Latest Pope Francis News

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

Apr. 14, 2024 20:40 PM EDT

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...

Unfazed by danger and power, Guatemalan cardinal keeps up fight for migrants and the poor

Apr. 14, 2024 08:06 AM EDT

HUEHUETENANGO, Guatemala (AP) — As more than 100 men carrying an elaborate float of Jesus halted before him, Cardinal Álvaro Ramazzini lost no time in calling for social justice — the hallmark of the Catholic bishop’s decades-long frontline ministry. “Let’s hope that this...

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

Apr. 13, 2024 16:14 PM EDT

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

Apr. 12, 2024 07:18 AM EDT

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...

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

Apr. 10, 2024 05:07 AM EDT

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...

Pope marks 6-month anniversary of Hamas attacks by meeting with relatives of hostages

Apr. 08, 2024 21:16 PM EDT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis met Monday with relatives of hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, marking the six-month anniversary of the attack in southern Israel with an hourlong audience. The Vatican released photos of the encounter, showing relatives of several of the hostages...

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

Apr. 08, 2024 21:13 PM EDT

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

Apr. 08, 2024 15:57 PM EDT

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...

An Argentine judge recognizes gender abuse suffered for years by 20 nuns in a breakthrough ruling

Apr. 05, 2024 20:10 PM EDT

BUNEOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — An Argentine judge on Friday ruled that 20 cloistered nuns had suffered abuse for more than two decades at the hands of high-ranking clergy in the country's conservative north, and ordered the accused archbishop and church officials to undergo psychological...

Pope shows off rosary of slain Ukrainian soldier, denounces 'madness of war'

Apr. 03, 2024 09:18 AM EDT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis led thousands of people in a moment of silence Wednesday to pray for the aid workers killed by an Israeli strike in Gaza and a young Ukrainian soldier named Oleksandre who was killed in ‘’this madness of war." Francis appealed anew for an immediate...