Vatican City, Sep 27, 2021 / 09:00 am (CNA). Pope Francis decried abortion and euthanasia in a speech Monday in which he said that today's "throwaway culture" leads to the killing of children and discarding of the elderly.
Read moreVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis said the Second Vatican Council so shaped his theological and pastoral vision that perhaps he has not been as explicit as he should have been in highlighting those ties, especially when it comes to his contributions to Catholic social teaching.
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Pope Francis called on Mexicans to focus on the present and look to the future rather than dwelling on the past as the country celebrates the bicentennial of its independence. In a letter to Archbishop Rogelio Cabrera López of Monterrey, president of the Mexican bishops' conference, the pope said: "The anniversary you are celebrating invites not only looking to the past to strengthen your roots, but to also continue living in the present and building a future with hope and joy, reaffirming the values that have been constructed and identify you as people ... such as independence, unity and religion."
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne will take a "spiritual sabbatical" after a Vatican investigation found he did nothing illegal in his handling of clerical sex abuse allegations, but he did contribute to a "crisis of trust" in his archdiocese.
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LONDON (CNS) -- Two women who challenged the U.K. government over a law that allows abortion up to birth for disabled babies have vowed to take their case to appeal after it was dismissed by the High Court.
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WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- Catholic leaders from Eastern Europe pledged closer cooperation against sexual abuse by clergy, despite different levels of preparedness, at the region's first international child protection conference.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A living faith draws strength from remembering the past while continuing to grow in love of God and service to others, Pope Francis said. The pope said he saw that kind of faith on display Sept. 12-15 as he visited Hungary and Slovakia.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Jesus' death on the cross calls Christians to focus on helping the vulnerable rather than defending contentious agendas, Pope Francis said. In a letter to participants at a congress hosted by the Passionist Fathers, the pope said the saving power "unleashed by the weakness of the cross reveals to theology the importance of an approach that knows how to combine the loftiness of reason with the humility of the heart."
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Visitors, tourists and employees who want to enter Vatican territory will be required beginning Oct. 1 to show proof of vaccination, recovery from the coronavirus or a negative COVID-19 test.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- To listen to the Holy Spirit, members of the church must listen to each other and especially to those who are marginalized, Pope Francis said, explaining how dioceses are to help the church prepare for the Synod of Bishops.
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ROME (CNS) -- Italy's highest court of appeal has ruled that public school classrooms can approve the presence of the crucifix because it does not discriminate against anyone. The court specified, however, that all religious symbols can also be "welcomed" as long as it is decided in a democratic, civil and "gentle" manner by students and faculty together.
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Vatican City, Sep 16, 2021 / 09:15 am (CNA). Pope emeritus Benedict XVI has said that the legalization of same-sex marriage in many countries is "a distortion of conscience" which has also entered some Catholic circles.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Getting to be a ripe old age is a privilege, Pope Francis told older priests. If facing an illness, that too, becomes a privilege in that one resembles Jesus, "who suffers, and one carries the cross, just like him," he said in a written letter.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis praised Catholic lay movements and associations for living out the Gospel in their everyday lives and for promoting education, social support and evangelization in the world's peripheries.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- On paper, Pope Francis' apostolic visit to Hungary and Slovakia was pretty standard as papal trips go: outdoor Masses, meeting with dignitaries, visiting poor and marginalized populations and of course, answering questions from journalists aboard the papal flight.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A complete rebuild and expansion of the living quarters for the Swiss Guard will not only improve life for guards and their families, it will also allow for the future possibility of recruiting women.
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AACHEN, Germany (CNS) -- As Catholics in Germany prepare for their second Synodal Assembly, Aachen Bishop Helmut Dieser has appealed for open debate to be held within the auspices of the Synodal Path reform project and not in the media, on the internet or other platforms.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has named Dominican Father Albino Barrera, an economist and theologian, as a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Father Barrera, 65, is a professor of economics and theology at Providence College of Providence, Rhode Island, and he has a joint appointment with the theology department, where he teaches Christian social ethics.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Consecrated life is not doomed to die out, Pope Francis told a group of Discalced Carmelites. "These pessimistic views are destined to be disproved, as are those about the church herself, because the consecrated life is an integral part of the church," he said.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Religious leaders must courageously cooperate in supporting each other in opposing hatred and promoting peace, Pope Francis said. "As religious leaders, I believe that, first of all, we must serve the truth and declare what is evil when it is evil, without fear or pretense, even and especially when it is committed by those who profess to follow the same creed as us," he said in a written message to those taking part in the G20 Interfaith Forum in Bologna, Italy, Sept. 12-14.
