Latest Pope Francis News
Fear, grief follow deadly quake on Ecuador's southwest coast
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Some affectionally call Machala the "Banana Capital of the World." This port community on Ecuador's Pacific coast is home to about a quarter million people and normally bustles with commercial activity. But not this weekend, not after the deadly quake. Grief...
Pope Benedict XVI's aide acknowledges criticism over memoir
ROME (AP) — The longtime secretary to Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged Sunday that his tell-all memoir, published in the days after Benedict’s death, had been criticized for casting Pope Francis in an unfavorable light, but insisted that some of the polemics were more about anti-Benedict...
Pope offers prayer for earthquake victims in Ecuador, Peru
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis offered prayers Sunday for the victims of an earthquake that shook vast swaths of territory in Ecuador and parts of Peru. During his weekly Sunday noon blessing, Francis recalled that the 6.8-magnitude temblor caused “death, injuries and heavy...
Pope promotes 'humanitarian corridors' for asylum-seekers
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis met Saturday with thousands of refugees and charity groups hosting them in Italy as he sought to promote legal migration routes to Europe as an alternative to smuggling operations that he said have turned the Mediterranean Sea into a “cemetery.” ...
2nd Vatican official says pope OK'd ransom payments for nun
VATICAN CITY (AP) — A second high-ranking Holy See official told a Vatican court on Friday that Pope Francis had authorized spending hundreds of thousands of euros in ransom payments to try to free a nun who was kidnapped by al-Qaida-linked militants in Mali. Archbishop Edgar Pena...
Vatican unveils new ethnographic display of Rwanda screens
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican Museums officially reopened its African and American ethnographic collections Thursday by showcasing intricately restored Rwandan raffia screens that were sent by Catholic missionaries to the Vatican for a 1925 exhibit. The display at the Anima Mundi...
'Nazi' references: BBC sportscaster's tweet revives debate
NEW YORK (AP) — The references seem endless, and they can come from anywhere. In recent days, Pope Francis compared Nicaragua's repression of Catholics to Adolf Hitler's rule in Germany. In Britain, a BBC sportscaster likened the nation's asylum policy to 1930s Germany, resulting in his brief...
10 iconic moments in Pope Francis' first 10 years as pontiff
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis marks the 10th anniversary of his election as pope on Monday. During that decade, several historic occasions, as well as several unplanned events, helped define the contours and priorities of history's first Latin American pontiff. Visits with refugees in Italy...
Today in History: March 13, Pope Francis is elected
Today is Monday, March 13, the 72nd day of 2023. There are 293 days left in the year. Today’s highlight in history: In 1925, the Tennessee General Assembly approved a bill prohibiting the teaching of the theory of evolution. (Gov. Austin Peay signed the measure on...
Argentina's initial fervor for Pope Francis has faded
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — When Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina became Pope Francis, much of his home country celebrated as if it had just won a soccer World Cup championship. A decade later, the first Latin American leader of the Catholic Church generates divided opinions and much less fervor....
