Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis, who is suffering from a cold, has tested negative for the coronavirus, an Italian newspaper reported Tuesday, as Italy battles Europe’s worst outbreak. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni did not respond to a request for comment on the report in the Messaggero newspaper. Francis cancelled a Lent …
Read More »Seven years after stepping down, Benedict fuels ‘two popes’ headache
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Seven years after his surprise resignation, Benedict XVI — weakened by age but still intellectually spry — appears unable to remain in the shadow of his Argentinean successor Francis, creating the appearance of “two popes” at odds. On February 11, 2013, at the age …
Read More »Pope says poverty can be beaten if rich play their part
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis insisted Wednesday poverty could be beaten if the world’s rich play a full part in ending inequality as he attended a conference on financial inclusion. “We are neither condemned to inequality nor to paralysis in the face of injustice. The rich world …
Read More »Former prostitutes among ex-nuns at Vatican shelter: cardinal
Rome, Italy | AFP | Former nuns “abandoned” by the Catholic Church, including some who became prostitutes to survive, have been sheltered at a Vatican residence for more than a year, a Brazilian cardinal said. Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz confirmed the house’s existence at an undisclosed location in Vatican City …
Read More »Ex-pope’s shadow Vatican role in the spotlight
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Ex-pope Benedict XVI seems to have broken his silence recently over key Catholic issues and his comments have raised serious questions within the Church about the extent to which there are, in fact, two “men in white” at the Vatican. In 2013, Benedict became …
Read More »Dispute over former pope’s role in controversial book
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | The Vatican was gripped Tuesday by a dispute over whether elderly ex-pope Benedict XVI was being used by the Catholic Church’s ultra-conservative wing to undermine his successor Pope Francis. At least three Vatican correspondents cited a source close to Benedict saying the former pontiff …
Read More »Church is losing influence, pope warns
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Saturday called on church leaders for a “change in mentality”, saying the Christian faith is less heeded, even ignored, in the modern world. New methods were needed to help “reposition our ways of thinking and our attitudes”, the pope warned in …
Read More »Pope to visit Hiroshima on anti-nuclear weapon mission
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis, who years ago hoped to be a missionary in Japan, travels to the sites of the world’s only atomic attacks this week seeking a ban on nuclear weapons. The Argentine pontiff, 82, flies to Asia on Tuesday, where he will first visit …
Read More »Catholic institutions asked to rethink higher education approaches
Mpigi, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Papal nuncio to Uganda, Archbishop Luigi Bianco has challenged catholic founded institutions to rethink their way of teaching and front an ‘integral education in a fragmented world, full of contradictions.’ The Papal nuncio says that challenges stirred by development and the evolution of technology …
Read More »POPE FRANCIS: Every person should have access to adequate food
COMMENT | POPE FRANCIS | The yearly celebration of World Food Day makes us hear the dramatic plea of those of our brothers and sisters who suffer from hunger and malnutrition. Despite efforts made in recent decades, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is yet to be implemented in many parts of the world. …
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