Welcome to the club: Cardinal-elders talk about Pope's 80th birthday
VATICAN CITY – Three years ago Pope Francis described retired Pope Benedict XVI as being like a wise grandfather, although there is less than 10 years' difference in their ages; today, Pope Francis tends to include himself in the category of grandfatherly figures.
Drugs a 'new form of slavery', says Pope at Vatican workshop
VATICAN CITY – Drug addiction is a contemporary form of slavery, Pope Francis lamented Thursday, emphasizing that a rehabilitation which restores victims' joy and dignity is much needed.
Innovative approach needed to stem drug use, speakers say at Pontifical Academy
VATICAN CITY – The growing problem of drug abuse and increasingly creative and sophisticated ways suppliers reach users call for increased cooperation in preventing and stopping substance abuse, said several speakers at a Vatican-sponsored workshop.
Pope extends special Year of Mercy provisions, including mandate on abortion
VATICAN CITY – Initiatives undertaken during the special Year of Mercy must continue, including granting absolution to those who confess to having an abortion, Pope Francis said.
Year of Mercy affirmed dignity, sacredness of life, Pope says
VATICAN CITY – Visiting young women rescued from forced prostitution and meeting with a mother inconsolable over the loss of one of her newborn triplets are images from the Year of Mercy that Pope Francis said remain impressed on his heart.
Pope calls new cardinals to be agents of unity in divided world
VATICAN CITY – The Catholic Church's 17 new cardinals must dedicate their lives to being ministers of forgiveness and reconciliation in a world – and sometimes a church – often marked by hostility and division, Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis dismisses critics of his teachings
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis is defending his efforts to make the Catholic Church more open and pastoral in its ministry, telling an interviewer that his opponents have a legalistic mindset about Christianity that only sees the faith in “black or white.”
Pope tells bishops to have compassion on those with failed marriages
VATICAN CITY - On Friday Pope Francis stopped by a formation course for bishops on the new marriage nullity process, telling attendees that as bishops, and now as local judges in annulment cases, they must pursue the truth, but never exclude those whose marriages have failed.
Pope Francis, the ultimate headhunter
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis is often referred to as the “Pope of surprises” for many reasons. One of them is the unexpected churchmen he chooses to elevate to the rank of cardinal, as he will do with 16 bishops and an elderly priest on Saturday (Nov. 19) in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Cardinal Ouellet tells U.S. bishops to be 'witnesses to the Risen One'
BALTIMORE – Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Bishops, told the U.S. bishops that their ministry is to be "witnesses to the Risen One."
Time of mercy: Holy doors close, but mission of mercy continues
VATICAN CITY – The Year of Mercy brought more than 20 million pilgrims to Rome, but for Pope Francis, the idea always was that the celebration of God's mercy would be local: have people experience God's love in their parishes and send them out into the world to commit random acts of mercy.