Latest Pope Francis News
‘He’s close to us’: Wheelchair users in Africa await pope
GOMA, Congo (AP) — When Pope Francis arrives in Congo and South Sudan next week, thousands of people will take special note of a gesture more grounded than the sign of the cross. Watching from their wheelchairs, they will relate to the way he uses his. The pope, who began using a...
Pope clarifies homosexuality and sin comments in note
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has clarified his recent comments about homosexuality and sin, saying he was merely referring to official Catholic moral teaching that teaches that any sexual act outside of marriage is a sin. And in a note Friday, Francis recalled that even that...
The AP Interview takeaways: Pope decries expanding gun use
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis lamented that the use of guns by civilians to defend themselves is becoming a “habit.” In an interview on Tuesday with The Associated Press, the pontiff, who has frequently criticized the arms industry, was asked about the large number of guns...
The AP Interview: Pope says homosexuality not a crime
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as “unjust,” saying God loves all his children just as they are and called on Catholic bishops who support the laws to welcome LGBTQ people into the church. “Being homosexual isn’t a crime,”...
Pope discusses his health, his critics and future of papacy
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis says he hasn’t considered issuing norms to regulate future papal resignations and plans to continue for as long as he can as bishop of Rome, despite a wave of criticism from some top-ranking conservative cardinals and bishops about his papal priorities. ...
Pope warns German church reform process elitist, ideological
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has warned there’s a risk that a reform process in the German Catholic Church over calls for married priests and other possible liberalizing reforms might become harmfully “ideological.” In an interview with The Associated Press at the Vatican...
Pope opens up on sex abuse cases, says church must do more
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has shed light on the Catholic Church’s handling of sex abuse allegations against East Timor’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning independence hero, suggesting that he indeed was allowed to retire early rather than face prosecution or punishment. Francis...
Pope makes plea for end of violence, start of talks in Peru
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday made an impassioned plea, delivered partly in Spanish, for an end to widening violence in Peru over demands for the resignation of the country's president. Addressing some 15,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square for his weekly...
Cardinal says book by Benedict XVI's secretary 'unseemly'
ROME (AP) — The archbishop of Vienna, a longtime friend and former student of Pope Benedict XVI, has confirmed that it was he who wrote a letter to his former teacher urging him to accept election as pontiff in 2005 if the votes went his way. Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn issued a...
Cardinal Pell will be interred in Sydney crypt in February
SYDNEY (AP) — A once high-ranking Australian cardinal who spent more than a year in prison before his child abuse convictions were quashed on appeal will be interred Feb. 2 after a requiem Mass at Sydney’s St. Mary’s Cathedral, the church said Tuesday. Cardinal George Pell, 81,...
