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Blessings are signs of Church’s closeness: Pope
Pope Francis has again insisted that an informal blessing of a gay or other unmarried couple is not a blessing of their union but a sign of the Church’s closeness to them and its hope that they will grow in faith. Source: CNS.
Francis calls for release of Haiti hostages
Pope Francis has called for the release of six religious sisters and other hostages who were kidnapped while travelling on a bus in the Haitian capital of Port-Au-Prince. Source: Global Sisters Report.
Pope warns against inequality in healthcare and clinical research
Inequalities in healthcare and clinical research must be prevented, Pope Francis has told medical doctors, health practitioners, researchers, ethicists and other experts attending a conference at the Vatican. Source: CNS.
Vatican continues expenditure reforms with release of new documents
Continuing the long-running updating of laws and norms regarding Vatican expenditures and processes for awarding contracts, Pope Francis issued two documents yesterday. Source: OSV News.
War is a crime against humanity: Pope
Pope Francis made a strong appeal for peace yesterday, calling modern warfare “a crime against humanity” that sows death among civilians and destroys cities. Source: National Catholic Register.
Canopy over main altar of St Peter’s Basilica to undergo restoration
The nearly 400-year-old sculpted canopy towering over the main altar of St Peter’s Basilica will be surrounded by scaffolding for most of 2024 as it is washed, repaired and restored. Source: CNS.
Pope urges Vatican bureaucrats to resist ‘rigid ideological positions’
In his annual Christmas address to members of the Roman Curia, Pope Francis urged the Church’s governing bureaucracy to be open to change and to resist “rigid ideological positions” that prevent them from moving forward. Source: Crux.
Convicted cardinal wants to ‘shout to the world that I’m innocent’
In his first major media appearance since being convicted of financial crimes by a Vatican tribunal and sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison, Cardinal Angelo Becciu said, “I want to shout to the world that I’m innocent”. Source: Crux.
Vatican provides new definition of how and when gay couples can be blessed
A priest can bless gay and unmarried couples as long as it is not a formal liturgical blessing and does not give the impression that the Church is blessing the unions as if they were a marriage, the Vatican announced. Source: CNS.