Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is to attend the opening of the Holy Door by Pope Francis at St Peter’s Basilica on December 8. The retired pontiff accepted the invitation of Francis to attend the opening. Benedict will not take part in the whole official inauguration of the Jubilee of Mercy. But he will be present Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Pope Francis’
Tuilaepa has meeting with Pope Francis
Tuesday, December 8th, 2015
Pope Francis received Samoa’s prime minister, Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, in audience on December 3. Following the audience, Malielegaoi met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, and Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, the Under-Secretary for Relations with States. The discussion focused on some aspects of the social and economic life of Samoa. The valued Read more
Francis critiques question about condoms in Africa
Friday, December 4th, 2015
Pope Francis has told a journalist asking about condom use to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa that the question posed is too small. The Pope answered the question during a session with reporters on his plane flying back from the Central African Republic on November 30. The journalist asked if the Church should Read more
Worship prefect blunt on Anglican eucharist, intercommunion
Friday, December 4th, 2015
The Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship has made pointed statements about intercommunion, Anglican orders and Eucharist. In an interview with aleteia.org, Cardinal Robert Sarah said intercommunion between Catholics and other Christians is not a matter of following one’s conscience. Rather, intercommunion between Christians not united in faith and doctrine would promote profanation, he Read more
Why popes don’t always get what they want
Friday, December 4th, 2015
In my last column I argued that it would be foolish to ignore the signs that Pope Francis has been giving for almost two years concerning the admission of the divorced and civilly remarried to Holy Communion. Furthermore, after the synod his close advisers have made clear their expectation that the Holy Father will change Read more
Papal shoes part of climate change action
Friday, December 4th, 2015Pope Francis sent a pair of papal shoes for an art installation in Paris in support of climate change action ahead of the COP21 meeting. The papal shoes – black Oxfords – joined thousands of other sneakers, slippers and pumps in a symbolic march at the Place de la Republique. The art installation was a Read more
Pope calls for ‘revolution of tenderness’ in Church
Friday, December 4th, 2015Pope Francis has called for a “revolution of tenderness” in the world and in the Catholic Church. He took his church to task in an interview published on Wednesday in Credere, a Catholic magazine reporting on the Holy Year of Mercy. Francis lamented that the Church itself “falls into the temptation to take a hard Read more
Pope visits conflict zone in Central African Republic
Tuesday, December 1st, 2015
Pope Francis has become the first Pontiff in recent history to visit a conflict zone when he arrived in the Central African Republic on Sunday. The nation has been embroiled in a civil war between a Muslim minority and a Christian majority since March, 2013. Arriving in the capital, Bangui, Francis declared himself a “pilgrim Read more
In Kenya, Francis admits corruption in the Vatican
Tuesday, December 1st, 2015
Pope Francis has advised Kenyan young people to resist the temptations of corruption which affects all aspects of life, and is present in the Vatican. Francis said corruption is not only present in politics but almost everywhere, including the institution he leads. “Even in the Vatican there are cases of corruption,” he said. Francis’s comments Read more
At start of African visit, Pope names what feeds terrorism
Friday, November 27th, 2015Starting his three-nation African visit on Wednesday, Pope Francis said violence and terrorism feed on “despair” which comes from poverty and frustration. Speaking in Nairobi, Kenya, the Pope said fear and mistrust spring from the same source. He also re-iterated his view that the protection of the environment needs to take place alongside building a Read more