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☆ Pope Francis Embraces ‘Youth Day,’ With an Eye on the Future
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Jason Horowitz | More About Jason Horowitz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“In Lisbon, I would like to see a seed for the world’s future,” Francis, 86, said in video remarks to young people ahead of World Youth Day, which he first attended in Brazil at the start of his papacy 10 years ago. The church, he warned, could not be a “club” for the elderly. The meeting will also be attended by more than 700 bishops and 20 cardinals, and comes as Portugal grapples with an exploding clerical sex abuse crisis. Francis is also preparing for a major meeting of the world’s bishops — and for the first time women and laypeople — to tackle divisive issues like the role of women and L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics in the church.

Persons: Pope Francis, “, ” Francis, Francis ’, Francis, — Organizations: Roman Catholic Church, ” Locations: Portugal, Lisbon, Brazil

☆ Animal rights campaigners urge Pope Francis to denounce bullfighting
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Activists from the animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) protest against bullfighting near Vatican, in Rome, Italy, July 28, 2023. REUTERS/Antonio DentiVATICAN CITY, July 28 (Reuters) - A group of animal rights activists gathered near the Vatican on Friday dressed in red capes and fake horns to urge Pope Francis to denounce what they see as the barbaric practice of bullfighting. "Catholic Church: Silence is Violence! Denounce bullfighting," read a banner held up by the activists near the ancient Roman Castel Sant'Angelo fortress on the banks of the River Tiber, in view of St Peter's Basilica. Since bullfighting events "are often held in honour of Catholic saints or during holy Christian celebrations, the Catholic Church can and must help end this abuse by publicly condemning bull torture in the name of religion," animal rights group PETA said in a statement.

Persons: Antonio Denti, Pope Francis, Castel, Pope Pius V, Alvise, Peter Graff Organizations: PETA, REUTERS, CITY, Catholic, Roman Catholic Church, PETA Italy, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Vatican, Rome, Italy, Castel Sant'Angelo, Peter's

☆ Sinead O’Connor’s Life in Pictures
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

With her short hair and wide eyes, the Irish singer Sinead O’Connor, who has died at the age of 56, cast a powerful silhouette onstage during her music career. The height of her power came in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including a divisive 1992 appearance on “Saturday Night Live” in which she ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II to protest sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. O’Connor told Rolling Stone in 1991 that her record company, Ensign, wanted her to wear high-heel boots and tight jeans and grow her hair out. “I decided that they were so pathetic,” she said, “that I shaved my head.”

Persons: Sinead O’Connor, Pope John Paul II, O’Connor, Stone, “, ” Organizations: Roman Catholic Church

Bret Stephens: Gail, happy Almost Independence Day. Gail Collins: Well gee, Bret, happy Almost Independence Day back. If you’re thinking of the Supreme Court, I’m happy to join in any hand-wringing. Public education: broken. And the most broken thing of all: public trust.

Persons: Bret Stephens, Gail, Gail Collins, gee, Bret, Hope you’re, you’ve, Alana Newhouse Organizations: Roman Catholic Locations: Lebanon, Brazil

☆ Brazil's Lula will ask Nicaragua's Ortega to release jailed bishop
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, June 22 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday he would personally lobby Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega to release a bishop who has been imprisoned in the Central American state. Speaking to reporters a day after meeting Pope Francis, Lula said the Nicaraguan president should have "the courage" to recognize that a mistake had been made. "I intend to speak with Daniel Ortega about this to release the bishop. There is no reason for the bishop to be prevented from exercising his function in the Church," Lula said. "The only thing the Church wants is for Nicaragua to free them," Lula said, referring to Alvarez and a number of detained priests.

Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, Pope Francis, Lula, Bishop Rolando Alvarez, Ortega, Daniel Ortega, Francis, Alvarez, Alvazez, Philip Pulella, Catarina Demony, Federico Maccioni, Crispian Balmer Organizations: Central, Roman Catholic Church, Thomson Locations: Central American, Nicaraguan, Nicaragua, Latin America, Brazil, United States

☆ A Year After Dobbs, Advocates Push in the States for a Right to Birth Control
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Sheryl Gay Stolberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“It’s going to be up to Republicans to choose whether they want to protect the right to contraception,” Senator Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts and the sponsor of the failed Senate bill, said in an interview before the governor’s veto. Mr. Markey called the Dobbs decision “a preview of coming atrocities.”On Wednesday, Mr. Markey and Representative Kathy Manning, Democrat of North Carolina, reintroduced legislation to create a national right to contraception. With the House now controlled by Republicans and Senate Democrats well short of the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster, the legislation is most likely dead on arrival in Washington. Polls have consistently shown broad bipartisan support for access to contraception, and while Republicans may not be eager to enshrine a right to it in federal law, neither do they generally want to ban it. Still, some opposition to birth control does exist.

Persons: “, Edward J, Markey, Kathy Manning Organizations: Democrat, Republicans, Senate Democrats, Roman Catholic Church, American College of Obstetricians, and Drug Administration Locations: Massachusetts, North Carolina, Washington, implanting

☆ Indigenous Leaders Elated by Supreme Court Ruling on Adoptions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Simon Romero | Jan Hoffman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Maryanna Harstad was stunned and then elated when she heard that the Supreme Court had upheld a law on Thursday aimed at keeping Native American adoptees with their tribes and traditions. Adopted herself by a white family nearly two decades before the law was passed in 1978, she was worried about the effect that overturning it could have had on Native children. “You always feel that you’re kind of this impersonator,” Ms. Harstad, 63, an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Band of the Minnesota Ojibwe and a descendant of the Blackfeet Nation of Montana, said about learning about her culture later in life. She knew very little about her heritage until she majored in American Indian Studies in college, and has since met her biological family and volunteered extensively with many Indigenous groups in Minneapolis. She is now a program director for Gichitwaa Kateri, a Native American Roman Catholic Church in Minneapolis.

Persons: Maryanna, “, ” Ms, Gichitwaa Kateri Organizations: Blackfeet, Indian Studies, American Roman Catholic Church Locations: Maryanna Harstad, Harstad, Minnesota, of Montana, Minneapolis, American

☆ Immense Crowds Protest Poland’s Governing Conservative Party
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Referring to the opening line of the Polish national anthem, he added: “It’s over. Warsaw’s City Hall, which is controlled by political foes of the government, put the turnout at half a million. That was almost certainly an exaggeration but, even accounting for inflated numbers, the march on Sunday appeared to be the biggest antigovernment demonstration since street protests in the 1980s in support of Solidarity. TVP Info, a state-controlled news channel, reported that only 100,000 people had taken part at most and focused its minimal coverage of the march on obscenities voiced by some protesters, a tactic often used by pro-government news outlets to portray critics of Law and Justice as foul-mouthed infidels opposed to the Roman Catholic Church. As huge crowds gathered on Sunday afternoon, TVP Info led its news bulletin with a report on the “National Parade of Farmer’s Housewives’ Circles,” a modestly attended event organized by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Persons: Lech Walesa Organizations: Solidarity, Law, Justice, Communist, Roman Catholic Church, Ministry of Agriculture Locations: Poland, Warsaw’s

☆ Pope to visit Mongolia, home to just 1,300 Catholics
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

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. According to Fides, the news agency of the Vatican's missionary activities, there are about 1,300 baptized Catholics in Mongolia among a population of about 3.3 million people. Although the number of Catholics in Mongolia is smaller that most individual parish churches in many countries, the country is significant for the Vatican. Mongolia, once known as Outer Mongolia, was part of China until 1921, when it achieved independence with the help of the then Soviet Union. Francis is due to visit Portugal from Aug. 2-6 to attend the World Youth Day in Lisbon and visit the Shrine of Fatima.

