Pope Francis assured one of the world’s smallest Catholic communities, Mongolia, that size does not matter to God. “God loves littleness, and through it, he loves to accomplish great things,” Pope Francis said during an address in Mongolia at Ulaanbaatar’s Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul on September 2. Doubling down, he urged the Church Read more
A group of homeless men joined “the pope’s team,” on 30 August and helped to unload a truck full of humanitarian supplies for Ukraine. The following day they received a personal thanks from Pope Francis. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner confirmed that the Pope was aware of the men’s hard work. “I asked them Read more
Pope Francis on Sunday told Mongolian Catholics that only love can truly satisfy our hearts’ thirst. In his historic first visit to Mongolia, the pope spoke to about 2,000 people at Ulaanbaatar’s Steppe Arena and emphasised God’s presence in difficult times. Francis drew parallels with life in Mongolia, where about 30% of the land is Read more
The Catholic Church in New Zealand is setting its sights on introducing an inclusive lectionary for Mass. Improved translations for the opening and post-Communion prayers are also under consideration. The initiative was confirmed by Bishop Stephen Lowe, president of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference and the bishops’ representative on the International Commission on English Read more
Messages saying Pope Francis is the anti-pope have appeared in the sky above Italy’s most populated beaches this summer. Small planes are being used to deliver them. “Benedict is in sedes impedita” another message said. That was delivered over 350 kilometres of the Adriatic coast on Sunday. It referred to a term known within the Read more
The synod on synodality could cause a schism in the Church, a leading conservative Catholic cardinal says. A new book, “The Synodal Process Is a Pandora’s Box: 100 Questions and Answers,” addresses the “serious situation” brought on by the synod, Cardinal Raymond Burke (pictured, centre) says. Pope Francis is risking confusion and even schism in Read more
Important characteristics for Christians include being open to change while firm in faith, says Pope Francis. But that is not the same as being rigid and unwilling to bend out of compassion for another. Speaking to a crowd in St Peter’s Square before reciting the Angelus on Sunday, he said God is love and “the Read more
Pope Francis keeps repeating that the upcoming synod is not a parliament. For him, the synod is not a forum for competing positions to debate each other with a goal of developing new policies or effecting structural changes in the church. Similarly, when Pope John XXIII convoked the Second Vatican Council in 1962, he did Read more
A Vatican delegate has told a congregation from India’s Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church that they were either “with the pope or against him”. “Move away from the illegal Mass the archdiocese has been following, where the celebrant faces the people,” Archbishop Cyril Vasil (pictured) told the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese laity and priests at Mass last week. Read more
The Catholic Church is open to everyone, including the LGBTQ+ community, Pope Francis affirms. The Church has a duty to accompany gay people on a personal path of spirituality, providing that accompaniment is within the framework of the Catholic Church rules, he told reporters on the plane returning to Rome from World Youth Day (WYD) Read more