Latest Pope Francis News
Pope Francis prays in front of graves of unborn children ahead of All Souls' Day Mass
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis paid his respects on Saturday to the “Garden of Angels,” an area in Rome’s third largest cemetery which houses the graves of stillborn and miscarried children. Francis celebrated All Souls’ Day Mass at the Laurentino cemetery, on Rome’s southern...
Longtime music director at Michigan church fired for same-sex marriage
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The longtime music director at a northern Michigan church said he was fired just a few months before retirement after officials learned that he was in a same-sex marriage, a dismissal that has angered members and led to sidewalk protests by the choir. ...
Pope's child protection board urges transparency from Vatican sex abuse office and compensation
Pope Francis' child protection board called Tuesday for victims of clergy sexual abuse to have greater access to information about their cases and the right to compensation, in the first-ever global assessment of the Catholic Church’s efforts to address the crisis. The Pontifical...
A thriller about electing a pope draws crowds at the Rome Film Festival near the Vatican
ROME (AP) — With Pope Francis a few weeks away from his 88th birthday, the plotting for his successor is well underway at the Vatican. How timely, then, that just across town in Rome, “ Conclave ” a thriller filled with back-stabbing, manipulative cardinals, quick to toss...
Pope Francis' Catholic church reform process ends without giving more equity to women
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis' yearslong process to reform the Catholic Church closed Saturday with recommendations that fell short of giving women more equity as hoped, but reflected the pope’s aims for a church that at least listens more to its followers. In a significant...
Pope Francis denounces a world 'losing its heart' in 4th encyclical of his papacy
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis issued the fourth encyclical of his papacy on Thursday, denouncing a world that “is losing its heart” during times of global turmoil marked by “wars, socio-economic disparities and the uses of technology that threaten our humanity.” The...
China and the Vatican agree to extend an agreement on appointing bishops
BEIJING (AP) — China and the Vatican have agreed to extend a provisional agreement on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four more years, officials said Tuesday. The 2018 agreement, extended twice previously, was an attempt under Pope Francis to bridge long-standing...
Pope names 21 new cardinals, significantly increasing the pool who will one day elect his successor
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals Sunday, significantly increasing the size of the College of Cardinals and further cementing his mark on the group of prelates who will one day elect his successor. They include a man who will be the oldest cardinal — Monsignor...
Eva Vergara, longtime AP Chile correspondent, dies at 68
Chilean journalist Eva Vergara, who in her four decades at The Associated Press covered stories including the first protests against the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet and revealed key information about abuses by members of the Catholic Church, died Tuesday. She was 68. ...
Catholic reform debate launched by Pope Francis leans away from ordained roles for women
ROME (AP) — Debate was leaning away from allowing women to take on ordained roles in the Catholic Church as the second phase of Pope Francis’ reform project opened Wednesday with an agenda topped by calls for women to take up more positions of responsibility Francis presided...
