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FAITH/STORIES

Pope Francis receives a statue of the baby Jesus that he will carry to the Nativity scene at the end of Christmas Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Dec. 24, 2023.
December 27, 2023

At Christmas, God shows love through 'littleness,' not power, Pope Francis says

More than two millennia after the Holy Family was denied a room at the inn and Jesus was born in a manger, war once again renders his birthplace in the Holy Land inhospitable, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis shares a laugh with Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, right, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Msgr. Armando Matteo, secretary of the dicastery's doctrinal section, during a meeting in the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Dec. 18, 2023.

Doctrinal dicastery explains how, when gay couples can be blessed

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A Catholic priest can bless a gay or other unmarried couple as long as it is not a formal liturgical blessing and does not give the impression that the Catholic Church is blessing the union as if it were a marriage, the Vatican doctrinal office said.

Pope Francis waves to the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican to pray the Angelus with him Dec. 17, 2023.
December 18, 2023

Pope Francis condemns targeting of unarmed civilians in Gaza

Pope Francis condemned the Israeli military's killing of two Christian women sheltering at a Catholic parish in Gaza and an attack on a convent, noting that in the current fighting "unarmed civilians are targets for bombs and gunfire."

Venerando Marano and Giuseppe Pignatone, judges of the Vatican City State court, prepare to read their verdict in the trial of Cardinal Angelo Becciu and nine others on charges of financial malfeasance Dec. 16, 2023, in a makeshift courtroom at the Vatican Museums.

Cardinal Becciu, five others sentenced to prison at Vatican trial

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The Vatican City State criminal court sentenced Cardinal Angelo Becciu to five years and six months in prison on two counts of embezzlement and one of aggravated fraud but found him not guilty of abuse of office or witness tampering.

Pope Francis is seen speaking in this screen grab from an interview with Mexican news outlet N+ Dec. 12, 2023.

Pope Francis plans to be buried outside the Vatican, is simplifying papal funeral rites

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Pope Francis said he has decided to be buried in Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major instead of in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican and that he has simplified the rites for a papal funeral.

Pope Francis and leaders of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops applaud at the conclusion of the gathering's last working session Oct. 28, 2023, in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican.

Synod council to ask Pope Francis to authorize studies on key synod topics

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The council of the Synod of Bishops will ask Pope Francis to authorize studies on the need to update canon law, revise the rules for priestly formation, deepen a theological reflection on the diaconate -- including the possibility of ordaining women deacons -- and consider revising a document that provides norms for the relationship of a bishop with members of religious orders in his diocese.

Pope Francis walks through Rome's Prima Porta cemetery in this file photo from Nov. 2, 2016, the feast of All Souls.

Vatican offers further guidance on handling cremains

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The Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has upheld a rule mandating that the ashes of the deceased be preserved in a consecrated place, but it also said family members could request "a minimal part of the ashes" be kept in a sacred place "of significance for the history of the deceased person."

Pope Francis meets with the members of his renewed Council of Cardinals at the Vatican April 24, 2023. Pictured, clockwise from the left, are: Cardinals Gérald C. Lacroix of Québec; Juan José Omella Omella of Barcelona; Seán P. O'Malley of Boston; Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa, Congo; and Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state. Continuing, to the right of the pope are: Bishop Marco Mellino, council secretary; and Cardinals Sérgio da Rocha of São Salvador da Bahia, Brazil; Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India; Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, president of the commission governing Vatican City State; and Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg.

Pope Francis, Council of Cardinals discussed the role of women in the church

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With the input of two women and a priest, Pope Francis and members of his international Council of Cardinals discussed the role of women in the Catholic Church.

U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke is pictured after receiving Communion during the funeral Mass for Australian Cardinal George Pell in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 14, 2023.

Pope Francis planning to withdraw Cardinal Burke's Vatican salary, sources say

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Pope Francis told the prefects of Vatican dicasteries that he saw no reason for the Vatican to continue giving U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke a monthly salary and questioned why the Vatican should be providing him with a free apartment in Rome, various sources have confirmed.

Pope Francis gives his blessing to people gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican and watching a livestream of the midday Angelus prayer Nov. 26, 2023. The pope did not go to his window overlooking the square because, he said, he had a "problem with inflammation of my lungs."

For health reasons, Pope Francis cancels COP28 trip

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"With great regret," Pope Francis has accepted his doctors' advice to not travel to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Dec. 1-3 and is looking at alternative ways the Vatican can participate in the U.N. Climate Change Conference, the director of the Vatican press office said.

Pope Francis gives his blessing to people gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican and watching a livestream of the midday Angelus prayer Nov. 26, 2023. The pope did not go to his window overlooking the square because, he said, he had a "problem with inflammation of my lungs."

Pope Francis leads Angelus from his residence because of illness

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Explaining that he had a "problem with inflammation of my lungs," Pope Francis led the recitation of the Angelus prayer from the chapel of his residence rather than from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square.

Irme Stetter-Karp, president of the Central Committee of German Catholics and co-chair of the Synodal Path, and Bishop Georg Bätzing, president of the German bishops' conference, attend the fifth synodal assembly in Frankfurt March 9, 2023.

Pope Francis sees threat of church in Germany moving away from Rome

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Pope Francis expressed his concern about concrete initiatives individual dioceses and the Catholic Church in Germany as a whole are taking, including the establishment of a synodal council, which, he said, threaten to steer it away from the universal church.

The Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican Gardens is seen in this file photo from February 2013 when it was undergoing remodeling to serve as the residence of retired Pope Benedict XVI.

Pope Francis returns Mater Ecclesiae Monastery to use by contemplative nuns

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Pope Francis has invited a community of Benedictine nuns from Argentina to move into the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican Gardens, renewing the building's purpose as home to a cloistered community of women dedicated to supporting the pope's ministry with their prayer.

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