Persons: Pope Francis, Matteo Bruni, Francis, Archbishop Giorgio Marengo, Marengo, Fides, Keith Weir, Toby Chopra, Mark Potter Organizations: CITY, Roman Catholic Church, Vatican, Catholic, U.S . State Department, Fatima, Thomson Locations: Mongolia, China, Rome, Africa, Soviet Union, Inner Mongolia, Western Europe, Portugal, Lisbon, India

☆ Russia-Ukraine War News: Pope Francis Discusses Peace Efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Gaia Pianigiani | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

A photo provided by the Vatican shows Pope Francis, center left, with the prime minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, center right, during a private audience in the Vatican on Thursday. Pope Francis discussed peace efforts in Ukraine with the country’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, during a private audience at the Vatican on Thursday, their first known meeting since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. The relationship between Ukraine and Francis, who has long called for peace and decried what he called barbaric acts of war, was troubled in the early months of the conflict. Mr. Shmyhal also asked the pope for help in “returning home Ukrainian children” who have been deported to Russia. Early in the war Ukrainian officials criticized the pope’s decision not to name Russia or its president, Vladimir V. Putin, as the aggressor in the conflict.

☆ Pope allows women to vote at bishops meeting for first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Pope Francis leaves following the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 26, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneApril 26 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, in a historic move that could lead to more inclusiveness in decision-making in the Roman Catholic Church, will allow women to vote for the first time at a global meeting of bishops in October. The revolutionary rules, announced on Wednesday, allow for five religious sisters with voting rights. The 70 priests, religious sisters, deacons and lay Catholics will be chosen by the pope from a list of 140 people recommended by national bishops' conferences. In another last year, he named three women to a previously all-male committee that advises him in selecting the world's bishops.

☆ Pope Will Allow Women to Vote at Meeting of Bishops
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Vatican announced on Wednesday that Pope Francis would for the first time allow women to vote at a coming meeting of bishops, an important step toward giving them more say in the affairs of the Roman Catholic Church. The pope also increased the number of laypeople who will participate next October at the meeting, the Synod of Bishops, which periodically meets at the Vatican to discuss issues such as how to deal with divorced couples. The coming synod is centered on fostering a greater involvement of the faithful as the church moves forward. The Synod advises the pope and is influential, although only he makes church policy. The rule changes for the bishops’ meeting were made public on Wednesday in a document outlining the norms governing the synod.

☆ What Is the Synod of Bishops?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Gaia Pianigiani | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Synod of Bishops is a religious assembly of bishops from all over the world who gather in Rome to discuss issues vital to the Roman Catholic Church and act as an advisory body to the pope. The word synod means “coming together.” It stems from ancient Greek, and is a combination of the word “together” and “road” or “way.”Pope Francis announced on Wednesday that for the first time at an upcoming synod, women and laypeople will be able to vote. As a result, half of the 70 non-bishop voting members will be women, and five nuns will also have voting rights. Preparation for such events requires years, as church leaders hold consultations and listen to their local communities before the selected bishops travel to the Vatican to gather around the pope, who ultimately decides possible changes to the church’s discipline or administration. The Vatican has described synods as opportunities for bishops “to interact with each other and to share information and experiences, in the common pursuit of pastoral solutions which have a universal validity and application.”

☆ Pope presents shards from cross of Christ for King Charles' coronation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] The new Cross of Wales, which will be used in the procession during the Coronation of Britain’s King Charles is seen before a service at Holy Trinity Church in Llandudno, Britain April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Phil NobleLONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - Pope Francis has gifted fragments believed to be from the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified to form part of a new processional cross which will be used at the coronation of Britain's King Charles next month. It features two small shards from the relic donated by the pope which have been shaped into a cross behind a rose crystal gemstone. After the coronation, the cross will be shared between the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in Wales. "We are delighted too that its first use will be to guide their majesties into Westminster Abbey at the Coronation Service."

