VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis resumed regular appointments on Saturday, one day after canceling his schedule due to a fever.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis skipped meetings Friday because he was running a fever after a particularly busy day, the Vatican said.
The Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said Francis was tired and attributed the fever to the fact that Francis had greeted, one by one, a particularly big crowd of his school foundation Thursday afternoon.
Pope taps successor as archbishop of Buenos Aires, again says he might finally return home to visit
May 26, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Friday tapped an Argentine bishop with years of ministry in the country’s prisons as his successor as archbishop of Buenos Aires, a day after again saying he might finally visit his home country next year.
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’ peace envoy for Ukraine, a veteran of the Catholic Church's conflict-mediation efforts, blasted war as a “pandemic” on Tuesday and said all Christians are called to be peacemakers.
Vatican confirms August trip by pope to Lisbon for World Youth Day, including Fatima stop
May 22, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis will travel to Portugal for World Youth Day in the first week of August and include a stop at the popular Marian shrine in Fatima, the Vatican said Monday.
The Aug. 2-6 visit is longer than originally expected and covers almost the entire week of the big Catholic rally that St.
Vatican: Pope Francis tasks cardinal with mission aimed at paving ‘paths to peace’ in Ukraine
May 20, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis has tasked a leading Italian cardinal with a mission in hopes it can “ease tensions” in the Ukraine war and lead to a path of peace, the Vatican said Saturday.
In a brief written statement, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said that Francis had entrusted the mission to Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who is close to the pontiff.
Pope takes cellphone call during general audience, meets with clergy abuse survivors
May 17, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s Wednesday general audiences are often chances for ordinary people to get rare access to Pope Francis, and this week’s gathering was no different: A group of LGBTQ+ Catholics got a papal photo, and clergy abuse survivors from Germany who biked to Rome handed Francis a letter demanding a better response from the church to the crisis.
Vatican seeks to assure Caritas that papal firings were necessary, not a criticism of work
May 12, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — A top Vatican cardinal defended Pope Francis’ “drastic” leadership firings at the Holy See’s preeminent charity, saying Friday they were necessary for the wellbeing of staff at Caritas Internationalis and not a condemnation of its work.
Vatican formally recognizes 21 Coptic Orthodox killed in Libya as martyrs, gives them feast day
May 11, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican is formally recognizing 21 Coptic Orthodox workers who were beheaded by Islamic militants in Libya as martyrs with their own feast day, in a significant new ecumenical gesture aimed at forging unity between Catholic and Orthodox churches.
Catholic, Coptic Orthodox popes offer joint Vatican blessing
May 10, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis and the Coptic Orthodox pope, Tawadros II, delivered a joint blessing Wednesday from St. Peter’s Square in a significant ecumenical gesture to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a historic meeting of their predecessors.
Ousted Caritas chief denounces Vatican ‘power grab’
May 9, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s main charitable organization, Caritas Internationalis, is hoping to open a new chapter this week after Pope Francis fired top managers over bullying complaints. But the recently ousted head is fighting back, claiming the Vatican engaged in a “brutal power grab” fueled by a “colonialist” attitude.
Pope seeks to encourage abuse prevention board amid turmoil
May 5, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis sought to encourage his embattled child protection advisory board Friday, following weeks of turmoil sparked by the latest resignation of a founding member and fresh questions about its direction.
Pope speaks of secret peace ‘mission,’ help for Ukraine kids
April 30, 2023 GMTABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday revealed that a secret peace “mission” in Russia's war in Ukraine was under way, though he gave no details, and said the Vatican is willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war.
Pope in final Mass in Budapest urges Hungary to open doors
April 30, 2023 GMTBUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Pope Francis urged Hungarians to open their doors to others on Sunday, as he wrapped up a weekend visit with a plea for Europe to welcome migrants and the poor and for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Pope voices willingness to return Indigenous loot, artifacts
April 30, 2023 GMTABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis said Sunday that talks were underway to return colonial-era artifacts in the Vatican Museum that were acquired from Indigenous peoples in Canada and voiced a willingness to return other problematic objects in the Vatican’s collection on a case-by-case basis.
