Pope, Ukrainian president speak by phone December 29, 2023By Catholic News Service Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, War in Ukraine, World News For at least the fourth time since Russia began its large-scale attack on Ukraine in February 2022, Pope Francis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke by telephone Dec. 28.
Pope meets with U.S. Cardinal Burke December 29, 2023By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, a former top Vatican official, met privately with Pope Francis Dec. 29, about a month after reports that Pope Francis wanted to stop giving him a monthly salary and would ask him to pay the market rate for his Vatican apartment.
The pope’s 2023: A year of health challenges, travel and the synod December 29, 2023By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Pope Francis’ 2023 was a year of important trips made or postponed, a predecessor’s funeral and his own 10th anniversary as pope, a call to the world to act on climate change and a call to the Catholic Church to strengthen its mission by learning “synodality.”
‘Listening is act of love,’ says papal message to European youths December 28, 2023By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News The Christian community and society need young people to live out their dreams of a world where people listen to one another, accept each other and build bridges with members of different cultures and religions, Pope Francis told young Europeans meeting to “pray in” the new year.
Cardinal says Vatican is not moving toward accepting gay marriage December 28, 2023By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, Marriage & Family Life, News, Vatican, World News The Vatican’s affirmation that a priest can give an informal blessing to a gay couple who asks for one is not a first step toward the Catholic Church recognizing same-sex marriages, said Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Pope encourages persecuted Christians to stay strong in their witness December 27, 2023By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News On the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, Pope Francis prayed for people persecuted for their faith or denigrated for living a life marked by Gospel values.
‘The devil is a seducer,’ pope says as he begins new series of talks December 27, 2023By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News The devil is sly and sneaky like a serpent and subtly entices people to sin, Pope Francis said at his weekly general audience Dec. 27.
Pope’s Christmas message: Say ‘yes’ to the Prince of Peace, ‘no’ to war December 27, 2023By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, News, Vatican, World News Celebrating the birth of Jesus, the prince of peace, should mean making a commitment to opposing all war, to cherishing human life, feeding the hungry and speaking up for those who have no voice, Pope Francis said.
At Christmas, God shows love through ‘littleness,’ not power, pope says December 27, 2023By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, News, Vatican, World News More than two millennia after the Holy Family was denied a room at the inn and Jesus was born in a manger, war once again renders his birthplace in the Holy Land inhospitable, Pope Francis said.
At Christmas, God shows love through ‘littleness,’ not power, pope says December 24, 2023By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, News, Vatican, World News More than two millennia after the Holy Family was denied a room at the inn and Jesus was born in a manger, war once again renders his birthplace in the Holy Land inhospitable, Pope Francis said.
Welcome Jesus into the manger of your heart, papal preacher says December 22, 2023By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, News, Vatican, World News The first step toward keeping Christ in Christmas is for Christians to make room for him in their hearts, the preacher of the papal household told Pope Francis and top Vatican officials.
Papal almoner will spend Christmas in the Holy Land in a ‘journey of closeness’ December 22, 2023By Paulina Guzik OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, News, Vatican, World News Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, prefect of Vatican Dicastery for the Service of Charity, landed in Israel on Dec. 22, starting a “journey of closeness” as papal envoy to the Holy Land during a difficult wartime Christmas season.
