Do the climate change deniers seem more ridiculous than ever? Gee, I dunno, is the pope Catholic? Actually, Pope Francis himself is making them look more ridiculous and isolated than ever. He’s poised to put his moral imprimatur on the scientific consensus about man-made climate change, with a much-anticipated summer encyclical, and this is driving Read more
Pope Francis has said the Holy Spirit creates movement within the Church, which at first sight might appear to be confusion. Preaching at a Mass on May 8 at his Santa Marta residence, the Pope said if this movement of the Spirit is welcomed with prayer and a spirit of dialogue, it always generates unity Read more
Italian police claim to have worked out how Jesus looked as a child, based on computer forensics applied to the Shroud of Turin’s image. The police generated a photo-fit image from the negative facial image on the shroud. From this they reversed the aging process to create an image of a young Jesus, the Independent Read more
Environmental campaigner and former US vice-president Al Gore has said he could become Catholic because of Pope Francis. At an event at the University of California, Berkeley, Mr Gore said he thinks Francis is “quite an inspiring figure, really”. “I’ve been startled with the clarity of the moral force that he embodies,” Mr Gore said. Read more
The Vatican under Pope Francis gave out aid worth 1.5 million euros (US $1.6 million) in 2014, an increase of 25 percent over the previous year. Refugees, prisoners, the homeless, the sick and the elderly benefitted from the aid. Direct Vatican aid helped 8000 people in 2014, along with religious communities which used it for Read more
An Australian theologian has asked Pope Francis to ditch the 10-minute “interventions” made by bishops at the upcoming synod on the family. In a wide-ranging open letter to the Pope, Fr Paul McGavin said such interventions lead to “bald and combative declarations”. Rather, Fr McGavin proposed a process oriented to “dialogue and learning”. He suggested Read more
Pope Francis is likely to touch on several topics that could well cause discomfort to US politicians when he speaks there later this year. In September, the Pope will address a joint session of the US Congress and Senate, being the first Roman pontiff to do so. What Francis might say on that occasion was Read more
An Italian man hung up on phone calls from Pope Francis twice, thinking they were pranks. The Pope called Franco Rabuffi, who was sick, to comfort him. As he usually does when calling people who are suffering, the Pope opened by saying “Hello, I’m Pope Francis”. On the third papal phone call, Mr Rabuffi was Read more
Pope Francis has said the martyrdoms of modern Christians of many denominations will nourish “a new era of ecumenical commitment”. The Pope said this during a meeting with members of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III) in Rome. The Pope said ecumenism is not a “secondary element” in the life of the Church. Referring Read more
The Pope’s encyclical on the environment is now finalised and is being translated into different languages, with an anticipated release in June. Vatican officials made this announcement on April 28 at a one-day Rome summit on climate change. According to a report on the Crux website, the President of the Pontifical Academy for Sciences, Bishop Read more