Pope in Hungary meets with Ukrainian refugees, Russian envoy
April 29, 2023 GMTBUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Pope Francis plunged into both sides of Russia's war with Ukraine on Saturday, greeting some of the 2.5 million Ukrainian refugees who have fled across the border to Hungary during a public prayer service and then meeting privately with an envoy of the Russian Orthodox Church that has strongly supported the war.
Pope allows women to vote at upcoming bishops’ meeting
April 26, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has decided to give women the right to vote at an upcoming meeting of bishops, an historic reform that reflects his hopes to give women greater decision-making responsibilities and laypeople more say in the life of the Catholic Church.
Pope to visit Hungary amid diverging views on war, migrants
April 26, 2023 GMTBUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The spiritual priorities of Pope Francis will be on display during a trip this week to Hungary, where the populist government will seek to downplay its diverging views on matters like immigration and minority rights while focusing instead on points where it aligns with the pontiff.
Pope slams ‘insinuations’ against John Paul II as baseless
April 16, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday publicly defended St. John Paul II, condemning as “offensive and baseless” insinuations that recently surfaced about the late pontiff.
Pope evokes cold-war replay, says leaders should avoid arms
April 12, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis urged world leaders Wednesday to use reason and not arms to resolve differences, evoking memories of the 1960s Cold War between Washington and Moscow, .
Pope renews call to pray for peace celebrating Easter Monday
April 10, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis renewed his call to pray for peace on Easter Monday, celebrating the Regina Coeli (Queen of the Heavens) prayer in St. Peter's Square.
At the end of the prayer, the pontiff recalled the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which brought an end to decades of violent conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.
Pope at Easter: Pray for Ukrainian, Russian people, refugees
April 10, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — In an Easter message highlighting hope, Pope Francis on Sunday invoked prayers for both the Ukrainian and Russian people, praised nations which welcome refugees and called on Israelis and Palestinians wracked by the latest surge in deadly violence to forge a “climate of trust.”
Pope Francis returns to public eye for Easter vigil Mass
April 8, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis returned to public view on Saturday, presiding over Easter vigil Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, a day after unseasonably chilly weather in Rome convinced the recently ailing pontiff to skip Good Friday's nighttime procession at the Colosseum.
Pope Francis skips Good Friday at Colosseum in chilly Rome
April 7, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis, hospitalized recently with bronchitis, skipped the traditional Good Friday nighttime procession at the Colosseum because of chilly weather in Rome, staying instead at his home at the Vatican while thousands of faithful turned out for the torchlit event.
Pope washes feet in Holy Thursday rite at Rome youth prison
April 7, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — In a Holy Thursday ritual symbolizing humility, Pope Francis washed and dried the feet of a dozen residents of a Rome juvenile prison, assuring them of their dignity and telling them “any of us” can fall into sin.
Rebounding Pope Francis marks Palm Sunday in Vatican square
April 2, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Bundled in a long, white coat and battling a hoarse voice, Pope Francis presided over Mass in St. Peter's Square before tens of thousands of faithful on Palm Sunday, a day after he left a Rome hospital where he was treated for bronchitis.
Pope Francis leaves hospital; ‘Still alive,’ he quips
April 1, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — A chipper-sounding Pope Francis was discharged Saturday from the Rome hospital where he was treated for bronchitis, quipping to journalists before being driven away that he's “still alive.”
Vatican: Pope OK to leave hospital, has pizza, baptizes baby
March 31, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis has been cleared by doctors for discharge on Saturday from the Rome hospital where he was treated for bronchitis, the Vatican said, adding that the pontiff had pizza one evening with medical staff and baptized a baby in the pediatrics ward.
Pope showing ‘marked improvement,’ could leave hospital soon
March 30, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis showed a “marked improvement” Thursday after being given intravenous antibiotics for a bronchitis infection and could be released from the hospital in the coming days, the Vatican and his doctors reported.
Posters near Vatican urge pope to stop Latin Mass crackdown
March 28, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Posters calling on Pope Francis to stop his crackdown on the old Latin Mass were plastered near the Vatican on Tuesday, in the latest display of conservative opposition to the pontiff.
