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☆ Thousands protest in Athens after Greece's deadly train crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Alkis KonstantinidisATHENS, March 5 (Reuters) - Clashes erupted briefly between police and a group of demonstrators in central Athens on Sunday on the fringes of a protest by thousands of students and railway workers over Greece's deadliest train crash in living memory. A small group of protesters hurled petrol bombs at police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades. The train, travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki, was packed with university students returning after a long holiday weekend. Railway workers' unions say safety systems throughout the rail network have been deficient for years as a remote surveillance and signalling system has not been delivered on time. Greece would soon announce action, he said, adding that Athens would seek expertise from the European Commission and other countries on improving rail safety.

☆ Pope Francis again turns screws on use of traditional Latin Mass
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VATICAN CITY, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Tuesday further tightened the screws on Catholic conservatives over the use of traditional Latin Mass, rebuking bishops who had allowed it to be said in parishes without previous permission from the Vatican. Francis issued a brief but unequivocal decree underscoring sections of a document he issued in 2021, when he overturned liberalising decisions by his two predecessors, who had been more lenient towards the traditional Latin Mass. Some also had closed an eye to the regulation that priests ordained after 2021 needed special permission from the Vatican to say the old-style Latin Mass. Some conservatives in the Church have used the Latin Mass as a battle cry in their general opposition to the reforms of the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council, which included the introduction of Mass in vernacular languages. Many missed the Latin rites' sense of mystery and awe and the centuries-old sacred music that went with it.

☆ Fact Check-Photos of Pope Francis wearing colorful cross misrepresented in video
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Photos of Pope Francis wearing the Latin American Youth Ministry cross in 2018 have been misrepresented online, with some users incorrectly linking the colours to the pride flag used to show support for LGBTQ+ people. A second tweet from the news outlet details that the colorful cross is the Latin American Youth Ministry cross (here), and each of its colors represent different countries in Latin America. Further information about the symbol and its colors can be found on the website of the Latin American Youth Ministry (here) (here). On Feb. 5, Pope Francis said laws criminalizing LGBT people were sinful and an injustice (here). Photos show Pope Francis wearing the Latin American Youth Ministry cross.

☆ Popes are for life, resignations should not become a fashion, Francis says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Pope Francis looks at the coffin of former Pope Benedict during his funeral, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Yara NardiVATICAN CITY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Pope Francis has said that pontiffs resigning instead of ruling for life should not become a "fashion" in the Roman Catholic Church and happen only in truly exceptional circumstances. "This does not, however, in any way mean that popes retiring should become, let's say, a fashion, a normal thing," he said. In 2013, Pope Benedict, citing frail physical and mental health, became the first pontiff to resign in 600 years. The tone of Francis' comments to the African Jesuits was in a marked contrast to that which Francis used in the past when discussing the possible resignations of popes, including himself.

☆ Medical-Device Makers Face Push to Protect Their Wares From Hacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( James Rundle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Mounting cyberattacks against hospitals and clinics and a regulatory push are increasing the pressure on medical-device manufacturers to improve the security of their products. Cyber protections have often been an afterthought for medical devices, which can be in operation for decades. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Cybersecurity news, analysis and insights from WSJ's global team of reporters and editors. While Mr. Suarez acknowledged that greater transparency about vulnerabilities is needed from makers of medical devices, he also wants to see customers stop using old, unsupported equipment. “It’s a complex challenge,” Mr. Suarez said.

☆ Pope voices his concern for imprisoned Nicaraguan bishop
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VATICAN CITY, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday spoke of his concern over the imprisonment of Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who was sentenced to more than 26 years in prison in the Latin American country. The Pope's comments about Alvarez, who is a vocal critic of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, were made in his weekly blessing to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square. Ortega has accused Catholic leaders of attempting to overthrow him after protests that killed about 300 people in 2018. Since then, the government of the former Cold War-era Marxist rebel has expelled Catholic nuns and missionaries. Alvarez was convicted on Friday of treason, undermining national integrity and spreading false news, among other charges.

☆ Pope Francis says laws criminalising LGBT people are a 'sin' and an injustice
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Sunday that laws criminalising LGBT people are a sin and an injustice because God loves and accompanies people with same-sex attraction. Persons with homosexual tendencies are children of God. Criminalising people with homosexual tendencies is an injustice," Francis said. He noted that the Catholic Church's catechism, or book of teachings, says same-sex attraction is not a sin but homosexual acts are. Francis mentioned his now-famous phase from soon after he became pope in 2013 that he could not judge people with same-sex tendencies who are seeking God.

☆ Pope Francis says he wants to go to Mongolia in September
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Sunday that he expected to continue travelling despite his knee ailment, joking that "weeds never die" and adding that he hoped to go to Mongolia in September. The trip would be the first ever by a pope to the Asian country. Speaking of his health, Francis, who became pope nearly 10 years ago, said "You know that weeds never die. Last August Francis named Archbishop Giorgio Marengo, an Italian, the first cardinal to be based in Mongolia, where he is the Catholic Church's administrator. Francis, who was on his way home from his 40th foreign trip as pope, also said he would probably go to India next year.

