Pope Francis

ROME — Pope Francis sent a video message to participants in the Vax Live concert in Los Angeles Sunday night, urging concertgoers “not to forget the most vulnerable” in vaccine distribution. In his Spanish-language message, the pontiff prayed that the “Creator God would infuse in our hearts a new, generous…

Pope Francis delivers his Urbi et Orbi Blessing, after celebrating Easter Mass on April 04, 2021 at St. Peter's Basilica in The Vatican during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.nFilippo MONTEFORTE / POOL / AFP POPE Francis on Saturday launched a month-long prayer marathon to hasten the end of the coronavirus pandemic…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Cardinals and bishops can now undergo trial in the Vatican tribunal and be judged by lay magistrates after Pope Francis issued a decree on Friday (April 30) — his second in two days — in which he stressed “the equality of all members of the Church…

ROME (AP) - Pope Francis has sent another message to Vatican-based cardinals and bishops that he intends to hold them accountable for criminal misconduct: He removed the procedural obstacles that had spared them from being prosecuted and judged by the Vatican’s lay criminal tribunal. A new law published Friday makes…

In an effort to cut down on corruption among Vatican employees, Pope Francis instituted a new policy that prohibits them from receiving any work-related gift with a value over 40 euros ($48). The "work-related" qualifier will likely be open to interpretation, but the new rule is aimed at cutting back…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Francis continued his crackdown on financial corruption at the Vatican on Thursday (April 29) by issuing a decree requiring church bureaucrats, clergy or lay, to sign a declaration stating that they have no assets in tax havens. The papal decree, known as a motu proprio,…

Pope Francis said in his Earth Day message on Thursday that the planet was "at the brink" and humanity had to avoid "the path of self destruction." The pope, who has issued many appeals for environmental protection since his election in 2013, spoke in two video messages, one for the…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — After decades of child sexual abuse scandals, the Catholic Church is ready to share its successes — and failures — with other religious and lay institutions. At an April 8-10 online symposium with religious representatives from around the world, Pope Francis expressed his hope that together,…

Pope Francis appealed for peaceful coexistence in Iraq on Sunday as he prayed for the country’s war dead amid the ruins of four demolished churches in Mosul that suffered widespread destruction in the war against Islamic State. The Pope travelled to northern Iraq on the final day of his historic…

Pope Francis has said Mass to thousands of people in the packed Franso Hariri stadium in Erbil. At the end of the last official event before he returns to Rome on Monday, Francis told the crowd: "Iraq will always remain with me, in my heart." He closed by saying "salam,…