In his traditional Easter Sunday blessing to the city and the world, Pope Francis several times implored God to stop violence in many parts of the world. The Pope mentioned Iraq and Syria, Libya, Yemen, Nigeria, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and Ukraine. Francis also called on Christians to look at Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Pope Francis’
US diocese eliminates all marriage annulment fees
Friday, April 10th, 2015The diocese of Pittsburgh in the United States has eliminated all fees for marriage annulments. Bishop David Zubik said Pope Francis had inspired the move by calling for marriage tribunals to do justice swiftly. The Pope expressed a desire for no-cost annulments last year. Pittsburgh church officials had been collecting about US$120,000 annually in annulment fees Read more
Pope clears schedule to work on environment encyclical
Tuesday, March 31st, 2015
Pope Francis reportedly cleared his schedule last week to focus on a final revision of his upcoming encyclical on the environment. The document is expected to be released in June or July. According to a Catholic News Service report, the encyclical will build on what Pope Francis’s predecessors have said. The document is expected to Read more
Kasper hopes for development of tradition at family synod
Friday, March 27th, 2015
Cardinal Walter Kasper hopes this year’s synod on the family will develop the Church’s tradition in the area of pastoral support of divorced people. Cardinal Kasper was speaking at the England launch of his book “Pope Francis’s Revolution of Tenderness and Love”. Bishops attending the synod, scheduled for October 4-25, will be called to discern Read more
Scottish cardinal who admitted sexual misconduct resigns
Tuesday, March 24th, 2015
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien from the rights and privileges of being a cardinal. Cardinal O’Brien had previously admitted sexual misconduct towards several men. He will no longer be invited to attend consistories and other gatherings of cardinals, including an eventual conclave for the election of a new pope. Read more
Abuse protesters wreak havoc at bishop’s installation Mass
Tuesday, March 24th, 2015
The installation Mass of a Chilean bishop accused of complicity in paedophilia cases descended into chaos as protesters tried to climb onto the altar. An estimated 4000 protesters tried to block Bishop Juan Barros Madrid from entering the cathedral in Osorno on March 21. Inside the cathedral, there were clashes between the bishop’s opponents, carrying Read more
St Januarius’s blood liquefies in presence of Pope Francis
Tuesday, March 24th, 2015
The blood of St Januarius liquefied in the presence of a pope for the first time since 1848 on Saturday. The blood of the patron saint of Naples, which is normally solid, partially liquefied after Pope Francis kissed the relic during his day trip to the southern Italian city. Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe of Naples showed Read more
A special Holy Year
Monday, March 23rd, 2015
The Extraordinary Jubilee promulgated by Francis will be the 65th in history. The first was announced by Sixtus V in 1585. The “special” Holy Year does not alter the recurrence of Ordinary Jubilees. The last Pope to open the (cemented shut) Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica for an universal Extraordinary Jubilee was the future Read more
US cardinal slams Church ‘confusion’ under Francis
Thursday, March 19th, 2015
An American cardinal has publicly criticised Pope Francis in a documentary to be screened on Irish television next week. On “Pope Francis – The Sinner”, Cardinal Raymond Burke says that since Pope Francis’s election two years ago, “there really just is growing confusion about what the Church teaches”. When Cardinal Burke’s term as prefect of Read more
Pope Francis hankering for a pizza
Tuesday, March 17th, 2015The freedom to pop out for a pizza is the main thing Pope Francis misses two years after being elected the head of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics. In a wide-ranging interview marking his two years on the Seat of St Peter, the Argentine Pope said the only thing he regretted about being made Read more