Vatican

Pope says Italy’s plunging birthrate is a ‘tragedy’

VATICAN CITY, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Pope Francis bemoaned Italy's plunging birthrate on Sunday, warning that the decline represented a threat to the future of the country. Births in Italy…

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Shun polarisation, try dialogue to heal divided world, pope says at Christmas

Pope Francis in his Christmas message on Saturday decried increasing polarisation in personal and international relationships, saying only dialogue can resolve conflicts ranging from family feuds to threats of war.…

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Pope to youth of the Holy Land: Look to the horizon!

In a message to the Christian Media Center, Pope Francis speaks to the young people of Bethlehem and the Holy Land, urging them to remain faithful to their roots in…

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Look beyond the lights and remember the poor, Pope says on Christmas eve

VATICAN CITY, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, leading the world's Roman Catholics into Christmas, said on Friday that people who are indifferent to the poor offend God, urging all…

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New anti-Covid measures for entry to Vatican and Curia offices

As of Thursday 23 December, access to Roman Curia offices will be permitted only to those in possession of a certificate attesting to vaccination or recovery from SARS-Cov-2. A new…

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Pope shakes up Vatican development office, accepts African cardinal’s resignation

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a prominent African cardinal who was a key adviser on climate change and social justice as part of a rare shake up of…

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Vatican tightens screws on conservatives over traditional Latin Mass

VATICAN CITY, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The Vatican on Saturday warned conservative Roman Catholics who have balked at Pope Francis' decision to restrict the old traditionalist Latin Mass that they…

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Top African cardinal in Vatican abruptly offers resignation

VATICAN CITY, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Cardinal Peter Turkson, seen by some as a candidate to become the first African pope in about 1,500 years, has abruptly offered his resignation…

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First group of migrants from Cyprus relocated under Pope pledge

NICOSIA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - A first group of migrants left Cyprus on Thursday as part of an initiative by Pope Francis to assist in their relocation, the government said.…

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Photo Story: Mattarella meets Pope for last time as Italian president

President Sergio Mattarella went to the Vatican on Thursday to meet Pope Francis for the last time as Italy's head of State.Mattarella's seven-year term as president ends early in February.The…

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‘Poor Haiti, one thing after another,’ pope says of deadly blast

VATICAN CITY, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Wednesday asked for prayers for the victims of a fuel truck explosion that killed at least 60 people in Haiti, lamenting…

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Vatican corruption trial mired as judge orders new long adjournment

A corruption trial related to the Vatican's purchase of a luxury building in London was adjourned for nearly six weeks on Tuesday, another long delay underscoring how it remains mired in its opening stages…

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Photo Story: Saint Peter’s Square light up for the Christmas season

An illuminated Christmas tree donated by the Trentino region stands in Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City. Photo - EPA-EFE/FABIO FRUSTACI

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Pope sends condolences over “immense tragedy” of U.S. tornadoes

VATICAN CITY, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Pope Francis has sent his condolences to the families of victims of tornadoes that killed dozens of people in the United States and he…

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Catholic women urge Vatican to sign Europe rights convention

A consortium of Catholic women’s groups is calling on the Holy See to join the Council of Europe and to sign the European Convention on Human Rights, arguing that the…

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Pope calls for ‘serious international dialogue’ to defuse Ukraine tensions

VATICAN CITY, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, in his first comments on the tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine, called on Sunday for serious international dialogue to…

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Pope decries ‘stone hearts’ of indifference to migrants’ pain

ROME, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Pope Francis made a private pre-dawn visit to a Rome religious landmark on Wednesday for the second year in a row because of the COVID-19…

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Pope calls migrant crisis ‘shipwreck of civilisation’

LESBOS, Greece (Reuters) -Pope Francis condemned the exploitation of migrants for political purposes on Sunday during a visit to the Greek island of Lesbos, branding the global indifference to their…

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Orthodox priest shouts ‘Pope, you are a heretic’ at Francis in Athens

ATHENS (Reuters) -An elderly Greek Orthodox priest shouted "Pope, you are a heretic" as Pope Francis was entering the Orthodox Archbishopric in Athens on Saturday and was taken away by…

