Pope Francis

A selection of the week's best photos from across the continent and beyond: Image copyright Reuters Image caption A girl holds her falcon during a desert competition for birds of prey on the outskirts of Egypt's capital, Cairo, on Friday. Image copyright EPA Image caption Spanish actress Victoria Abril, in…

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis refused Wednesday to approve the ordination of married men or women as deacons to address a shortage of priests in the Amazon, sidestepping a fraught issue that has divided the Catholic Church and emboldened his conservative c…

Pope Francis leads his general weekly audience at Nervi Hall on February 12 in Vatican City: Getty ImagesPope Francis has dismissed a proposal to allow married men to be ordained as priests in the Amazon region, marking one of the most significant decisions of his papacy.The proposal was put forward…

(VATICAN CITY) — Pope Francis refused Wednesday to approve the ordination of married men to address a shortage of priests in the Amazon, sidestepping a fraught issue that has dominated debate in the Catholic Church and even involved retired Pope Benedict XVI. Francis, in an eagerly awaited document, did not…

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, in one of the most significant decisions of his papacy, on Wednesday dismissed a proposal to allow some married men to be ordained in the Amazon region to ease an acute scarcity of priests. The recommendation, put forw…

Image copyrightReutersImage caption The Pope urged bishops to encourage missionaries in the Amazon as a way of addressing a shortage of priests Pope Francis has ruled against ordaining married men in the Amazon region as a means of addressing the shortage …

By Alessandro Gisotti The beloved Amazon region stands before the world in all its splendour, its drama and its mystery. Thus begins the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Querida Amazonía. Significance of the Apostolic Exhortation In the first two points…

By Philip PullellaVATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis will make the first trip by a pontiff in 10 years to the tiny Mediterranean island nation of Malta in May, where he is expected to defend the rights of migrants trying to reach Europe.The Vatican said on Monday the pope will…

By Philip PullellaVATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked Pope Francis on Saturday for help to win the release of prisoners of war held by Russia and Russian-backed separatists."(The pope) does everything possible to achieve peace and harmony throughout the world," Zelenskiy said in a tweet after their…

By Philip PullellaVATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said Pope Francis had promised him in a meeting to do everything he could to help with his homeland's debt crisis.Fernandez, who was sworn in last month, met Francis privately for about 45 minutes in the papal library."The pope is…