Pope News

Pope removes scandal-hit cardinals from inner circle

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis has removed two prominent cardinals from his inner circle months after they were tainted by paedophile scandals and ahead of a Church-wide meeting on the "protection of minors" next year.

Pope to visit United Arab Emirates in February

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis, who has made boosting ties between Christianity and Islam a cornerstone of his papacy, will visit Abu Dhabi in February, the Vatican said Thursday, becoming the first ever pope to visit the Arabian peninsula.

Pope to visit United Arab Emirates in February

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis, who has made boosting ties between Christianity and Islam a cornerstone of his papacy, will visit Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates in February, the Vatican said Thursday.

Pope lights candle for children of Syria

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis lit a candle at the Vatican on Sunday for victims of conflicts around the world, and in particular the children of war-torn Syria."Advent is a time of hope.

Gay 'trend' influencing the Catholic clergy: Pope

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis is "concerned" about what he described as the "serious issue" of homosexuality, saying in an interview published Saturday that being gay was a "fashion" to which the clergy is suspectible.

Pope to visit Morocco in March

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis, who has made building bridges between Christianity and Islam a cornerstone of his papacy, will visit Morocco in March, the Vatican said Tuesday.

US synagogue attack 'inhuman act of violence': pope

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis on Sunday called a deadly attack on a synagogue in the United States "an inhuman act of violence", expressing his "closeness to the Jewish community".

Vatican stalls on married Catholic priests

By AFP

Vatican City - A bid by Belgium bishops to allow young married men to take the cloth has fallen flat at a Vatican meet -- though Pope Francis is considering testing out the idea in the Amazon.

Pope ready to visit Pyongyang if invited: S.Korea's Moon

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis is ready to visit North Korea if its leader Kim Jong Un extends a formal invitation, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday after meeting the pontiff.

Chinese bishops invite Pope Francis for historic visit

By AFP

Vatican City - Two Chinese Catholic bishops attending a Vatican meeting for the first time following a landmark deal between Beijing and the Holy See said Tuesday they have invited Pope Francis to visit.

Taiwan invites pope to visit after historic China deal

By AFP

Taipei - Taiwan has invited Pope Francis to visit the island in a move aimed at deepening ties with the Vatican after the Holy See signed a historic deal with Beijing.

The man who said no to free love: Paul VI becomes saint

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Paul VI, the man who cracked down on free love during the 1960s and carried out sweeping changes to the Church, became a saint Sunday, along with slain Salvador archbishop Oscar Romero.

Murdered Salvadoran, pope Paul VI made saints

By AFP

Vatican City - Slain Salvadoran archbishop Oscar Romero and pope Paul VI, Catholic giants who sparked controversy during their lifetimes, joined the church's highest rank Sunday with an elevation to sainthood.

Sainthood for murdered Salvadoran, Pope Paul VI

By AFP

Vatican City - Slain Salvadoran archbishop Oscar Romero and Pope Paul VI, Catholic giants who sparked controversy during their lifetimes, will join the church's highest rank Sunday with an elevation to sainthood.

Pope defrocks 2 Chilean former bishops for abusing minors

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis has defrocked two Chilean former bishops for allegedly sexually abusing minors, the Vatican said on Saturday, after a meeting between the pontiff and Chile's president.

Canonisation: how to become a Catholic saint

By AFP

Rome - The canonisation Sunday of Archbishop Oscar Romero, assassinated in 1980, and of Paul VI, who was pope from 1963 to 1978, is the last stage in the Vatican's arduous process of creating saints.

Pope to make slain Salvadorian, Paul VI saints

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis on Sunday will elevate to sainthood Salvador Archbishop Oscar Romero, slain by a right-wing death squad as he said mass, and free love naysayer Pope Paul VI.

Pope says abortion is like hiring 'contract killer'

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis on Wednesday compared having an abortion to hiring a "contract killer"."Interrupting a pregnancy is like eliminating someone," Francis said in an address to worshippers in the Vatican.

North Korea wants Pope to visit, South to tell Vatican

By AFP

Seoul - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has invited Pope Francis to visit, saying he would be "ardently welcomed", South Korea's presidency said Tuesday, adding it would pass on Pyongyang's message to the Vatican.

Pope meets top US cardinal in shadow of abuse scandal

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis met the president of the US bishops' conference Monday as his supporters closed ranks over the pontiff's handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by a US cardinal.

Pope says Church can no longer tolerate silence on abuse

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis said Saturday that silence on sexual abuse can "no longer be tolerated" as he ordered an investigation into Vatican archives concerning former archbishop of Washington Theodore McCarrick, who resigned in July.

Sex: the elephant in the room at Vatican youth synod

By AFP

Vatican City - "We mustn't be afraid of sexuality!" French prelate Emmanuel Gobillard urged the Vatican synod on the role of young people, trying to break down the enduring taboo in the 1.3 billion-member Church.

Pope gives Chinese bishops 'warm welcome'

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis on Wednesday offered a "warm welcome" to two Chinese Catholic bishops attending a synod for the first time following a landmark deal between China and the Vatican.

Vatican, China in hush negotiations on 'underground' bishops: sources

By AFP

Vatican City - After clinching a historic deal, the Vatican and China are involved in fresh negotiations over the fate of "underground" bishops who remained faithful to the pope for decades despite pressure from Beijing, sources say.

Pope calls on divided Chinese Catholics to reconcile

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis called Wednesday for all Chinese Catholics to reconcile, while admitting that a historic deal with Beijing on nominating bishops may have caused "confusion".

Pope calls on Chinese Catholics to reconcile after bishop deal

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis called Wednesday for all Chinese Catholics to reconcile, while admitting that a historic deal with Beijing on nominating bishops may have caused "confusion".

Pope says Church's 'conscience' about abuse has evolved

By AFP

Italy - The way the Church views sexual abuse has evolved, just as it has in wider society, the pope said Tuesday, adding events in the past should not be judged with today's eyes.

Pope confirms he will have last word on naming China bishops

By AFP

Italy - Pope Francis said on Tuesday that he will have the last word on naming bishops in China after a "bilateral dialogue" on candidates, days after an historic accord paved the way for rapprochement between the Vatican and the Communist country.

Pope confirms he will have last word on naming China bishops

By AFP

Pope Francis gets Estonian e-residency

By AFP

Tallinn - Pope Francis on Tuesday became an e-resident of Estonia while on a visit to the cyber-savvy Baltic country known for being one of the world's most wired nations.