Latest Vatican City News

Pope, looking strong, washes feet of 12 women at Rome prison from his wheelchair

Mar. 28, 2024 14:04 PM EDT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of 12 women inmates at a Rome prison during a Holy Thursday ritual meant to emphasize his vocation of service and humility. The 87-year-old Francis performed the ritual from his wheelchair, after recent ailments have compounded...

Pope appears in better health, praises Israeli and Arab fathers who both lost daughters in conflict

Mar. 27, 2024 21:22 PM EDT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis appeared in better health on Wednesday, walking into the Vatican audience hall on his own with a cane for his weekly general audience and delivering his prepared text with a clear voice. The encounter was Francis' first public event since Palm...

Pope Francis skips Palm Sunday homily at start of busy Holy Week that will test his health

Mar. 24, 2024 23:54 PM EDT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis decided at the last minute to skip his homily during Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, avoiding a strenuous speech at the start of a busy Holy Week that will test his increasingly frail health. Hobbled by bad knees and persistent respiratory...

Belgian bishop defrocked 14 years after admitting to abusing nephew

Mar. 21, 2024 14:20 PM EDT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Thursday defrocked a notorious Belgian bishop who admitted 14 years ago that he sexually abused his nephew but faced no Vatican punishment. The case of Roger Vangheluwe, the emeritus bishop of Brugge, long ago became a symbol of the Catholic Church’s...

The first outside legal analyses of Vatican's 'trial of the century' are in, and they're critical

Mar. 19, 2024 01:19 AM EDT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Several prominent lawyers have published stinging academic critiques and legal opinions about the Vatican’s recently concluded “trial of the century,” highlighting violations of basic defense rights and rule of law norms that they warn could have consequences for the...

Polish Catholics get a new leader as the church struggles to reckon with sexual abuse

Mar. 14, 2024 15:33 PM EDT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The leaders of Poland’s influential Catholic Church on Thursday chose moderate Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda to be their new principal, at a time when the church is still struggling to reckon with the abuse of minors by some Polish clergy, while the number of Poles going to...

Vatican diplomats seek to defuse outrage over Pope Francis' Ukraine 'white flag' comments

Mar. 12, 2024 08:59 AM EDT

ROME (AP) — The Vatican secretary of state is seeking to defuse outrage over Pope Francis' latest diplomatic foray, insisting in media interviews that a primary condition for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine is an end to Russia’s aggression and that any peace must be a “just peace.” ...

The Vatican unveils its project for the Venice Biennale of Art: inside a women's prison

Mar. 11, 2024 09:37 AM EDT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Monday unveiled its groundbreaking project for the upcoming Venice Biennale of Art: A multimedia installation located inside Venice’s women’s prison, created with the active participation of inmates and artists and open to the public under strict security...

Pope Francis' 'white flag' comment is met by criticism from Ukraine and its allies

Mar. 10, 2024 14:32 PM EDT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian and allied officials Sunday criticized Pope Francis for saying that Kyiv should have the “courage” to negotiate an end to the war with Russia, a statement many interpreted as a call for Ukraine to surrender. The foreign ministers of Ukraine and...

Pope Francis: Ukraine should have the courage of the 'white flag,' negotiate end of war with Russia

Mar. 09, 2024 15:48 PM EST

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis said in an interview that Ukraine, facing a possible defeat, should have the courage to negotiate an end to the war with Russia and not be ashamed to sit at the same table to carry out peace talks. The pope made his appeal during an interview recorded last...