☆ Pope hopes Northern Ireland accord can be 'consolidated' to benefit all Ireland
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VATICAN CITY, April 10 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Monday he was praying that the Good Friday agreement signed 25 years ago that largely ended violence in Northern Ireland can be "consolidated" to benefit the people of all of Ireland. "Today marks the 25th anniversary of the so-called Good Friday agreement, or of Belfast, which brought an end to the violence that for decades troubled Northern Ireland," Francis said. Angry about post-Brexit trade rules that treated the province of Northern Ireland differently to the rest of the United Kingdom, the Democratic Unionist Party, the largest pro-British party, has boycotted the power-sharing devolved government central to the peace deal for more than a year. Last month, Britain's MI5 intelligence agency increased the threat level in Northern Ireland from domestic terrorism to "severe" - meaning an attack was considered highly likely. Additional reporting by Michael Holden in London; editing by John Stonestreet, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pope Francis leaves hospital, saying 'I'm still alive'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Remo Casilli | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ROME, April 1 (Reuters) - Pope Francis left hospital and returned to the Vatican on Saturday after being treated for bronchitis, making light of his illness by saying: "I'm still alive you know". Looking to show he was fully recovered, Francis got out of his car before leaving left the hospital grounds, using a walking stick to support himself. Before getting back into the car, Francis embraced a sobbing mother, whose young daughter had died overnight in the hospital, and then prayed with both the parents. Asked by reporters if he had been afraid during his hospital stay, the pope said: "No, afraid no." [1/6] Pope Francis rides in a car near the Vatican after having been discharged from Gemelli hospital in Rome, Italy, April 1, 2023.

☆ Vatican repudiates colonial-era 'doctrine of discovery'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VATICAN CITY, March 30 (Reuters) - The Vatican on Thursday formally repudiated the colonial-era "doctrine of discovery", used centuries ago to justify European conquests of Africa and the Americas, saying "it is not part of Catholic Church teaching". The Vatican acknowledged in a statement from its culture and human development departments that papal documents from the 15th century were used by colonial powers to give legitimacy to their actions, which included slavery. The Vatican departments admitted that the bulls, which gave political cover to Spanish and Portuguese conquests in Africa and the Americas, "did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of indigenous peoples". Argentine-born Pope Francis, the first pontiff from the Americas, has made several outreach gestures towards indigenous people. Last year, he travelled to Canada's Arctic region to apologise for the oppression of the Inuit people.

☆ The guy behind the viral fake photo of the Pope in a puffy coat says using AI to make images of celebrities 'might be the line' — and calls for greater regulation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An AI-generated image showing the Pope in a luxurious puffer coat went viral over the weekend. "I just thought it was funny to see the Pope in a funny jacket," he told the outlet. And while he hadn't considered the impact of AI images before, added: "It's definitely going to get serious if they don't start implementing laws to regulate it." He added that he had "no ill will" and "just thought it was funny to see the Pope in a funny jacket." "I figured I was going to get backlash," he told BuzzFeed.

☆ Pope extends sexual abuse law to include lay leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] People reach out to touch Pope Francis' hand during his meeting with the faithful of parishes from Rho at the Vatican, March 25, 2023. REUTERS/Yara NardiVATICAN CITY, March 25 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Saturday updated rules on dealing with sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, expanding their scope to include lay Catholic leaders and spelling out that both minors and adults can be victims. BishopAccountability.org, a not-for-profit organisation looking to document the abuses within the Roman Catholic Church, said the revision was "a big disappointment" and fell short of the "extensive revamping" the policy against the abuses would have required. The updated provisions have been unveiled a month after the Roman Catholic religious order of Jesuits said that accusations of sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse against one of its most prominent members were highly credible. Rupnik has not spoken publicly of the accusations, which have rattled the worldwide order, of which the pope is a member.

