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FAITH/STORIES

Pope Francis embraces a woman as he greets disabled people during his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 9, 2014. In a letter marking the U.N.'s International Day of Persons with Disabilities Dec. 3, 2019, the pope said humanity needs to "develop antibodies against a culture that considers some lives as class A and others as class B; this is a social sin!"

Defend dignity of persons with disabilities, Pope Francis says

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VATICAN CITY -- The dignity and rights of people with disabilities are increasingly threatened by a society that discriminates and views them as a burden, Pope Francis said.

Iraqi demonstrators throw stones towards security forces during ongoing anti-government protests in Baghdad Nov. 29, 2019. Pope Francis said after the Angelus Dec. 1 he was concerned and saddened following two months of protests in Iraq that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people.
December 2, 2019

Pope Francis offers prayers amid deadly protests in Iraq

VATICAN CITY-- Pope Francis said he was concerned and saddened following two months of protests in Iraq that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people.

"I pray for the dead and the wounded; I am close to their families and to the entire people of Iraq, calling upon God for peace and harmony," the pope said Dec. 1 after praying the Angelus prayer with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.

The pope's remarks came nearly four days after Iraqi security forces fired on unarmed protesters, leading to the deaths of 25 people and the wounding of dozens more, according to Amnesty International.

Since the protests began Oct. 1, an estimated 400 demonstrators have been killed. Protesters have expressed anger at government authorities for widespread financial mismanagement, corruption and increasing poverty in the country.

The protests resulted in the resignation of Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi Dec. 1 and for calls by international observers for investigations into the killing of protesters.

Iraqi Cardinal Louis Sako, Chaldean Catholic patriarch, expressed his "solidarity with Iraqi Shias and Sunnis" and his concern for those who died or were wounded in the protests, said a statement on the patriarchate's website. He asked all Catholics to pray for the country at Masses Dec. 1.

Cardinal Sako, in the statement posted Nov. 30, said he hoped that "the blood that has been shed as a price" for a free, dignified and secure life in Iraq, will be the seeds of an effort "to build a homeland of justice and independence, in which no one would be oppressed or treated unfairly."

Pope Francis accepts offertory gifts as he celebrates a Mass for the Congolese Catholic community in Rome in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Dec. 1, 2019. The Mass included elements of Congolese culture.

Pope Francis celebrates Mass with Congolese at St. Peter's

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VATICAN CITY -- The sounds of ululations and drums and a litany of saints filled St. Peter's Basilica Dec. 1 as Pope Francis celebrated Mass according to what is commonly called the Zairean Rite.

Franciscan Father Rami Asakrieh holds a reliquary containing what is believed to be a small fragment of Jesus' crib Dec. 1, 2019, in the Franciscan Church of St. Catherine, which is adjacent to the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank. Pope Francis gave the relic fragment to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, which oversees the main churches and shrines associated with the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Pope Francis returns part of relic of Jesus' crib to Holy Land

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VATICAN CITY -- As Advent approached, Pope Francis gave a small fragment of Jesus' crib back to Catholics in the Holy Land.

Pope Francis prays during a visit to the Nativity scene of Greccio, Italy, Dec. 1, 2019. The first Nativity scene was assembled in Greccio by St. Francis of Assisi in 1223.

Pope Francis encourages faithful to set up Nativity scenes

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VATICAN CITY -- A Nativity scene is a simple reminder of something astonishing: God became human to reveal the greatness of his love "by smiling and opening his arms to all," Pope Francis said in a letter on the meaning and importance of setting up Christmas cribs.

Bishop Brian Dunn, Catholic co-chair of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue in Canada.

Dialogue continues on path of co-operation

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Catholics and Anglicans in Canada have been working on their relationship ever since Gen. James Wolfe surprised Gen. Louis-Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham in the fall of 1759.

Pope Francis leads his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.

Pope Francis to theologians: 'Don't confuse the faithful'

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VATICAN CITY -- Theologians must explore and debate disputed questions, at times even taking "risks" with what they propose, but those discussions should take place within the academy so as not to confuse the faithful, Pope Francis said.

The tower of the Institute for the Works of Religion, often referred to as the Vatican bank, is pictured Oct. 2, 2019. The Vatican said in a statement Nov. 27 that the Pope Francis had named Carmelo Barbagallo as the new head of the watchdog Financial Intelligence Authority, known by the Italian acronym AIF.

Pope Francis names new head of Vatican financial agency

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VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis appointed a seasoned Italian finance inspector to lead the Vatican's financial watchdog agency following the resignation of its president.

November 27, 2019
Pope Francis leads his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Nov. 27, 2019.

Pope Francis prays for Albania after devastating earthquake

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis led prayers for the people of Albania after the country was struck by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake.

Pope Francis answers questions from reporters aboard his flight from Tokyo to Rome Nov. 26, 2019.

Pope Francis: Scandal shows financial reforms are working

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ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM JAPAN -- Questions about Vatican finances, especially those involving a real estate deal in London, are serious, but they also are a sign that reforms begun by Pope Benedict XVI are working, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis receives a welcome banner from the theology faculty at Jesuit-run Sophia University in Tokyo Nov. 26, 2019.

Pope Francis ends Japan trip with visit to Jesuit university

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TOKYO -- Pope Francis spent his last morning in Japan at the Jesuit-run Sophia University, celebrating Mass with his Jesuit confreres, visiting aged members of the Jesuit community and addressing students and staff.

Pope Francis greets people as he arrives for a meeting with victims of the 2011 "triple disaster" (earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant meltdown) at Bellesalle Hanzomon, Tokyo, Japan, Nov. 25, 2019.

Reverence for life must determine use of nuclear power, Pope Francis says

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TOKYO -- While not adopting the Japanese bishops' opposition to nuclear power plants as his own, Pope Francis insisted the 2011 meltdown at the Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Fukushima raises serious questions.

November 25, 2019
Pope Francis greets a baby as he arrives to celebrate Mass in Tokyo Dome in Tokyo Nov. 25, 2019.

Pope Francis in Japan: Powerful nations protect all life

TOKYO -- Beauty, creation and each human life are gifts of God to be treasured and shared, not enslaved to current societal ideas of what is valuable, perfect or productive, Pope Francis said at a Mass in the famous Tokyo Dome.

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