German bishop resigns, cites responsibility in abuse scandal
March 25, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Pope Francis on Saturday accepted a resignation request from a German bishop who asked to step down because of his mistakes in handling sexual abuse cases.
Pope expands sex abuse law, reaffirms adults can be victims
March 25, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Saturday updated a 2019 church law aimed at holding senior churchmen accountable for covering up sexual abuse cases, expanding it to cover lay Catholic leaders and reaffirming that vulnerable adults and not just children can be victims of abuse when they are unable to freely consent.
Pope offers prayer for earthquake victims in Ecuador, Peru
March 19, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis offered prayers Sunday for the victims of an earthquake that shook vast swaths of territory in Ecuador and parts of Peru.
During his weekly Sunday noon blessing, Francis recalled that the 6.8-magnitude temblor caused “death, injuries and heavy damage.”
Pope promotes ‘humanitarian corridors’ for asylum-seekers
March 18, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis met Saturday with thousands of refugees and charity groups hosting them in Italy as he sought to promote legal migration routes to Europe as an alternative to smuggling operations that he said have turned the Mediterranean Sea into a “cemetery.”
10 iconic moments in Pope Francis’ first 10 years as pontiff
March 13, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis marks the 10th anniversary of his election as pope on Monday. During that decade, several historic occasions, as well as several unplanned events, helped define the contours and priorities of history's first Latin American pontiff.
Argentina’s initial fervor for Pope Francis has faded
March 12, 2023 GMTBUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — When Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina became Pope Francis, much of his home country celebrated as if it had just won a soccer World Cup championship. A decade later, the first Latin American leader of the Catholic Church generates divided opinions and much less fervor.
Pope Francis at 10 years: A reformer’s learning curve, plans
March 11, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — So much for a short pontificate.
Pope Francis celebrates the 10th anniversary of his election Monday, far outpacing the “two or three” years he once envisioned for his papacy and showing no signs of slowing down.
Pope bolsters women at Vatican but resistance remains
March 8, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has significantly increased the Vatican's female workforce, including in high-ranking positions, but women face continued resistance from the all-male Catholic hierarchy to access leadership positions in the church, according to Vatican statistics and independent surveys released Wednesday.
Pope renews cabinet of cardinal advisers, adds new members
March 7, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis has renewed his cabinet of cardinal advisers from around the world, naming a handful of new members Tuesday and reconfirming others to help him run the Catholic Church.
Francis instituted the Council of Cardinals one month into his papacy, on April 13, 2013, with a primary goal of advising him on the reform of the Vatican bureaucracy.
Pope to visit Hungary in April, migration and war on agenda
February 27, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis will visit Hungary at the end of April, the Vatican said Monday, in a trip expected to focus on migration to Europe and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The April 28-30 trip to Budapest represents a proper state visit after Francis made a brief, hours-long stopover in 2021 to close out a church conference.
Pope nationalizes Vatican assets, property in new reform
February 23, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis has essentially nationalized all assets and property owned by Vatican departments and affiliated institutions, declaring them to be sovereign patrimony owned by the Holy See and not any individual or office.
Pope cancels an appointment, some speeches due to bad cold
February 23, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis canceled one audience and skipped speeches he was set to deliver Thursday because of a bad cold, the Vatican said.
Francis, 86, did meet with young Orthodox priests and monks and members of the Max Planck Society, the German research organization that is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.
Pope at Lent’s start: end ‘dictatorship’ of the superficial
February 22, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis ushered in the annual Christian Lenten period of sacrifice and reflection by encouraging people on Ash Wednesday to cast off what he called the “dictatorship” of heavy agendas and superficial needs.
Pope intervenes again to restrict celebration of Latin Mass
February 21, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis has intervened for the third time to crack down on the celebration of the old Latin Mass, a sign of continued friction with Catholic traditionalists.
