Pope Francis returned to the Vatican on Wednesday, 11 days after surgery to remove part of his colon, starting a period of near-total rest and rehabilitation expected to last at least two weeks. The 84-year-old pontiff left Rome’s Gemelli hospital unannounced, leaving by a side door and travelling through Rome in a simple blue car… Read More Pope Francis returns to Vatican following intestinal surgery
South Sudan’s two most powerful politicians gave assurances on Friday that they would not lead the country back into war as they marked its 10th birthday, and Pope Francis said he would visit if they did more to maintain a fragile peace. Violence exploded in South Sudan in late 2013, two years after it seceded… Read More South Sudan leaders promise peace as nation marks independence anniversary
Pope Francis said on Sunday that he was pained by the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former Catholic school for indigenous students in Canada and called for respect of the rights and cultures of native peoples. However, Francis stopped short of the direct apology some Canadians had demanded. Two days ago,… Read More Pope Francis calls for reconciliation and healing over Canadian indigenous school discovery
Pope Francis met with both Vatican-based Canadian cardinals on Saturday as their country reels from the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former school for indigenous students run by the Catholic Church. The pope met separately with Cardinal Michael Czerny and Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Vatican said in its daily announcement of… Read More Pope Francis meets with Canadian cardinals over indigenous school scandal
Pope Francis, who has promised to visit Lebanon if fractious politicians agree on a new government, said on Sunday he would meet its Christian leaders to discuss the country’s worst crisis since its civil war that ended in 1990. He told pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly blessing that the meeting… Read More Pope Francis to meet with Lebanon Christian leaders over nation’s crisis
Pope Francis ruled on Friday that bishops and cardinals who work in the Vatican will be judged by the same lay tribunal that hears other criminal cases and no longer by an elite panel of prelates. Francis issued a decree abrogating a provision in the Vatican’s civil criminal code whereby bishops and cardinals were judged… Read More Pope Francis removes legal privileges for Vatican bishops and cardinals
Pope Francis has ordered cardinals to take a 10 percent pay cut and reduced the salaries of other clerics working in the Vatican in order to save jobs of ordinary employees as the coronavirus pandemic has hit the Holy See’s income. The Vatican said on Wednesday that Francis issued a decree introducing proportional cuts starting… Read More Pope Francis orders pay cuts for cardinals and clerics to save jobs of ordinary employees
Pope Francis walked down a narrow alleyway in the holy city of Najav to hold a historic meeting with Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric and visited the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham on Saturday to condemn violence in the name of God as “the greatest blasphemy”. The inter-religious events, one in a dusty, built-up city and… Read More Pope Francis holds historic meeting with Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani
