Pope Francis has set up a new fund – the “Jesus the Divine Worker Fund” – to help families and individuals in the Rome diocese who have lost their livelihood because of the economic crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic. Many here are struggling to survive, especially workers in the gig economy and the families Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Pope Francis’
After ‘taking a knee,’ Texan bishop gets a call from pope
Monday, June 8th, 2020
The phrase ‘taking a knee’ refers to a gesture many professional athletes around the US have been making in public to protest racial injustice and police brutality. The gesture has spread. Lately, even police officers showing solidarity have knelt before those protesting the May 25 killing of George Floyd, who died after being filmed pinned Read more
LGBT community needs better spiritual guidance
Thursday, June 4th, 2020
Now the Catholic Church is starting to address how to minister to the LGBT community, Italian Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi is inviting Catholics to look at gays and lesbians “as God looks at them.” “When communities will truly begin to look at people as God looks at them, then homosexual people — and everybody else Read more
Holy See cuts corruption, centralises procurement and contracting
Thursday, June 4th, 2020
Centralising procurement procedures and contracting are among several measures the Vatican is establishing to cut waste, root out corruption and bring the Holy See’s finances into the 21st century. Pope Francis approved new norms governing contract bids and procurement procedures in his latest effort to reform the Vatican’s finances. The Vatican’s financial situation was reportedly Read more
Faith, not efficiency, at heart of church’s mission
Thursday, June 4th, 2020
Faith, not efficiency is at the heart of the Church’s mission, Pope Francis said in a message to the pontifical mission societies after their recent general assembly was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, Cardinal Tagle, says Francis “is not against efficiency and methods” that could Read more
Pope Francis begs in Milan street, his cassock in tatters
Monday, May 25th, 2020On a street in Milan, the capital of Italy’s Lombardy region, which has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis begs for alms, his cassock in tatters. Read more
Public returns to St. Peter’s Square; pope calls for defence of environment
Monday, May 25th, 2020The public returned to St Peter’s Square on Sunday to receive Pope Francis’s blessing from his window for the first time in nearly three months as he convoked a year of reflection on the environment. Only a few dozen people went to the square, which was reopened on Monday along with St Peter’s Basilica following Read more
Pope joins inter-faith prayers against coronavirus, irks ultra-conservatives
Thursday, May 21st, 2020Pope Francis joined an inter-faith day of prayer on Thursday to call on God to end the coronavirus pandemic, brushing aside criticism from ultra-conservative Catholic groups, with one accusing him of associating with “infidels”. A multi-faith committee formed after the pope’s historic visit to the Arabian Peninsula last year came up with the proposal that Read more
Helping poor and jobless is not socialism
Monday, May 18th, 2020
Helping poor and jobless people is one of the ways the Catholic Church is planning to help resolve the post-pandemic fallout, Vatican official Father Augusto Zampini says. Helping these people is not a form of socialism, it’s Church teaching. Zampini says the Church’s advocacy for the poor has resulted in some people accusing it of Read more
Pope’s words on interfaith prayer against coronavirus sparks controversy among Catholics
Monday, May 18th, 2020Pope Francis is being accused of “blasphemy” and “sacrilege” by some Catholics for participating in an interfaith prayer Thursday with Muslims, Jews and Christians, calling on God to end the coronavirus pandemic. The Abu Dhabi-based multifaith Higher Committee on Human Fraternity formed after the pope’s historic visit in 2019 to the Arabian peninsula. Its nine Read more