☆ Protect, advance women for a better South Sudan, pope says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A United Nations report on South Sudan issued last March condemned widespread sexual violence against women and girls in conflict and said it was "fuelled by systemic impunity". South Sudan broke away from Sudan in 2011 but plunged into civil war in 2013 with ethnic groups turning on each other. The pope responded by calling on everyone in South Sudan "to ensure that women are protected, respected, valued and honoured". Francis said that if women are given opportunities "they will have the ability to change the face of South Sudan, to give it a peaceful and cohesive development!" About 10% of 15-year-old girls and 52% of 18-year-old girls in South Sudan are married, she said.

"Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Stop choking Africa: it is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered," Francis said. [1/9] Pope Francis sits next to Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi as he attends the welcoming ceremony at the Palais de la Nation on the first day of his apostolic journey, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, January 31, 2023. The pope criticised rich countries for ignoring the tragedies unfolding in Congo and elsewhere in Africa. On Wednesday, Francis will celebrate Mass at a Kinshasa airport that is expected to draw more than a million people.

☆ The DOJ's antitrust case against Google is ambitious but risky
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

But alongside the possibility of great reward comes significant risk in seeking to push the boundaries of antitrust law. "All antitrust cases are an uphill battle for plaintiffs, thanks to 40 years of case law," said Rebecca Haw Allensworth, an antitrust professor at Vanderbilt Law School. But, Allensworth added, the government's challenges may be different than those in many other antitrust cases. Like all antitrust cases, this one is unlikely to be concluded anytime soon. "This is clearly the blockbuster case so far from the DOJ antitrust division," Francis said.

☆ Pope Francis Says Criminalizing Homosexuality Is Wrong
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Francis X. Rocca | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Pope Francis discussed homosexuality during an interview with the Associated Press at the Vatican. ROME— Pope Francis said that laws punishing homosexuality are unfair and that the Catholic Church should work for their repeal. The statement, in an interview with the Associated Press published on Wednesday, is the latest in a series of conciliatory gestures by Pope Francis toward gay people.

☆ Pope Francis says homosexuality is a sin but not a crime and criticizes 'unjust' anti-gay laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

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,” Francis said during an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press. Experts say even where the laws are not enforced, they contribute to harassment, stigmatization and violence against LGBTQ people. Declaring such laws “unjust,” Francis said the Catholic Church can and should work to put an end to them. Fine, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime.”“It’s also a sin to lack charity with one another,” he added.

☆ Homosexuality not a crime, Pope Francis says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

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," Francis said during an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press. Declaring such laws "unjust," Francis said the Catholic Church can and should work to put an end to them. On Tuesday, Francis said there needed to be a distinction between a crime and a sin with regard to homosexuality. when he was asked about a purportedly gay priest, Francis has gone on to minister repeatedly and publicly to the gay and trans community.

☆ Pope calls for an end to violence in Peru, urges talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

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. No more deaths!”Francis, who is a native of Argentina, pointed out that Peruvians were among the faithful in the square on Sunday. A woman waves a Peruvian flag Friday during an anti-government protest in Lima. Guadalupe Pardo / APUntil recently, the protests increasingly engulfing Peru had been concentrated in the country’s south. Demonstrators are demanding the resignation of Dina Boluarte, the former vice president sworn into office Dec. 7 to replace Castillo.

☆ Pope calls for end to violence in Peru, respect for human rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer from his window at the Vatican, January 22, 2023. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERSVATICAN CITY, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday called for an end to violence in Peru, where nearly 50 people have been killed during anti-government demonstrations in the past few weeks. Protests have flared in Peru since President Pedro Castillo was ousted in December after attempting to dissolve the legislature to prevent an impeachment vote. "I encourage all sides to take the path of dialogue among brothers of the same nation, in full respect of human rights and the rule of law," Francis said. Resistance movements, some armed, have emerged across the country, which the military has countered with lethal force.

☆ 2 top executives at consulting giant McKinsey broke down 3 ways Gen Z is transforming the workplace
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Cadie Thompson | Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Gen Z is starting to transform the workplace, according to two McKinsey executives at Davos. They told Insider how Gen Zers are more open to collaborate than millenials, but still have strong values. "The millennial generation was like 'Let's blow up all the institutions and start from scratch'," she said, noting that Gen Z takes a more "pragmatic" approach. George told Insider how the company has changed its talent model to accommodate this. McKinsey is working hard to be "more open about who we are, and what we do, because that's how Gen Z sees the world," she added.

