Pope News

Pope opens doors to transsexual dubbed 'devil's daughter'

- Pope Francis has met a Spanish transsexual and his fiancée at the Vatican, opening his doors to a man dubbed "the devil's daughter" by a local priest, media reports said Tuesday.

Beggars taken off the streets for Philippines papal visit

Manila - The Philippines government came under fire Friday after admitting that hundreds of homeless people were taken off Manila's streets and put into luxury accommodation during Pope Francis's recent visit, when he preached compassion for the poor.

Pope sees 'shadows and dangers' amid Vatican attack fears

- Pope Francis on Thursday told Italian police officers in charge of security around the Vatican that he saw "shadows and dangers", but urged them not to give in to fear.

Pope rows back from 'rabbits' comments, praises large families

- Pope Francis on Wednesday described large families as a "gift from God", just days after he said Catholics did not need to "breed like rabbits".

Pope Francis leaves door open to Dalai Lama meeting

Rome - Pope Francis left the door open to a meeting with the Dalai Lama, denying that he refused to receive the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader in December over fears of upsetting China.

Pope says Catholics do not need to breed 'like rabbits'

Rome - Pope Francis has said that good Catholics do not have to breed "like rabbits", defending the Church's stance on artificial contraception and appealing to the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics to practise responsible parenting.

Pope ends record-setting Asia tour

Manila - Masses of cheering believers in the Philippines turned out to bid farewell to Pope Francis on Monday, a fitting end to a week in Asia that saw him draw record crowds and campaign relentlessly for the poor.

Pope attracts world-record crowd in wet Philippines

Manila - Pope Francis drew a record six million people as he celebrated mass in the rain-swept Philippine capital Sunday, a triumphant finale to an Asian tour in which he championed the plight of the poor.

Weeping Philippine girl challenges pope on prostitution

Manila - A weeping 12-year-old Philippine girl, asking how God could allow children to become prostitutes, moved Pope Francis on Sunday to hug her and appeal for everyone to show more compassion.

Pope celebrates mass with millions in wet Philippines

Manila - Pope Francis celebrated mass with millions of singing and cheering Catholics in the Philippine capital on Sunday, in one of the world's biggest outpourings of papal devotion.

Pope flees Philippine storm, cuts short typhoon mercy trip

Tacloban - Pope Francis was forced Saturday to flee a fierce storm in the Philippines that killed a papal volunteer, cutting short a mercy mission to weeping survivors of a catastrophic super typhoon.

Pope demands Philippine leaders end graft, fight poverty

Manila - Pope Francis on Friday demanded leaders in the Philippines end "scandalous social inequalities", hitting out at corruption in a nation where tens of millions of Catholics endure brutal poverty.

Pope top billing in Philippines from cathedral to arena

Manila - Pope Francis will celebrate mass at a centuries-old cathedral and later meet worshippers in a stadium setting more familiar to rock stars as his trip to the Philippines gets into full swing on Friday.

Pope says 'cannot insult' other people's religion

Manila - Pope Francis on Thursday condemned any killing in God's name, but also insisted there were limits to freedom of speech and said other people's religion could not be insulted or mocked.

Pope says 'cannot insult' other people's religion

Manila - Pope Francis on Thursday condemned any killing in God's name, but also insisted there were limits to freedom of speech and said other people's religion could not be insulted or mocked.

Security 'nightmare' for Philippine papal visit

Manila - Philippine troops are facing a security "nightmare" during Pope Francis's visit starting on Thursday, with potential stampedes, Islamic militants and lone-wolf assailants all concerns.

Pope leads joyous million-strong mass on Sri Lanka seafront

Colombo - A million worshippers packed the Colombo seafront to greet Pope Francis as he canonised Sri Lanka's first saint on Wednesday in the biggest public celebration the city has ever witnessed.

'Exhausted' pope cancels meeting with Sri Lanka bishops

Colombo - Pope Francis on Tuesday cancelled a planned meeting with Sri Lankan bishops, with one security official saying he was "exhausted" after a long journey from the airport exposed to the hot sun.

Pope urges respect for human rights on Sri Lanka trip

Colombo - Pope Francis urged respect for human rights as he began a two-nation Asia tour in a windswept Sri Lanka Tuesday, bearing a message of peace and reconciliation after a decades-long civil war.

Pope tells moms it's ok to breastfeed in Sistine Chapel

Pope Francis recently baptized 33 infants, and told the mothers that they could breastfeed their children if they were hungry or cried.

Pope begins Asia visit in Sri Lanka

Colombo - Pope Francis will arrive in Sri Lanka on Tuesday, days after the surprise election of a president who has pledged a new culture of tolerance in a country still recovering from civil war.

Pope slams 'deviant forms of religion' after Paris attacks

- Pope Francis on Monday slammed "deviant forms of religion" following deadly attacks by Islamist militants in France last week and dubbed the "never-ending spread of conflicts" around the world a third world war.

Millions to welcome Pope on Asia trip

Manila - Pope Francis will immerse himself in some of Asia's most fervent Catholicism during a trip to the Philippines and Sri Lanka starting Tuesday, with millions of devotees set to turn out.

Pope names 20 cardinals, many from developing world

- Pope Francis named 20 new cardinals, a majority of them from Africa, Asia and Latin America, increasingly key areas as the Roman Catholic Church's support shifts from its traditional European stronghold.

Pope names 20 cardinals, emphasising non-Europeans

- Pope Francis on Sunday named 20 new cardinals, a majority of them from Africa, Asia and Latin America, increasingly key areas as the Roman Catholic Church's support shifts from its traditional European stronghold.

Pope in New Year call for peace, teases 'noisy' Mexicans

- Pope Francis ushered in 2015 in typically unpredictable style on Thursday, launching an appeal for an end to war before light-heartedly teasing the many Mexicans in the crowd at St Peter's Square.

Late pope gets flowers from would-be assassin

- Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish former extremist who attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II, on Saturday laid flowers on the late pontiff's tomb.

Pope's scathing attack on Vatican plagued by ills

- Pope Francis lambasted the Vatican's bureaucracy on Monday, saying some within the Church lusted for power and suffered from "spiritual Alzheimer's" in comments likely to outrage his adversaries.

Pope congratulates U.S., Cuba on historic thaw

- Pope Francis on Wednesday congratulated the United States and Cuba for the historic thaw announced between Washington and the communist-run Caribbean island.