Abrahamic House in UAE houses a church, synagogue and mosque
February 21, 2023 GMTABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — On the shores of the Persian Gulf, a new complex houses a Catholic church, a Jewish synagogue and an Islamic mosque in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Jesuit barred from artistic activity after new abuse claims
February 21, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis' Jesuit religious order has decided to prohibit a prominent Jesuit artist whose mosaics decorate churches around the globe from pursuing his artistic activity after 15 more people came forward with fresh accusations against him of spiritual, sexual and psychological abuse.
Detectives treating Los Angeles bishop’s death as homicide
February 20, 2023 GMTLOS ANGELES (AP) — A Catholic bishop in Southern California was shot and killed Saturday just blocks from a church, a slaying of a longtime priest hailed as a “peacemaker” that's stunned the Los Angeles religious community, authorities said.
Pope Francis underlines that papacy is a lifetime post
February 16, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis has made clear in comments published Thursday by a Jesuit journal that he believes being pope is a lifetime position and that Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation was an exception.
Pope worried about Nicaraguan bishop sentenced to 26 years
February 13, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday expressed sadness and worry at the news that Bishop Rolando Álvarez, an outspoken critic of the Nicaraguan government, had been sentenced to 26 years in prison.
Vatican touts new memoir by Benedict XVI’s 2nd secretary
February 9, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Retired Pope Benedict XVI’s second secretary came out with a new memoir Thursday, a light, photo-filled daily journal that sharply contrasts with the bombshell tell-all book published last month by the late German pope’s main assistant.
Pope seeks release of Cubans arrests during 2021 protests
February 8, 2023 GMTHAVANA (AP) — Pope Francis hopes Cuban authorities will release and grant amnesty to people arrested and sentenced after the historic protests that took place in 2021, Cardinal Beniamino Stella, who traveled to the island as the pontiff’s special envoy, said Wednesday.
Pope, Anglican, Presbyterian leaders denounce anti-gay laws
February 6, 2023 GMTABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis was backed by the ceremonial head of the Anglican Communion and top Presbyterian minister in calling for gays to be welcomed by their churches as he again decried laws that criminalize homosexuality as unjust.
Pope makes final bid for peace, forgiveness in South Sudan
February 6, 2023 GMTJUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Pope Francis made a final appeal for peace in South Sudan on Sunday as he celebrated Mass before tens of thousands of people to close out an unusual mission by Christian religious leaders to nudge forward the country’s recovery from civil war.
Pope accuses critics of exploiting Pope Benedict XVI’s death
February 5, 2023 GMTABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis accused some of his critics Sunday of taking advantage of retired Pope Benedict XVI’s death to score ideological points in the latest salvo in the partisan divide of the Catholic Church.
Pope planning India, Mongolia trips after Lisbon, Marseille
February 5, 2023 GMTABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis said Sunday he is planning to visit India next year and is studying a possible trip to Mongolia later in 2023 in what would be a first for a pope.
Francis outlined his upcoming travel schedule during his flight back to Rome from South Sudan.
Pope says South Sudan’s future depends on treatment of women
February 4, 2023 GMTJUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Pope Francis warned Saturday that South Sudan’s future depends on how it treats its women, as he highlighted their horrific plight in a country where sexual violence is rampant, child brides are common and the maternal mortality rate is the highest in the world.
Pope in South Sudan warns leaders as peace process stalls
February 3, 2023 GMTJUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Pope Francis, on a novel ecumenical peace mission to the world’s youngest country, warned South Sudan’s political leaders on Friday that history will judge them harshly if they continue to drag their feet implementing a 2018 peace accord.
Pope urges Congo youth to reject corruption and they respond
February 2, 2023 GMTKINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Pope Francis led Congo’s young people in a rousing denunciation of political corruption on Thursday, turning an otherwise scripted meeting with church catechists into a rally that shook the capital’s sports stadium.
Pope consoles Congolese victims: ‘Your pain is my pain’
February 2, 2023 GMTKINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Pope Francis on Wednesday urged Congo’s people to forgive those who committed “inhuman violence” against them, celebrating a Mass for 1 million people and then hearing firsthand of the atrocities some of them have endured: a teenage girl “raped like an animal” for months; a young man who watched as his father was decapitated; a former sex slave who was forced into cannibalism.