FAITH/STORIES
Vatican astronomer: If you're afraid of science, you don't have faith
By Hannah Brockhaus, CNA/EWTN NewsVATICAN CITY – The Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, who has worked as an astronomer and planetary scientist at the Vatican for more than 20 years, told journalists Monday that faith and reason are hardly at odds.
VATICAN CITY – It’s rare to see Pope Francis bopping behind the walls of the Apostolic Palace.
Actually, if anyone has ever seen any pope dancing they've never said anything, nor filmed it and .
Yet there was Francis with a smile on his face, grooving to the music with a delegation of Hasidic Jews at the Vatican this week as they serenaded him with guitars and a chant in Hebrew of "Long years shall satiate him."
If Francis was swaying more than dancing, well, the Argentine Pope's tastes run more to tango. And he is 80 years old and has a sore back.
Still, when Yeshiva World News posted the brief video to YouTube it quickly became something of a sensation.
The encounter took place during a 45-minute papal audience on Monday (May 8) with a delegation led by Polish Rabbi Edgar Gluck, who was accompanied by his son Zvi, who lives in New York, and other rabbis.
While the Pope warmed to the traditional Jewish music and dance, the delegation also discussed issues of common concern, including the protection of Jewish cemeteries in Europe and fighting child sex abuse.
After the meeting, Zvi Gluck tweeted that the Pope had told him and the delegation:
“Zero tolerance” Said Pope Francis, “We need to keep kids safe.”
Zvi Gluck is the founder and director of Amudim, an organization dedicated to helping victims of sexual and substance abuse and other problems in the Jewish community.
His 80-year-old father, Edgar Gluck, is the chief rabbi of Galicia and divides his time between Poland and the U.S.
The elder Gluck has been involved in preserving Jewish cemeteries in Eastern Europe for many years and discussed the issue when he met Francis during his official visit to Poland for World Youth Day in July 2016.
Gluck previously served as a member of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad.
“Zero tolerance" Said Pope Francis, “We need to keep kids safe" to myself, my father and members of delegation, at meeting in the Vatican pic.twitter.com/RWHlFIv7ob
— Zvi Gluck (@zgluck) May 8, 2017
VATICAN CITY – Two months after bishops of the Melkite Catholic Church declared they had reconciled with each other and found a way to move forward together, the Vatican announced Pope Francis had accepted the resignation of Melkite Patriarch Gregoire III Laham.
Pope's homily: Let us receive the Holy Spirit with docility
“Let us receive the Holy Spirit with docility!” This was Pope Francis’ message during his Tuesday morning homily during Mass celebrated in the Vatican’s Santa Marta residence.
Pope's homily: Watch out against the sin of resisting the Holy Spirit
Watch out against the sin of resisting the Holy Spirit and always be open to the surprises of God. This was the exhortation of Pope Francis in his homily at Mass, Monday morning, in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. He was commenting on the episode of the Acts of the Apostles where St. Peter confronts the first Christian community regarding being open to pagans who joined the Church. Reflecting on the Acts of the Apostles episode, the Pope stressed that Holy Spirit always moves the Church and the Christian community.
Benedict XVI: The Green Pope
By Mary Rezac, CNA/EWTN NewsVATICAN CITY – There once was a Pope called “The Green Pope.”
Pope to future Romanian priests: seminary is your 'gym' for ministry
By Hannah Brockhaus, CNA/EWTN NewsVATICAN CITY – On Friday Pope Francis told seminarians studying in Rome to resist complacency and to think of their studies as strength training for their hearts and wills, preparing them for service to others.
Pope prays for reconciliation, justice and peace in Africa in monthly video
By CNA/EWTN NewsVATICAN CITY – In the prayer video for May, Pope Francis challenged the Catholic community to pray that the continent's Christians will witness to reconciliation, justice, and peace.
Pope's homily: There are rigid people living double life in Church
Even now there are people in the Church who use rigidity to cover-up their own sins. That was the warning of Pope Francis at the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta. Commenting on the first Reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, the Pope focused on the figure of Saint Paul who, from being a rigid persecutor, became a meek and patient proclaimer of the Gospel.
Pope Francis to meet Trump at Vatican May 24
By Catholic News ServiceWASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump will visit the Vatican and meet with Pope Francis May 24 as part of his first foreign trip as president.
We must not be afraid of reform, Pope tells Vatican media office
By Carol Glatz, Catholic News ServiceVATICAN CITY – To best respond to new challenges in the field of communication, the Vatican needs smart, courageous teamwork, not nostalgia for a glorious past or doomsday forecasts, Pope Francis said.
Pope advances sainthood causes of U.S. priest, Vietnamese cardinal
By Carol Glatz, Catholic News ServiceVATICAN CITY – Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of Wisconsin-born Capuchin Father Solanus Casey, five religious, four laypeople and two cardinals, including Vietnamese Cardinal Francois Nguyen Van Thuan.
Pope's homily: Church should evangelize, go out, listen, rejoice
The Church should be on its feet and on the journey, listening to the restlessness of the people, and always with joy. That was the message of Pope Francis this morning in the homily for the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.