Vatican mum on details of Pope Francis meeting with Kim Davis
A Vatican spokesman said Wednesday morning that he does not deny that Pope Francis met with a Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses. “I do not deny that the meeting took place, but I have no comment to add,” Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said in a statement reported by Reuters. […]
Pope Francis, in Congress, Pleads for Unity on World’s Woes
Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics, challenged Congress and by extension the mightiest nation in the world on Thursday to break out of its cycle of paralysis and use its power to heal the “open wounds” of a planet torn by hatred, greed, poverty and pollution. Taking a rostrum never before […]
Will Pope Francis’ Policies Backfire?
As Pope Francis rounds out his nine-day trip to North America with a visit this weekend to Philadelphia and the 2015 World Meeting of Families, media coverage of his historic visit is instead centered on his remarks during the past week regarding climate change. From his discussion with Fidel Castro on Sunday, September 20 to […]
Pilgrims throng Philadelphia to see Pope Francis
Hundreds of thousands of Roman Catholics are making the pilgrimage to Philadelphia to see Pope Francis on the last leg of his first-ever visit to the United States, where they hoped to catch a glimpse of the popular pontiff at some point during his packed schedule — or even receive a blessing or healing touch. […]
Pope Francis meets survivors of priest sexual abuse and vows those responsible will be held to account
Pope Francis has revealed he has met victims of clergy sex abuse and vowed to hold accountable all of those involved in both the abuse and its cover-up. Taking on one of the most controversial issues to have rocked the Catholic church in many decades, the Pope told hundreds of bishops and seminarians that he had […]
Pope’s World and the Real World
Francis’s four-day visit to the United States was by any measure a personal and political triumph. The crowds were immense, and coverage of the Holy Father on television and in the print press swamped the state visit of Xi Jinping, the leader of the world’s second-greatest power. But how enduring, and how relevant, was […]
Pope: Workers Have ‘Human Right’ to Refuse Same-Sex Marriage Licenses
Pope Francis appeared to weigh in on the side of anti-gay-marriage clerk Kim Davis, saying government workers have a “human right” to refuse to carry out a duty if they have a “conscientious objection.” While returning from his visit to the U.S., the pontiff told reporters aboard the papal plane Monday that anyone who […]
Pope Francis: Jesus Christ’s life ended in failure, ‘failure of the cross’
And it diminishes the wonder of our first encounter with Christ. We can get caught up in measuring the value of our apostolic works by the standards of efficiency, good management and outward success, which govern the business world. Not that these things are unimportant, of course. But we have been entrusted with a […]
Pope calls for climate, migrant action in Congress speech
Pope Francis appealed to US lawmakers Thursday to help the poor, do more for suffering migrants around the world and fight climate change, pressing some of his trademark battles in a historic speech to Congress. A day after meeting with President Barack Obama and enjoying a rapturous welcome from thousands of people on the […]
Cheers from all sides for first papal address to Congress
Wading into bitter disputes, Pope Francis urged a divided Congress and America on Thursday to welcome immigrants, abolish the death penalty, share the nation’s immense wealth and fight global warming. Lawmakers gave rousing ovations to the leader of the world’s Catholics despite obvious disagreements over some of his pleas. After he addressed Congress, the […]