Pope Francis

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In Corsica, Pope Supports Popular Piety

Energetic and ad-libbing, Francis calls for a dynamic secularity

(Newser) - On the first papal visit ever to the French island of Corsica, Pope Francis on Sunday called for a dynamic form of laicism, promoting the kind of popular piety that distinguishes the Mediterranean island from secular France as a bridge between religious and civic society. Francis appeared relaxed and energized...

Pressure on Biden to Commute All Federal Death Sentences

Some fear the 40 inmates on federal death row risk hanging under Trump

(Newser) - No president has ever issued a mass commutation of federal death sentences, but that's exactly what advocates are asking of President Biden in his final days in office. Several letters asking Biden to commute the sentences of all 40 people on federal death row to life in prison without...

Pope Installs Largest Group Yet of Voting-Age Cardinals

Many are central to Francis' plans

(Newser) - Pope Francis on Saturday installed 21 new cardinals, many of whom are key figures in his agenda of change: a Dominican preacher who acted as the spiritual father for Francis' recent gathering of bishops, a Neapolitan "street priest" like himself, and a Peruvian bishop who has strongly backed his...

3 Coffins Won't Be Required When Pope Francis Dies

Francis will get the funeral 'of a shepherd ... and not of a powerful man of this world'

(Newser) - Pope Francis has revised the funeral rites that will be used when he dies, simplifying the rituals to emphasize his role as a mere bishop and allowing for burial outside the Vatican in keeping with his wishes. The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano on Wednesday published details of the updated...

Pope Wants Investigation of Israeli Campaign in Gaza

Francis raises 'genocide' in excerpt from new book

(Newser) - Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine whether Israel's attacks in Gaza constitute genocide, according to excerpts released Sunday from an upcoming book ahead of the pontiff's jubilee year. It's the first time that Francis has openly urged for an investigation of genocide allegations over...

Pope Uses Hashtags Wrong, but NFL's Saints Don't Mind

Francis kept using #Saints in his tweets, which tagged the team—and perhaps drove them to a rare win

(Newser) - Someone might want to give Pope Francis a social media primer, at least when it comes to hashtags. The pontiff has been tweeting about actual saints (people canonized by the church), but he's been including the #Saints hashtag along with many of his posts—which on X automatically calls...

Pope Names 21 Cardinals, Including a 99-Year-Old

Many come from 'the church's edges,' church historian says

(Newser) - Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals Sunday, significantly increasing the size of the College of Cardinals and further cementing his mark on the group of prelates who will one day elect his successor. They include a man who will be the oldest cardinal: Monsignor Angelo Acerbi, a 99-year-old retired Vatican...

Pope Pressures Bishops to Quit Covering Up Abuse

After leaving Belgium, Francis sticks to stances on women's issues that drew criticism

(Newser) - Pope Francis wrapped up a troubled visit to Belgium on Sunday by doubling down on his traditional views on women and abortion and demanding that Catholic bishops stop covering up for predator priests—a scandal that has devastated the church's credibility around the globe. Francis revisited the thorny topics...

University Slams Pope's Views on Women's Roles During Visit

Confrontation follows Belgian leaders' criticism over clerical sexual abuse

(Newser) - Pope Francis' burdensome trip through Belgium reached new lows on Saturday when Catholic university women demanded to his face a "paradigm change" on women's issues in the church and then expressed deep disappointment when Francis dug in. The Catholic Louvain University, the Francophone campus of Belgium's storied Catholic...

Belgium's King, PM Had Strong Words for Pope

'When something goes wrong we cannot accept cover-ups,' PM says of sex abuse scandals

(Newser) - Belgium's prime minister blasted Pope Francis for the Catholic Church's horrific legacy of clerical sex abuse and cover-ups, demanding "concrete steps" to come clean with the past and put victims' interests ahead those of the institution in a blistering welcome at the start of Francis' visit on...

Pope Allows Pilgrimages to Site of Reported Apparitions

Vatican, however, is not authenticating purported sightings of the Virgin Mary in Bosnia

(Newser) - The Vatican on Thursday gave the green light for Catholics to continue flocking to a southern Bosnian village where children reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary, per the AP . In a detailed analysis after nearly 15 years of study, the Vatican's doctrine office didn't declare that the...

Pope Francis Doesn't Like Either 2024 Candidate

Pontiff says Harris, Trump are both 'against life' and suggests people vote for 'the lesser of two evils'

(Newser) - Pope Francis would apparently like a third option when it comes to 2024 presidential candidates. Speaking to reporters Friday on a plane returning from Asia, the pope declared that both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are "against life," though for different reasons.
  • He summed up Trump and Harris,
...

Nearly Half of Small Nation Showed Up for Pope

About 600K faithful converged on park in East Timor to hear Francis speak

(Newser) - An estimated 600,000 people—nearly half of East Timor's population—packed a seaside park Tuesday for Pope Francis' final Mass, held on the same field where St. John Paul II prayed 35 years ago during the nation's fight for independence from Indonesia. The remarkable turnout was a...

Pope Keeps Promise to Visit 'Peripheries'

Francis takes message, aid to remote jungles of Papua New Guinea

(Newser) - Pope Francis traveled to the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea on Sunday to celebrate the Catholic Church on the peripheries, bringing with him a ton of medicine, musical instruments, and a message of love for the people who live there. Francis flew aboard a Royal Australian Air Force C-130...

Francis Kicks Off Longest Trip of His Papacy

Pope touches down in Indonesia first to start longest journey of his papacy

(Newser) - Pope Francis arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday at the start of the longest trip of his pontificate, hoping to encourage its Catholic community and celebrate the tradition of interfaith harmony in a country with the world's largest Muslim population. After an overnight flight from Rome, Francis was wheeled off...

In Asia and Oceania, Challenges Await Pope

20K-mile trip begins Monday, with relations with China in the background

(Newser) - If any evidence were needed to underscore that Pope Francis' upcoming trip to Asia and Oceania is the longest, farthest, and most challenging of his pontificate, it's that he's bringing along his secretaries to help him navigate the four-country program while keeping up with work back home. Francis...

Archbishop Excommunicated for the 'Crime of Schism'

In rare move, Vatican boots Carlo Maria Vigano for not recognizing Pope Francis, among other things

(Newser) - Carlo Maria Vigano used to be the Vatican's envoy to the United States. Today, he's a former archbishop, excommunicated on Friday in a rare move by the Holy See for refusing to recognize Pope Francis, among other things, per the Washington Post . On June 20, Vigano announced he'...

Russia Releases 10 Ukrainians Stuck Behind Bars for Years

After an intervention from Pope Francis

(Newser) - Ten Ukrainian civilians held prisoner for years by Russia arrived in Kyiv overnight Saturday after mediation via the Vatican, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said. They were freed Friday, per the AP . Some had been captured years before Russia's full-scale invasion. The pope has said the Holy See has been...

After Pope Uses Gay Slur, Pride Parade Celebrates It

Francis' image appears throughout Rome event

(Newser) - Participants in Rome's Pride celebration decided not to fight Pope Francis over his use of a gay slur. Instead, they made him a star in absentia in their parade Saturday, the New York Times reports: The pope's image appeared on T-shirts, hats, and cardboard cutouts. So did the...

Francis Raises Red Flag on Artificial Intelligence

Pope says human dignity should come first when dealing with AI

(Newser) - Pope Francis challenged leaders of the world's wealthy democracies on Friday to keep human dignity foremost in developing and using artificial intelligence, warning that such powerful technology risks turning human relations themselves into mere algorithms. Francis brought his moral authority to bear on the Group of Seven, invited by...

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