Latest Pope Francis News
Retired judge finds no reliable evidence against Quebec cardinal; purported victim declines to talk
ROME (AP) — A retired Canadian judge said Tuesday he couldn’t find any reliable evidence of sexual misconduct by the archbishop of Quebec, after the purported victim refused to cooperate with his investigation and the cardinal strongly denied the claim. Pope Francis had tasked...
Vatican makes fresh overture to China, reaffirms that Catholic Church is no threat to sovereignty
ROME (AP) — The Vatican made another big overture to China on Tuesday, reaffirming the Catholic Church poses no threat to Beijing's sovereignty and admitting that Western missionaries had made “errors” in past centuries in their zeal to convert the Chinese faithful. The Vatican...
Pope trip to Luxembourg, Belgium confirmed for September, 2 weeks after challenging Asia visit
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has added a stop in Luxembourg to a trip to Belgium in September, a three-day visit that will come as he is recovering from a much longer and challenging trip to Asia. The Vatican on Monday announced the Sept. 26-29 dates of the planned trip, saying Francis...
Vatican moves to adapt to hoaxes, Internet and overhauls its process for evaluating visions of Mary
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Friday overhauled its process for evaluating alleged visions of the Virgin Mary, weeping statues and other seemingly supernatural phenomena that have marked church history, putting the brakes on making definitive declarations unless the event is obviously...
Pope urges Italians to have babies as a measure of hope for future
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis pressed his campaign Friday to urge Italians to have children, calling for long-term policies to help families and warning that the country’s demographic crisis was threatening the future. “The number of births is the first indicator of the hope of a...
Holy Year or holy mess, Vatican and Rome begin dash to 2025 Jubilee with papal bull, construction
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican crossed a key milestone Thursday in the runup to its 2025 Jubilee with the promulgation of the official decree establishing the Holy Year. It's a once-every-quarter-century event that is expected to bring some 32 million pilgrims to Rome and has already brought...
Pope Francis appoints new bishop in Tennessee after former bishop's resignation under pressure
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Pope Francis has appointed Reverend James Mark Beckman as Bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee, almost a year after the previous bishop resigned under pressure following claims he mishandled sex abuse allegations. The Vatican announced the appointment in its...
'A step back in time': America's Catholic Church sees an immense shift toward the old ways
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — It was the music that changed first. Or maybe that’s just when many people at the pale brick Catholic church in the quiet Wisconsin neighborhood finally began to realize what was happening. The choir director, a fixture at St. Maria Goretti for nearly 40...
Pope visits Venice to speak to the artists and inmates behind the Biennale's must-see prison show
VENICE, Italy (AP) — Venice has always been a place of contrasts, of breathtaking beauty and devastating fragility, where history, religion, art and nature have collided over the centuries to produce an otherworldly gem of a city. But even for a place that prides itself on its culture of unusual...
Pope to bring his call for ethical artificial intelligence to G7 summit in June in southern Italy
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is taking his call for artificial intelligence to be developed and used according to ethical lines to the Group of 7 industrialized nations. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced Friday that Francis had accepted her invitation to attend the G7...
