God wants all people to be saved; he forgives all who repent, pope says December 27, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News God wants to save each and every person, and Christians are called to give witness to that fact by praying even for people who have harmed them, Pope Francis said.
Pope at Christmas: Jesus’ birth brings hope for world of justice, peace December 25, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, Jubilee 2025, News, Vatican, World News Celebrating Christmas Mass after opening the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis said the birth of Jesus fills Christians with hope and the courage to work for peace and justice.
Pope opens Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, launching ‘Jubilee of Hope’ December 24, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, Jubilee 2025, News, Vatican, World News In the quiet of Christmas Eve, Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, launching what he called a “Jubilee of Hope.”
Caritas, Jubilee USA present Holy Year debt-relief project December 23, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Jubilee 2025, News, Vatican, World News A key part of a jubilee in the Bible was releasing prisoners, and Catholics today can join a global campaign to press for the release of thousands of people imprisoned in poverty because of their nations’ foreign debt, said an official of Caritas Internationalis.
Pope, suffering a cold, focuses on mothers and children before Christmas December 23, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, News, Vatican, World News Leading the recitation of the Angelus prayer from inside the chapel of his residence because of a cold, Pope Francis nevertheless blessed the baby Jesus figurines children and adults will put in their Nativity scenes — and he brought one of his own as well.
Catholics, Methodists called to spread hope, pope says December 18, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations, News, Vatican, World News The upcoming celebration of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea is a reminder to Christians that “we profess the same faith, and thus have the same responsibility of offering signs of hope that bear witness to God’s presence in the world,” Pope Francis told leaders of the World Methodist Council.
Vatican chooses prisons as starting point for Jubilee art projects December 17, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Arts & Culture, Jubilee 2025, News, Vatican, World News Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, an award-winning poet, believes art can heal people, including prisoners, and can help them find the right path forward.
Nativity scenes are reminder of Lord’s love and tenderness, pope says December 16, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, News, Vatican, World News Making his customary visit to the Rome Basilica of St. Mary Major to pray before his trip to the French island of Corsica, Pope Francis also met and prayed with dozens of actors staging a living Nativity scene.
Pope says there’s no religious justification for Russia’s war on Ukraine December 16, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: News, Vatican, War in Ukraine, World News In a letter to his nuncio in Russia, Pope Francis called out those who would claim Russia’s war on Ukraine had any spiritual justification.
Vatican registers Italian LGBTQ+ group for Holy Year pilgrimage December 13, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Jubilee 2025, News, Vatican, World News An Italian association for LGBTQ+ Christians, their parents and the priests and religious who minister with them is among the many groups registered to make a pilgrimage together through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.
Pope, Palestinian president meet at Vatican December 12, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, News, Vatican, World News As the fighting in Gaza drags on, Pope Francis welcomed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the Vatican.
Hope is an ‘active virtue’ that makes good things happen, pope says December 11, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News The “most beautiful gift” the Catholic Church and its members can give the world is a reason to live with hope, Pope Francis said.