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With migrants in mind, Pope Francis visits divided Cyprus

Pope Francis visits Cyprus this week to lend his support to a conflict-riven island now on the front line of a new migratory route for people fleeing their countries for…

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On World AIDS Day, Pope calls for renewed solidarity with victims

VATICAN CITY, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Wednesday called for a renewed solidarity with those suffering from the HIV virus to guarantee care for those in the world's…

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Pope to help 50 migrants in Cyprus relocate to Italy after trip to island

Pope Francis has arranged to have 50 migrants from Cyprus be relocated to Italy to mark his trip to the Mediterranean island next week, a Vatican source said. The 50…

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Pope promises to help moribund Lebanon rise again

VATICAN CITY, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, meeting the prime minister of Lebanon, on Thursday compared the country to a dying person and promised to do everything in his…

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Photo Story: Busy meeting for Pope Francis at weekly General Audience in Vatican City

Pope Francis talks to nuns during his weekly General Audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall in Vatican City, 24 November 2021. Via EPA-EFE/FABIO FRUSTACI

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Photo story: Christmas tree placed in St. Peter’s Square

A nun looks on as a crane places a Christmas tree, a spruce of 28 meters high in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City. This year’s red fir (Picea abies) comes…

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Pope Francis tells young people to dream

Pope Francis told young people they had been “entrusted with an exciting but also a challenging task: to stand tall while everything around us seems to be collapsing; to be…

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Vatican releases itinerary of Pope’s visit to Cyprus and Greece

Pope Francis will be travelling to Cyprus and Greece from 2 to 6 December, embarking on his next international apostolic journey to the two nations. The Holy See Press Office released…

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Photo Story: Pope Francis’ mass for the World Day of the Poor

Pope Francis celebrates a mass in Saint Peter's Basilica marking the Roman Catholic Church's World Day of the Poor, Vatican City, 14 November 2021. Here Pope Francis said that God’s…

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Pope thanks journalists for helping expose Church sex scandals

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Saturday thanked journalists for helping uncover the clerical sexual abuse scandals that the Roman Catholic Church initially tried to cover up. The pope…

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French Catholics agree to sell property to compensate abuse victims

France's Catholic Church said on Monday it would sell real estate and, if needed, take out loans to set up a fund to compensate thousands of people sexually abused by…

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Muslim and Jewish Leaders call for protection of religious minorities in Europe

The Muslim Jewish Leadership Council (MJLC) gathered 32 religious leaders from 20 countries in Ljubljana this week, meeting with high ranking Slovene officials to discuss the protection of religious minority…

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UPDATED: Pope to visit Cyprus and Greece Dec 2-6

The Vatican on Friday officially announced that Pope Francis will visit Cyprus and Greece, including the island of Lesbos that hosts many foreign migrants, on Dec. 2-6, confirming a Reuters…

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World should respond to climate change as if hit by a global war, pope tells COP26

Pope Francis said on Tuesday that the twin wounds inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change were comparable to those caused by a global conflict and should be confronted…

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Biden has unusually long meeting with pope as abortion debate flares at home

VATICAN CITY, Oct 29 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden held an unusually long meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Friday as a debate raged back home about…

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Pope Francis: COP26 must offer concrete hope to future generations

In a message recorded exclusively for the BBC, Pope Francis has called on world leaders meeting next week at the UN Climate conference in Glasgow to provide "effective responses" to…

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Biden to meet pope amid pressure from anti-abortion U.S. bishops

Devout Roman Catholic Joe Biden meets Pope Francis in the Vatican on Friday at a time when the U.S. president is under pressure from conservatives in the Church for his…

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Pope encourages Order of Malta in its process of renewal

In a letter dated 25 October 2021, the Pope thanks Cardinal Tomasi for the positive work he has already done since accepting the appointment as his Special Delegate to the…

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Don’t send migrants back to unsafe countries, pope says, citing Libya

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday urged countries not to send migrants back to insecure countries such as Libya, where he said many suffer violent and inhumane conditions…

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Pope confirms December Greece-Cyprus trip while in 2022 he plans visits to Congo, Hungary and Oceania

CruxNow - In an interview to an Argentine news site, Pope Francis confirmed travel plans for the end of this year and spoke of several international gatherings of world leaders,…

