Pope Francis

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Pope: Contraception Could Be OK in Zika Crisis

It's not an 'absolute evil,' he says

(Newser) - Pope Francis has suggested women threatened with the Zika virus could use artificial contraception, saying "avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil" in light of the global epidemic. The pope unequivocally rejected abortion as a response to the crisis in remarks Wednesday as he flew home after a five-day...

Pope on Trump: A Person Who Builds Only Walls 'Is Not Christian'

The Donald

(Newser) - The latest to tussle with Donald Trump: Pope Francis. When asked Thursday about the presidential contender while returning from a six-day visit to Mexico, he responded, "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian," reports the New ...

Pope Gets a Little Angry at Aggressive Supporter

'Don't be selfish!'

(Newser) - It's Pope Francis as you've never seen him: a little ticked off. While the pontiff was greeting people Tuesday in a crowd in Morelia, Mexico, somebody got a little too aggressive after grabbing his hand and caused Francis to fall forward onto a man in a wheelchair, reports...

In Mexico, Pope Hits at 'Dealers of Death'

'With the devil, there is no dialogue,' he tells huge crowd

(Newser) - Pope Francis condemned the drug trade's "dealers of death" and urged Mexicans to shun the devil's lust for money as he led a huge open-air Mass for more than 300,000 people Sunday in the violence-riddled Mexico City suburb of Ecatepec. In a clear reference to the...

Why History Will Happen in Cuba's 'Threadbare' Airport

Plus more on pontiff's historic meeting in Havana with Russian Patriarch Kirill

(Newser) - Pope Francis is joining up with Patriarch Kirill in Havana on Friday, a historic event that marks the first time the head of the Roman Catholic Church is meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, notes NBC News , which outlines all the background behind this "religious rendezvous....

Pope Plans to End 1K-Year-Old Russian Rift

Francis will meet with leader of Russian Orthodox Church

(Newser) - Pope Francis and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church will meet in Cuba next week in a historic step to heal the 1,000-year-old schism that divided Christianity between East and West, both churches announced Friday. The Feb. 12 meeting between Francis and Patriarch Kirill will be the first...

Leonardo DiCaprio Meets Pope, Speaks Italian

Actor also gave Francis a check

(Newser) - Leonardo DiCaprio greeted Pope Francis at the Vatican Thursday, discussed their shared concern for the environment and gave the pontiff a check from his charitable foundation. "Your Holiness, thank you for granting me this private audience with you," DiCaprio said in Italian as he arrived in the Apostolic...

Pope Begs Protestants' Forgiveness

Talks unity ahead of visit to Sweden for Reformation anniversary

(Newser) - Pope Francis has concluded an annual weeklong prayer for Christian unity by making a sweeping apology for Catholic wrongs committed against other Christians, reports the AP . On Monday, Francis asked forgiveness for the "sin of our divisions"—an appeal he made in June last year during a visit...

Guess Who Tied the Pope in 'Most Admired Man' Poll

Donald Trump finishes behind Obama, however

(Newser) - Gallup's annual poll on the most admired people is making headlines, but not because of the No. 1 spots for men and women. Those are the relatively boring picks of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton (who have now held the top slot eight and 20 times, respectively). It's...

As Christians Celebrate, Pope Laments 'Culture of Indifference'

Francis' Christmas Eve homily calls for simplicity, balance in face of excess

(Newser) - In his Christmas Eve homily Thursday, Pope Francis noted the simplicity of Jesus' birth as he rebuked what he called societies' intoxication with consumerism, pleasure, abundance, and wealth. Christians around the world joyfully prepared to recall the birth of Jesus. But in his only public Christmas Mass, in the splendor...

Mother Teresa Clears Last Hurdle for Sainthood
Pope Signs Off on
Mother Teresa's 2nd Miracle
UPDATED
Dec 18, 2015 2:15 AM CST

Pope Signs Off on Mother Teresa's 2nd Miracle

She'll become a saint in 2016

(Newser) - Mother Teresa is set to finish 2016 as one of the Catholic Church's newest saints after a big decision from Pope Francis. The missionary, who spent most of her life working with the poor in India, was beatified in 2003, and the AP reports that Pope Francis has now...

Vatican to Catholics: Stop Trying to Convert Jews

Help them fight anti-Semitism instead: new report

(Newser) - The Vatican is taking steps toward fixing its long-troubled history with the Jewish faith with the Thursday release of a 10,000-word document that instructs Catholics to help Jews fight anti-Semitism instead of trying to convert them, Reuters reports. The Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews explained that Catholicism...

Family Celebrates Baby's Recovery After Pope's Kiss

Gianna's tumor appears to be shrinking

(Newser) - Baby Gianna Masciantonio developed a rare brain tumor just weeks after her birth last year when her red blood cells attacked her brain stem. After multiple chemotherapy treatments, an August brain scan revealed that the tumor was still there, and parents Joey and Kristen Masciantonio decided to do one more...

Pope on Emissions: 'Catastrophic' If Special Interests Butt In

Francis spoke at African UN headquarters in Nairobi on fossil fuels

(Newser) - Pope Francis warned Thursday it would be "catastrophic" if special interests get in the way of a global agreement to curb the fossil fuel emissions blamed for global warming at a climate change meeting next week in Paris. In a speech at African UN headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, Francis...

Pope: This Year, Christmas Is a 'Charade'

'The world has not understood the way of peace'

(Newser) - Christmas is approaching and it's time for weeping, according to Pope Francis, who has been paying far too much attention to world events to be in a festive mood. During a Mass last week, the pontiff described this year's holiday season as a "charade" taking place in...

Pope on Vatican Leaks: 'Deplorable Act That Doesn't Help'

But vows the reforms will continue

(Newser) - In his first public comments on the latest scandal rocking the Vatican, Pope Francis told followers in St. Peter's Square on Sunday that the theft of Vatican documents describing financial malfeasance inside the Holy See was a "crime" but pledged to continue reforms. The pope said that publishing...

Priest Sits in Vatican Jail Cell, Accused of Leak

An Italian laywoman was also arrested

(Newser) - In 2013, Pope Francis created a financial reform commission, one disbanded a year later having "carried out its mandate," as the New York Times puts it. Today, a Spanish priest who served on that commission sits in a Vatican City jail cell, as one of two people arrested...

Pope on Divorce, Gays: 'Today Is a Time of Mercy!'

Closes out bishops' synod with some gains on divorce, homosexuality

(Newser) - Pope Francis closed out a three-week bishops' synod on Sunday with something of a victory lap, appearing to chastise conservative Catholic leaders for excluding swaths of the faithful, including divorced and gay Catholics. "A faith that does not know how to grow roots into the lives of people stays...

'Shady' Group 'Played' Pope During His US Visit

Meet the anti-LGBT group called Liberty Counsel

(Newser) - Pope Francis' encounter with Kim Davis generated much media buzz and some clarification from the Vatican . Now the Daily Beast looks at an anti-LGBT legal group called Liberty Counsel that supported Davis and spun the story in her favor—but the profile is none too flattering. "At the end...

Hardline Archbishop Set Up Kim Davis Meeting

Her lawyer is now feuding with the Vatican

(Newser) - A Vatican official says there is now "a sense of regret" that Pope Francis ever met Kim Davis, reports Reuters —and that could be bad news for the archbishop who set up the meeting. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the Vatican's ambassador to the US, was appointed by...

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