Pope reveals he prepared resignation letter in case of impairment December 19, 2022By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Pope Francis said he wrote a resignation letter in 2013, his first year in office, to be used in case he became physically or mentally impaired and unable to fulfill the duties of the papacy.
Papal message for World Peace Day: War, hunger, turmoil are connected December 18, 2022By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News The interconnected “moral, social, political and economic crises” facing the world cannot be solved if individuals and nations continue to focus only on their own, immediate interests, Pope Francis said in his message for World Peace Day 2023.
Russia says Vatican apologized for pope’s remarks about minority fighters December 15, 2022By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: News, Vatican, War in Ukraine, World News The Vatican has had diplomatic contact with Russia regarding comments Pope Francis made about Russian minorities being responsible for the worst acts of cruelty in the country’s war on Ukraine.
The devil is sneaky, so Christians must be watchful, pope says December 14, 2022By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, News, Vatican, World News Vigilance is an essential part of the spiritual life because the devil will try to sneak in when one is not paying attention or, especially, when a Christian thinks he or she is making a lot of progress on the road to holiness, Pope Francis said.
Cardinal Ouellet announces lawsuit against woman who claimed assault December 13, 2022By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Child & Youth Protection, Feature, News, World News Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet announced he is filing a defamation lawsuit in Quebec against a woman who accused him of sexual assault.
Church needs new look at role of men, women in church, theologian says December 13, 2022By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Recent popes have used the concept of a “Petrine principle” and a “Marian principle” to describe the important role women and men together play in the Catholic Church, but a biblical scholar writing in the Vatican newspaper said it is time to talk about the discriminatory and stereotypical notions behind it.
Pope is asking governments to grant clemency to prisoners at Christmas December 12, 2022By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, News, Vatican, World News Pope Francis is writing to all the heads of state around the world, asking them to consider granting some prisoners clemency at Christmas.
Pope asks seminarians to be joyful, but realistic December 12, 2022By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, Vocations, World News Preparing for the priesthood, seminarians must remember both the joy of being called by God and the real sacrifices they will be called to make, Pope Francis told young men preparing for the priesthood at the seminary of Barcelona, Spain.
Doubt can be a step toward deeper faith, pope says December 12, 2022By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Even the most fervent believers go through moments of doubt and questioning about God, and it is a good thing, Pope Francis said, because it helps one see that God does not fit into the little box people make for him.
Rome meeting focuses on grassroots efforts to promote nonviolence December 8, 2022By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Social Justice, Vatican, World News While many people involved with the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative continue to hope Pope Francis will issue an encyclical promoting nonviolence as a spirituality and way of life, they also know that Catholics already are engaged in teaching and supporting nonviolence in situations of conflict and exploitation around the globe.
Nothing is impossible for God, not even peace in Ukraine, pope says December 8, 2022By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, War in Ukraine, World News Pope Francis asked Catholics around the world to join him in entrusting to Mary “the universal desire for peace, especially for the martyred Ukraine, which is suffering so much.”
Ukrainians seek blessing for rehab center; pope urges action for peace December 7, 2022By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, War in Ukraine, World News The mayor of Lviv, Ukraine, and a team of doctors treating those injured in the war gave Pope Francis a cross with an embedded piece of shrapnel removed from the body of a young girl.
