Pope Francis stunned Vatican workers last week by unexpectedly having lunch with them in their canteen. Dressed in his usual white cassock and skullcap, the Pope stood in a queue with the rest of the workers while waiting for his meal on July 25. He chose a plate of pasta without sauce and cod with Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Pope Francis’
Aussie archbishop says abuse victims are new missionaries
Friday, July 25th, 2014
Sex abuse victims who tell their stories are the new missionaries to the Catholic Church, the Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn says. In an interview with the Canberra Times, Archbishop Christopher Prowse said the Church is going through an “unprecedented crisis”. “There is so much shame, there is so much humiliation with the criminal acts Read more
Anti-Semitic attacks grow in Europe as Gaza conflict goes on
Friday, July 25th, 2014
Political and religious leaders in Europe have denounced anti-Semitism in their region as protests grow about the conflict in Gaza. “Anti-Semitic rhetoric and hostility against Jews, attacks on people of Jewish belief and synagogues have no place in our societies,” the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Italy said on July 22. Thousands defied a Read more
Irish priests welcome Pope’s reported celibacy hints
Friday, July 25th, 2014
A group representing some priests in Ireland has welcomed Pope Francis’s reported hints that he will sort out the celibacy issue. Association of Catholic Priests spokesman Fr Seamus Ahearne said the Pontiff’s views have been welcomed by the majority of Ireland’s priests. The ACP represents about 10 per cent of clergy in Ireland. Earlier this Read more
Pope Francis and what God doesn’t know
Friday, July 25th, 2014
There is a riddle among priests that I have heard on every continent I have ever visited (all but Antarctica). The question is: “What are the three things God doesn’t know?” The third of the answers is: “What will the Jesuits be up to next?” Certainly much of the world is curious to know what Read more
Pope Francis and his cardinals: not the same hymn sheet
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2014
It was possibly a watershed moment in Holy See media relations. The scene was the Sala Stampa of the Holy See some 10 days ago. Australian Cardinal George Pell was presenting the New Economic Framework for the Holy See, a document which outlines proposed major reforms not only to IOR (the Vatican bank) and to Read more
Pope and Bank of England Governor stress human-centred economy
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2014
Pope Francis and the Governor of the Bank of England have both stressed that the human person must be at the centre of the global economy. Pope Francis addressed a closed-door conference organised by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace held in Rome on July 11-12. Bank of England governor Mark Carney was one of Read more
On sex and money, Pope Francis sets his course
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2014
As anyone who paid attention in history class knows, when Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés landed in what’s now Mexico in 1519, he promptly scuttled his ships, thereby leaving his men no choice but to press on in conquest of the Aztec empire. For centuries, that rash act has loomed as an object lesson in total Read more
Pope doesn’t want to convert Evangelicals to Catholicism
Friday, July 18th, 2014
Pope Francis has reportedly told a Protestant leader that he is not interested in converting evangelical Christians to Catholicism. Writing of his recent visit to Pope Francis with other leaders, World Evangelical Alliance global ambassador Brian Stiller said he asked the Pontiff what he felt about evangelism. Stiller said the Pope’s comment was: “I’m not Read more
Pope Francis’s encyclical on environment expected in early 2015
Friday, July 18th, 2014An encyclical by Pope Francis on creation and respect for the environment is expected to be released in early 2015. Pope Francis has reportedly spent months drafting his new encyclical. In March, during an audience with superiors from the Franciscan order, the Pope expressed how much this topic concerns him, and asked them for advice. Order Read more