☆ Pope Francis Mourns Cardinal Pell, Who Called His Reign a ‘Catastrophe’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Francis X. Rocca | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Pope Francis on Saturday said prayers at the funeral of Cardinal George Pell in St. Peter’s Basilica. VATICAN CITY— Pope Francis said the final prayers at Cardinal George Pell’s funeral on Saturday, but didn’t lay to rest the grievances of many conservatives for whom the late cardinal was a leading spokesman. Cardinal Pell, a pugnacious Australian who died on Tuesday, served Francis as Vatican finance minister but differed sharply with the pope’s progressive approach, including his leniency on divorce and homosexuality. The late cardinal bluntly criticized his boss in a memo, published last year under a pseudonym, which described the current pontificate as “a disaster in many or most respects; a catastrophe.”

☆ Iran sentences three more protesters to death amid international criticism
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

DUBAI, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Iran's judiciary has sentenced three more anti-government protesters to death on charges of "waging war on God", its Mizan news agency reported on Monday, defying growing international criticism over its fierce crackdown on demonstrators. Pope Francis on Monday condemned Iran for using the death penalty on demonstrators demanding greater respect for women. Under Iran's Islamic law, treason is punishable by death. Amnesty International said last month that Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 26 others in what it called "sham trials designed to intimidate protesters". The European Union, the United States and other Western countries have condemned Iran for using the death penalty against demonstrators.

☆ Pope Benedict's funeral draws thousands to the Vatican
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Rhoda Kwan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Thousands gathered at the Vatican on Thursday for the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, a stalwart of conservative values who shocked the Catholic church when he resigned a decade ago. Mourners dressed in black poured into St. Peter's Square ahead of the Mass, which began at 9:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. EST). The event was presided over by Pope Francis, with a living pontiff leading the farewell to his predecessor for an event that is unprecedented in modern times. As fog shrouded the top of St Peter's Basilica, the ceremony began with a prayer by Francis for the late pope emeritus, and readings were made in Spanish, English and Latin. Francis placed his hand on Benedict's cypress coffin as it was being carried into St Peter's Basilica, before placing his hand on his chest and bowing to the late pope.

☆ Pope praises ‘gentle’ Benedict ahead of funeral
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Francis is due to preside over the late German pope’s funeral on Thursday, an event that is drawing heads of state and royalty despite Benedict’s requests for simplicity and Vatican efforts to keep the first Vatican funeral for an emeritus pope in modern times low-key. In keeping with Benedict’s wishes, his remains will be placed in the crypt once occupied by the tomb of St. John Paul II in the grottos underneath the basilica. Benedict, who was elected pope in 2005 following John Paul’s death, became the first pope in six centuries years to resign when he announced in 2013 he no longer had the strength to lead the Catholic Church. After Francis was elected pope, Benedict spent his nearly decade-long retirement in a converted monastery in the Vatican Gardens. Thursday’s rite takes into account the unusual situation in which a reigning pope will preside over a funeral for a retired one, making important changes to a funeral ritual for popes that is highly codified.

☆ Pope marks New Year as Vatican prepares to mourn Benedict
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Pope Francis prayed for his predecessor’s passage to heaven as he presided over a special New Year’s Day Mass Sunday in St. Peter’s Basilica, a day after Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died in retirement at the Vatican. Benedict, 95, died Saturday morning in the Vatican where he had lived since retirement. He departed briefly from reading his homily, with its emphasis on hope and peace, to pray aloud for Benedict. “Today we entrust to our Blessed Mother our beloved Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, so that she may accompany him in his passage from this world to God,” he said. “At the beginning of this year, we need hope, just as the Earth needs rain,” Francis said.

☆ Pope Benedict XVI Dies at Age 95
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Francis X. Rocca | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ROME—Retired Pope Benedict XVI, who led the Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013 before becoming the first pope in nearly 600 years to resign, died early on Saturday, the Vatican said. Pope Francis said on Dec. 28 that his predecessor was very sick, and Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told reporters that Benedict’s health had deteriorated “due to advancing age.”

☆ Pope Francis calls Benedict noble, kind man who was gift to the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VATICAN CITY, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, in his first public comments since the death of his predecessor earlier on Saturday, called former Pope Benedict a noble, kind man who was a gift to the Church and the world. Francis spoke in the homily of a previously planned New Year's Eve vespers of thanksgiving in St. Peter's Basilica. Pope Francis leads the Vespers and Te Deum prayer on New Year's Eve in St. Peter's Basilica after the death of former Pope Benedict at the Vatican, December 31, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane"It is with emotion that we remember his person, so noble, so kind. And we feel in our heart such gratitude, gratitude to God for having gifted him to the Church and the world," Francis said.

☆ Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI dies at 95
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Corky Siemaszko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican," the statement said. Benedict was the longest-living pope, having surpassed Pope Leo XIII in September 2020. "We must think about what Pope Benedict said — 'It's the epoch of sin against God the Creator,'" Francis said at a gathering of Polish bishops. Unlike most priests, Benedict logged little time in parishes. In 2005, his first year as pope, he was accused in a lawsuit of having personally covered up a priest's abuse of three boys in Texas.

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