinal George Pell’s wings by removing some of the administrative functions done by his department. Pope Francis essentially reversed a 2014 law that had transferred the main operational section of the patrimony office to the Australian cardinal’s Secretariat for the Economy as of Saturday. Francis said he is removing the tasks because Read more
The Vatican’s liturgy chief has said Pope Francis has given the go ahead for a study into the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the Mass. Cardinal Robert Sarah said this at the Sacra Liturgia conference in London recently. The cardinal said the Pope has asked him to “to study the question of a reform of Read more
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a Brazilian archbishop who has been dogged by scandals and controversies. Archbishop Aldo di Cillo Pagotto, 66, from Paraíba has been accused of a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old male. The archbishop was also under investigation by a local prosecutor for alleged “connivance” in the sexual exploitation of Read more
Pope Francis has cancelled his planned speech at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp this month, saying he would prefer silence. Francis is scheduled to visit the camp in Poland on July 29. During World War II, 1.1 million people were killed by the Nazis at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Francis is in Poland from July 27-31, primarily for the Read more
Priests working in slums in Argentina have issued a petition defending Pope Francis against what they call a “brutal campaign against him”. The priests, together with a lay group, say there are attacks “of every kind” against the Pope, Crux reported. Local media and political leaders have either tried to claim Francis as their own Read more