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FAITH/STORIES

The Nativity scene and Christmas tree decorate St. Peter's Square after a lighting ceremony at the Vatican Dec. 3, 2022.
December 5, 2022

Keep the creche in Christmas, Pope Francis urges

Stopping to gaze at and perhaps pray before a Nativity scene is one of the best ways to remember the real meaning of Christmas, Pope Francis said.

Jesuit Father Michel Fédou, professor of dogmatic theology and patristics at the Centre Sèvres of Paris, and Joseph H. H. Weiler, a professor of law at New York University School of Law, stand on either side of Pope Francis after receiving the Ratzinger Prize in theology from him Dec. 1, 2022, at the Vatican.

Pope Francis pays tribute to predecessor, honours Ratzinger Prize winners

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Presenting the Ratzinger Prize to a French Jesuit theologian and a Jewish law professor, Pope Francis paid tribute to his predecessor and his theological work.

Jesuit Father Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, is pictured in an undated photo. Father Guerrero has resigned for health reasons. Pope Francis has appointed the office's general secretary to succeed him.

Prefect of Vatican economy office steps down, citing illness

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Three years after Pope Francis appointed him to speed up financial reforms, transparency and budget controls at the Vatican, Jesuit Father Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves has resigned for health reasons.

Pope Francis greets Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople at Sakhir Palace in Awali, Bahrain, in this Nov. 4, 2022, file photo. In a letter to Patriarch Bartholomew, Pope Francis said Christians must acknowledge how sin has exacerbated divisions and how growing in holiness is part of the search for Christian unity.

Overcoming Christian divisions would give world hope, Pope Francis tells patriarch

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While formal dialogue about the theological and historical causes of the splits in Christianity are essential, so, too, is a recognition that "sinful actions and attitudes" have contributed and continue to contribute to divisions in the body of Christ, Pope Francis said.

Members of the central anti-crime directorate of the Italian state police listen to Pope Francis during an audience in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Nov. 26, 2022. The pope spoke to the officers about the importance of education, prevention and swift justice in fighting violence against women.

Violence against women is a 'scourge,' Pope Francis says

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Violence against women is "a social scourge that is also linked to cultural attitudes, ingrained mentalities and prejudices," so education, prevention and swifter justice are needed to end it, Pope Francis said.

Curia officials -- Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state; and Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops – meet Nov. 18, 2022, with the bishops of Germany making their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican. Other heads of Vatican dicasteries also attended the meeting across the street from the Vatican at the Augustinianum Institute for Patristic Studies.

Cardinals Ladaria, Ouellet outline concerns about German Synodal Path

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Top Vatican officials expressed concern that, with the Synodal Path, the German bishops were giving up their role as shepherds and allowing participants to adopt positions in contrast to the faith of the universal church, particularly regarding sexuality and women's ordination.

The statue of Our Lady of Sheshan is pictured in a file photo atop the minor basilica in her name in Shanghai. The Vatican has issued a statement protesting a Chinese decision to create a new diocese and to transfer a bishop appointed by Pope Francis.

Vatican notes 'surprise and regret' over China's transfer of a bishop

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In an unusual move, the Vatican issued a public statement of regret, essentially accusing the Chinese government of violating its agreement with the Vatican over the appointment of Catholic bishops.

Vatican Judge Giuseppe Pignatone listens during the third session of the trial of six defendants -- including Cardinal Angelo Becciu -- accused of financial crimes at the Vatican City State criminal court Nov. 17, 2021.

Cardinal Becciu secretly recorded call with Pope Francis, Vatican prosecutor says

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After learning that Cardinal Angelo Becciu and a relative of his secretly recorded a phone call with Pope Francis, the Vatican's chief prosecutor said his office is considering a new charge -- one of criminal conspiracy -- against the cardinal, who has been on trial since July 2021 for financial malfeasance.

Pope Francis, speaking at his weekly general audience Nov. 23, 2022, prayed for peace in Ukraine and remembered the millions of Ukrainian victims of the 1932-33 Holodomor, a Soviet-engineered famine.

Pope Francis writes to Ukrainians after nine months of conflict

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Nine months after Russia launched its war on Ukraine, Pope Francis wrote to the Ukrainian people expressing his admiration for their courage and commitment to their country in the face of so much death and destruction.

Cardinal Peter Turkson, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, is seen in a file photo from a news conference at the Vatican Dec. 21, 2021. Under the cardinal's leadership, the academy published a document encouraging Catholic institutions to integrate the church's social teaching into their investment policies.

Vatican offers guidelines for investing in a way consistent with faith

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No investment of money is morally neutral; "either God's kingdom is being advanced by the assets we deploy, or it is being neglected and undermined," said a new Vatican document.

Pope Francis shakes hands with Catholicos Awa III, patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, at the end of a meeting Nov. 19, 2022, in the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican.

Pope Francis tells patriarch Catholics are ready for a common Easter date

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Meeting the U.S.-born patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Pope Francis expressed his hope that Christians of the East and West could finally agree on a common date for celebrating Easter.

November 2, 2022
Pope Francis prays during a memorial Mass for cardinals and bishops who have died over the past year, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Nov. 2, 2022, All Souls' Day.

Showing love, mercy are key to entering heaven, Pope Francis says on All Souls' Day

As Christians await their death and the final judgment of God, the Gospel tells them what they must do to be welcomed into heaven: love others because God is love, Pope Francis said.

October 26, 2022
Pope Francis listens to Korean Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect of the Dicastery for Clergy, at the beginning of a meeting with hundreds of seminarians and priests studying in Rome, in the Vatican audience hall, Oct. 24, 2022.

The devil enters through pornography, Pope Francis tells young priests, seminarians

After telling a funny story about receiving a cellphone decades ago that was "as big as a shoe," Pope Francis went on to encourage young priests and seminarians to use technology and social media, but to avoid pornography at all costs.

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