Pope warns the Vatican pension fund needs urgent reform as employees demand transparency

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis, who has imposed a series of cost-cutting measures across the cash-strapped Vatican, warned Thursday that the city state’s troubled pension fund needs urgent reform to guarantee future obligations. Vatican employees responded by expressing concern that...

Bishops and bankers meet to help Catholics seeking to ethically invest

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Religious communities are increasingly seeking to invest in companies that match their faith values and ethical concerns, but experts say the financial market lags in providing the appropriate options. A conference in London on Monday and Tuesday (Nov. 11-12)...

Pope approves new papal funeral rites to simplify ritual, allow for burial outside the Vatican

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has revised the funeral rites that will be used when he dies, simplifying the rituals to emphasize his role as a mere bishop and allowing for burial outside the Vatican in keeping with his wishes. The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano on Wednesday...

Pope to make late Italian teenager Carlo Acutis the first millennial saint on April 27

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis said he will canonize Carlo Acutis next April, setting the eagerly awaited date for the late teenager to become the Catholic Church’s first millennial and digital-era saint. Francis made the announcement at the end of his weekly general audience on...

Pope Francis approves new papal funeral rites for when he dies to simplify rituals, allow for burial outside the Vatican

Abuse survivors urge the Vatican to globalize the zero-tolerance policy it approved in the US

ROME (AP) — Survivors of clergy sexual abuse urged the Vatican on Monday to expand its zero-tolerance policy that it approved for the U.S. Catholic Church in 2002 to the rest of the world, arguing that children everywhere should be protected from predator priests. The U.S. norms,...

Pope asks Church of Rome to help address housing crisis ahead of Holy Year in 2025

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Friday called on the diocese of Rome to respond to a growing housing crisis in the Eternal City, wading into the debate about rising rental prices that has only grown more acute with Holy Year celebrations in 2025. Francis has written to the city's...

Catholic bishops urged to boldly share church teachings — even unpopular ones

BALTIMORE (AP) — Several U.S. Catholic bishops on Wednesday encouraged the church to boldly share Vatican teachings on a range of hot-button issues, including the condemnation of abortion, euthanasia, surrogacy and gender-affirming surgery. The prelates acknowledged theirs is often...

Vatican, Microsoft create AI-generated St. Peter's Basilica to allow virtual visits, log damage

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican and Microsoft on Monday unveiled a digital twin of St. Peter’s Basilica that uses artificial intelligence to explore one of the world’s most important monument’s while helping the Holy See manage visitor flows and identify conservation problems. ...

Fans flood @Pontifex account after it inadvertantly cites New Orleans Saints amid dreadful season

ROME (AP) — The New Orleans Saints may be one of the worst teams in the NFL this season, but at least they can count on continued prayers from Pope Francis. The pope – or at least someone in the Vatican communications office – has been inadvertently rooting for the Saints since...