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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (CNS) -- Slovakia's tradition of hospitality along with its witness of faith amid persecution must be at the forefront of government policies and the Catholic Church's engagement with the faithful, Pope Francis said.
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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (CNS) -- Hundreds of men, women and children gathered on the tarmac of Bratislava international airport Sept. 12 to welcome Pope Francis for a visit of less than 72 hours. As Pope Francis made his way down the steps of the plane, the crowd, some of whom were dressed in traditional Slovak clothing, waved yellow and white flags and cheered. Two children presented him with bread and salt, a traditional gift presented to honored guests.
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Violence in Haiti not only complicates earthquake relief, it threatens the future of the country, said the U.S. priest-founder of a medical mission and orphanage in Haiti. "Everyone without exception is at risk," Passionist Father Richard Frechette said of the security situation in Haiti.
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WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- The president of the Spanish bishops' conference has appealed for a former Catalan bishop to have his privacy respected, following media reports he moved in with an erotic fiction writer two weeks after resigning his see.
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HONG KONG (CNS) -- A new bishop has been installed in China's Wuhan Diocese, making him the latest to be ordained under a deal between the Vatican and the communist state. Franciscan Father Francis Cui Qingqi was ordained bishop of Wuhan in central China's Hubei province Sept. 8, with the approval of both the state and the church, reported ucanews.com.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- There is no place for discrimination or divisive distinctions among people who believe in Christ, Pope Francis said during his weekly general audience. That everyone is made new and equal in Christ overcomes all ethnic, economic and social differences, even between the two sexes, "establishing an equality between man and woman which was revolutionary at the time and which needs to be reaffirmed even today," he said Sept. 8 to those gathered in the Paul VI audience hall at the Vatican.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- After a top court in El Salvador ruled that a president can seek a second term, even though it's against the constitution, the country's only cardinal called on the world to help preserve democracy.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican has issued the preparatory document and a "handbook" for dioceses as part of the global church's preparation for the 2023 assembly of the Synod of Bishops, discussing the theme, "For a synodal church: communion, participation and mission."
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BUDAPEST, Hungary (CNS) -- The ultimate purpose of the Eucharist is mission, Mary Healy, a professor of Sacred Scripture at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, told the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress.
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BEIRUT (CNS) -- Lebanon's Maronite Catholic bishops warned that the future of the crisis-stricken country is "a matter of life or death," as the dire situation continues to unravel. In a statement following their Sept. 1 monthly meeting, the bishops denounced "the systematic humiliation of citizens" whether in banks, or in endless lines at gasoline stations, or with the lack of medicine and other essentials.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Increasing calls to legalize euthanasia in several European countries, as well as the disregard for vulnerable people and the unborn, are signs of a "throwaway culture" that is gaining ground across the continent, Pope Francis said.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis said he plans to make several papal trips before the end of the year, including to Scotland in early November to attend the U.N. Climate Change Conference. During an interview broadcast Sept. 1 with COPE, the radio station owned by the Spanish bishops' conference, the pope was asked if he planned to attend the meeting, known as COP26, in Glasgow.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While financial reforms in the Vatican are progressing steadily, cases involving corruption and malfeasance in the Eternal City are "a disease that we relapse into," Pope Francis said.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Redemption is the work of God, not of human beings, so be careful and do not listen to "fundamentalists" who claim holiness comes through following certain laws, Pope Francis said during his weekly general audience.
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Two weeks after Haiti's Aug. 14 earthquake, the country's southwest peninsula is still marked by funerals, aftershocks and a daily search for clean water, food and shelter. "One of the things that really struck me two weeks out is the number of funerals -- everywhere you go there are funerals, as people are burying their loved ones, and it brings a sense of overwhelming grief when that many people pass away; it is very striking," said Beth Carroll, head of programs for Catholic Relief Services in Haiti.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Complaining is a poison that causes anger, resentment and sadness, and closes one's heart to God, Pope Francis said. "Let us ask in prayer for the grace not to waste time polluting the world with complaints, because this is not Christian," the pope told those gathered in St. Peter's Square Aug. 29 during his Sunday Angelus address.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With increased violence unfolding in Afghanistan, Pope Francis appealed to all Christians to fast and intensify their prayers. "I ask everyone to continue to help the needy and to pray that dialogue and solidarity may lead to the establishment of a peaceful and fraternal coexistence and offer hope for the country's future," he said, after praying the Angelus with visitors in St. Peter's Square Aug. 29.
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