Latest Roman Catholicism News
Pope Francis meets transgender guests of Rome church
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has met with a fourth group of transgender people who found shelter at a Rome church, the Vatican newspaper reported Thursday. L’Osservatore Romano said the encounter took place Wednesday on the sidelines of Francis’ weekly general audience. The...
Vatican cardinal honors Jewish convert, tells his own story
ROME (AP) — A Vatican cardinal marked the 80th anniversary Tuesday of the gas chamber killing of the Jewish-born Catholic convert Edith Stein by celebrating a Mass near the former Auschwitz death camp and telling the story of his own family’s Jewish origins and their fate under the Nazis. ...
Pope encourages Cuban search crews after Matanzas blaze
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is offering support to firefighters and search crews in Cuba following the fire and explosions at a big oil tank farm in the western province of Matanzas. In a telegram Monday to Cuban bishops, Francis said he was closely following news of the...
Nicaragua police investigating bishop critical of government
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nicaragua’s police said Friday they have begun an investigation against a Roman Catholic bishop who has been an outspoken critic of President Daniel Ortega’s government. They accused Bishop Rolando Álvarez, leader of the Matagalpa diocese, of allegedly...
Pope meets Russia envoy; decrees Ukraine-based priest martyr
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis met Friday with a top official of the Russian Orthodox Church ahead of an expected meeting next month in Kazakhstan with the Russian Orthodox leader, Patriarch Kirill, who has justified the war in Ukraine. The audience was the first between Francis and the...
From Mecca to the Vatican, exploring sacred sites with VR
Click and gape at the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel ceiling up close. Click again and join thousands of pilgrims praying and circling around the cube-shaped Kaaba at Islam’s most sacred site. Or strap on a headset and enter the holy city of Jerusalem. There you’ll hear the murmur...
Portugal cardinal meets pope as sex abuse allegations swirl
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The archbishop of Lisbon met Friday with Pope Francis in a private audience at the Vatican to discuss “events in recent weeks that have marked the life of the Church in Portugal,” the Portuguese church said. The two-sentence communique gave no further...
Concern that Nicaragua repression could be "model" in region
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega’s government has closed seven radio stations owned by the Roman Catholic church this week, as well as two other outlets serving the largely rural northern area with a history of opposition to his Sandinista National Liberation Front party. ...
Pope promotes Vatican nurse credited with saving his life
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has promoted a Vatican nurse whom he credited with saving his life to be his “personal health care assistant.” The Vatican announced the appointment of Massimiliano Strappetti in a one-line statement issued Thursday. Strappetti, the nursing coordinator...
Pope on Lebanon blast anniversary: Truth can never be hidden
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis marked the second anniversary of the Lebanon port explosion by insisting Wednesday that truth and justice “can never be hidden,” in an apparent reference to the stalled investigation into the disaster. Francis made the comments at the end of his weekly...