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Photo Story: Boy overcomes Vatican security during Pope Francis’ weekly General Audience at the Vatican

Ten-year-old Paolo Junior (L) approaches Pope Francis during his weekly General Audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall, in Vatican City, 20 October 2021. The child broke through the safety…

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Pope condemns attacks in Norway, Afghanistan and Britain, following Amess stabbing

Pope Francis on Sunday condemned recent attacks in Norway, Afghanistan and Britain, in an apparent reference to the stabbing death of parliamentarian David Amess. "Last week, various attacks were carried…

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Pope pledges to continue being a ‘pest’ in defence of the poor

VATICAN CITY, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Saturday he realises some people, including within the Church, consider him to be "a pest" for defending the poor and…

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John Paul I, pope who reigned for only 33 days, moves closer to sainthood

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope John Paul I, who reigned for only 33 days in 1978, will be beatified, moving him closer to eventual sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church,…

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Photo Story: Tender moment during Pope Francis’ general audience

Pope Francis give new-born a pacifier during the weekly general audience in Paolo VI Hall, Vatican City, 13 October 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/GIUSEPPE LAMI

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Celebrating Synod means walking together on the same road

Pope Francis formally opened the Synod of Bishops on Sunday with a solemn Mass in St Peter’s Basilica. Faithful from around the world – including laymen and -women, priests, seminarians,…

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Pope meets Pelosi as abortion debate rages back home

VATICAN CITY, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Pope Francis met on Saturday with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic who has come under criticism from some bishops in the United…

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Photo Story: Pope Francis greets Maltese Cardinal Mario Grech ahead of the Synod inauguration on Sunday

A handout picture provided by the Vatican Media shows Pope Francis (R) greeting Maltese Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, in Vatican City, 09 October 2021.…

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Photo Story – Pope Francis receives Prime Minister of Malta

Handout pictures provided by the Vatican Media shows Pope Francis during the visit of Robert Abela, Prime Minister of the Republic of Malta, and his family, Vatican City, 08 October…

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Photo Story: German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Vatican on farewell visit

A handout picture provided by the Vatican broadcaster Vatican Media shows outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) during a private audience with Pope Francis (L) in Vatican City, 07 October…

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UPDATE: Pope’s visit to Malta set to happen in 2022 – The Times

The Times of Malta printed edition reports that the Pope's visit to Malta has been put off to 2022. The visit, which was meant to happen in 2019, was postponed…

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Judge in Cardinal Angelo Becciu trial orders prosecution to share more evidence

The chief judge at a Vatican trial of 10 people accused of financial crimes, including a cardinal, on Wednesday ordered the prosecution to give the defence more access to evidence…

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Pope says ashamed Church did not prioritise abuse victims in France

Pope Francis said on Wednesday he was saddened and shamed by the Catholic Church's inability to deal with sexual abuse of children in France and that the Church must make…

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Three Vatican Swiss Guards resign after COVID-19 vaccination request

Three members of the Vatican Swiss Guards, the elite colourfully dressed corps that protects the pope, have decided to resign rather than be vaccinated against COVID-19, Swiss newspaper Tribune de…

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Report finds 216,000 children were victims of French clergy sex abuse since 1950

An investigation into sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church has found that an estimated 216,000 children were victims of abuse by clergy since 1950, Jean-March Sauve, head of the commission that…

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Cardinal Jorge Medina, who announced Pope Benedict XVI’s election, dies

Chilean Cardinal, Jorge Medina Estévez, died on Oct. 3. He was the bishop of Rancagua and Valparaiso. Pope John Paul II created him a cardinal in 1998. He played several…

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Pope, world religious leaders, issue pre-COP26 appeal on climate change

Pope Francis and other religious leaders made a joint appeal on Monday for next month's U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) to offer concrete solutions to save the planet from "an…

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Indications Pope to visit Malta on 2 and 3 December, Maltese PM Abela to meet Pope in Rome

Prime Minister Robert Abela will be meeting Pope Francis on Friday, with the Pontiff’s December visit on the agenda, a website dedicated to Vatican affairs reports. In its account of…

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