Pope Francis sides with Peruvian villagers who accused Catholic group of trying to steal their land

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Pope Francis on Saturday sided with a group of Peruvian villagers who have complained that companies linked to a powerful South American church group have tried to evict them from their land using lawsuits and obscure land titling schemes. In a video recorded...

Vatican complains after French court rules in favor of nun dismissed from religious order

ROME (AP) — The Holy See said Saturday it formally protested to France after a court there ruled that a former high-ranking Vatican official was liable for what the court determined to be the wrongful dismissal of a nun from a religious order. The Lorient tribunal on April 3 ruled...

Pope will travel to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore in longest trip of papacy

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis will visit Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Singapore in September, the Vatican announced Friday, confirming the longest trip of Francis’ papacy that is sure to test his health, stamina and mobility. The Vatican confirmed the Sept. 2-13...

Brazil's Yanomami leader asks the Pope to support President Lula in reversing damage to the Amazon

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis met Wednesday with a leader of Brazil’s Yanomami people, who asked for papal backing for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ’s efforts to reverse decades of exploitation of the Amazon and better protect its Indigenous peoples. Davi Kopenawa, a...

Vatican's top diplomat begins a 6-day visit to Vietnam aimed at normalizing relations

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — The Vatican's top diplomat began a six-day visit to Vietnam on Tuesday as a part of efforts to normalize relations with the communist nation. Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s foreign minister, met his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son and...

Transgender inclusion? World's major religions take varying stances on policies toward trans people

The Vatican has issued a new document rejecting the concept of changing one’s biological sex – a setback for transgender people who had hoped Pope Francis might be setting the stage for a more welcoming approach from the Catholic Church. Around the world, major religions have...

Vatican blasts gender-affirming surgery, surrogacy and gender theory as violations of human dignity

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Monday declared gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy as grave violations of human dignity, putting them on par with abortion and euthanasia as practices that it said reject God’s plan for human life. The Vatican’s doctrine office issued...

Transgender Catholics say new Vatican document shows no understanding of their lives

Transgender Catholics — as well as a priest who welcomes them to his parish — expressed disappointment Monday with a new Vatican document rejecting the fundamental concept of changing one’s biological sex. In essence, it was a restatement of longstanding Catholic teaching, but...

The Vatican blasts sex change surgery, surrogacy and gender theory as grave threats to human dignity

Right to children or children’s rights? Surrogacy debate comes to a head in Rome

ROME (AP) — An international campaign to ban surrogacy received a strong endorsement Friday from the Vatican, with a top official calling for a broad-based alliance to stop the “commercialization of life.” A Vatican-affiliated university hosted a two-day conference promoting...