☆ Pope Francis to gather cardinals to mark his 10th anniversary as pontiff
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

VATICAN CITY, March 13 (Reuters) - Pope Francis will mark his 10 years as head of the Roman Catholic Church on Monday celebrating Mass with cardinals in the chapel of the Vatican's Santa Marta hotel where he has lived since his election. The Argentina-born Francis, 86, became the first Latin American pontiff on March 13, 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI who had become the first pope in six centuries to resign. Francis has said he would be ready to step down if severe health problems prohibited from running the 1.38-billion-member Church. With his 10 years as pontiff, Francis has now reigned longer than the 7.5 years average length of the previous 265 pontificates. The shortest is believed to be that of Urban VII, which lasted 13 days in 1590.

☆ Pope Francis marks 10th anniversary with Mass and podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

VATICAN CITY, March 13 (Reuters) - Pope Francis marks 10 years as head of the Roman Catholic Church on Monday celebrating Mass with cardinals in the chapel of the Vatican's Santa Marta hotel where he has lived since his election. The Argentina-born Francis, 86, became the first Latin American pontiff on March 13, 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI who had become the first pope in six centuries to resign. With his 10 years as pontiff, Francis has now reigned longer than the 7.5 years average length of the previous 265 pontificates. After that comes the papacy of John Paul II, who reigned for more than 26 years between 1978 and 2005. The shortest is believed to be that of Urban VII, which lasted 13 days in 1590.

☆ Pope says Ukraine war fuelled not just by 'Russian empire'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VATICAN CITY, March 10 (Reuters) - The war in Ukraine is driven by the interests of several "empires" and not just of Russia's, Pope Francis said in an interview published on Friday. Francis said the conflict was fuelled by "imperial interests, not just of the Russian empire, but of empires from elsewhere". He expressed a readiness to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin to call for peace. Extracts were published on Friday by Italian dailies La Repubblica, La Stampa and Corriere della Sera. I have less physical resistance, the knee (problem) was a physical humiliation, even if the recovery is going well now," he said.

☆ In homeland of Pope Francis, long absence prompts prayers for return
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Lucila Sigal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] Catholic faithfuls pray during a mass at the Basilica San Jose de Flores, where Pope Francis used to attend in his childhood, in Buenos Aires, Argentina March 6, 2023. Some in Argentina claim Pope Francis as a Peronist, part of the powerful political movement forged by Juan Domingo Perón in the 1940s based on social justice values. She accused him of taking sides politically and once avoided him by shunning a traditional Mass in Buenos Aires. "We shouldn't rule out the possibility that (the pope) is concerned his presence will sharpen the political divide," De Vedia said. Bergoglio, he pointed out, had gained the nickname "Papa villero" - Pope of the villas - due to his closeness with the people.

☆ The life and times of Pope Francis as he marks his 10th anniversary as pontiff
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

[1/3] Pope Francis greets people as he attends the weekly general audience in St. Peter's square at the Vatican, March 8, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneVATICAN CITY, March 8 (Reuters) - Following are some of the major events of the life and ministry of Pope Francis, who marks the 10th anniversary of his election as pontiff on March 13. 2017Jan. 2 - Pope Francis says in a letter bishops must show zero tolerance to clergy who sexually abuse children. May 18 - In unprecedented move, all Chile's bishops offer to resign after attending crisis meeting with Pope Francis. In March 2022, he introduces a reform saying Catholic women could in future take charge of most departments.

☆ In surprise result, Italy's left picks Elly Schlein to rebuild party
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Italy's opposition centre-left Democratic Party (PD) picked Elly Schlein, a 37-year-old U.S.-Italian national who grew up in Switzerland, to be its new leader and rebuild the group after its election rout last year. Schlein will lead opposition in parliament to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with two women for the first time in Italian history heading the country's two main parties. Although she has promised a new start for the party, many of the PD's grandees have rallied behind her in recent weeks. Polls suggested he would easily beat Schlein, but in the end he only drew strong backing in the more traditionalist south. Schlein faces a monumental struggle if she hopes to heal divisions within her party and beat Meloni's conservative bloc in the next national election in 2027.

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