Pope Francis

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History on Capitol Hill: Francis Speaks to Congress

First pontiff to address Congress gets a warm welcome

(Newser) - Pope Francis summoned US lawmakers today to defend and preserve the dignity of all Americans, introducing himself as "a son of this great continent" as he became the first pontiff in history to address a joint meeting of Congress. Entering a House chamber packed with Supreme Court justices, Cabinet...

What to Expect in Pope's Historic Address to Congress

How far will he go on hot-button issues such as abortion and climate change?

(Newser) - Pope Francis offered up something for both the left ( climate change ) and the right (a call to protect the institution of marriage) in his White House remarks yesterday, reports CNN , so what's in store for his historic address to Congress today? Probably a little more of the...

Girl, 5, Slips Past Security With Message for Pope

She wants him to help keep her family together

(Newser) - A determined 5-year-old girl managed to hand-deliver a plea for help to Pope Francis as his procession passed through Washington. After Sophie Cruz slipped past a barricade, Francis waved away security and had her brought to him, the New York Times reports. They embraced and she handed him a letter...

Pope Carries Out First Canonization on US Soil

But it's quite controversial

(Newser) - In the first canonization on US soil, Pope Francis has elevated to sainthood an 18th-century missionary who brought Catholicism to the American West Coast. Francis canonized Junipero Serra today during a Mass in Washington. Serra was a Franciscan friar who marched north from Baja California with Spanish conquistadors, establishing nine...

Pope Francis Giving Pricey Bible to Library of Congress

He's expected to present the gift to John Boehner tomorrow

(Newser) - Pope Francis is addressing Congress tomorrow, and he plans to bring a pretty nice gift along with him. The pontiff will reportedly present lawmakers and the Library of Congress with a Bible believed to have cost $8 million to make, MSN reports. As the Hill reported last month, the Apostles...

Pope Dives Right Into Climate Change

'Can no longer be left to a future generation'

(Newser) - Mustering all the pageantry the White House has to offer, President Obama welcomed Pope Francis to Washington today. And in his own opening remarks, Francis didn't just dabble in small talk: Climate change, he warned, is an urgent problem that "can no longer be left to a future...

Pope Francis Arrives in US
 Pope Francis Arrives in US 
Sep 22, 2015 3:24 PM CDT

Pope Francis Arrives in US

And he's getting a 'rock-star welcome'

(Newser) - Pope Francis is getting a rock-star welcome as he arrives for his first visit to the US. Crowds at Andrews Air Force Base cheered as the pope's plane touched down. Shortly after, President Barack Obama walked from the air base's terminal to the plane, where the American flag...

Pope Francis Arrives: 5 Unusual Details of His Visit

It's a big deal

(Newser) - Pope Francis sets foot on US soil at 4pm today (full schedule here ), and officials in DC, New York, and Philly are scrambling to ensure a smooth, safe stay. Here are five of the more unusual details of his visit:
  1. The visit has spurred one of the largest security
...

Throngs in Havana Give Pope a Hero&#39;s Welcome
 Pope Sits Down 
 With Fidel Castro 
updated
Sep 20, 2015 1:38 PM CDT

Pope Sits Down With Fidel Castro

Francis delights crowd in Cuba ahead of his US visit

(Newser) - Pope Francis and Fidel Castro, the man who transformed his country through decades of Communism, met today at the revolutionary leader's home shortly after the pope told tens of thousands of Cubans to focus their lives on service to others instead of ideology. Papal spokesman Federico Lombardi says during...

Vatican Isn't Happy With White House Guest List

Gay Episcopal bishop and activist nun reportedly among the sore points

(Newser) - The Vatican is worried President Obama's guest list for Pope Francis' upcoming visit to the White House is a little too "off-brand," the Wall Street Journal reports. Among the thousands of guests invited to Wednesday's event are the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, a nun dedicated...

Why One Lawmaker Is Boycotting Pope's Speech to Congress

He wants Pope to focus on abortion and the persecution of Christians instead

(Newser) - "When the Pope chooses to act and talk like a leftist politician, then he can expect to be treated like one," Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona writes in an op-ed published yesterday on Town Hall . Gosar, a Catholic, is boycotting Pope Francis' scheduled address to Congress next week...

Pope Francis Laments His Phony 'Friends'

'I have felt used,' the pontiff says

(Newser) - Pope Francis might be one of the most popular pontiffs in recent memory, but his fame comes at a price. "I have felt used by people who presented themselves as my friends and whom I hadn't seen more than once or twice in my life. They have used...

Is the Pope Facing Open Rebellion?

Conservatives say church is moving away from its 'real teachings'

(Newser) - Pope Francis' statements on everything from abortion to annulment have helped transform the public's view of the Catholic Church. As for actual changes in Church policy, there have been few. Why? The pope is "grappling with a conservative backlash to the liberal momentum building inside the church,"...

Pope Changes Annulments in Biggest Way Since 1700s

Francis makes them easier, cheaper to obtain

(Newser) - Pope Francis majorly reformed annulments today, in a move that Reuters describes as the "most substantial changes" to the process since the mid-1700s, changes that "radically" simplify it. CNN reports that the reforms, contained in two "motu proprio" ("by his own initiative") documents, are threefold:...

Getting an Annulment Is Getting Easier

Francis, who has long called for them to be free, issues new reforms tomorrow

(Newser) - Pope Francis tomorrow will release a new streamlined process for annulling marriages after he—and generations of Catholics before him—complained that the church's current system is cumbersome, costly, and often unfair. The Vatican said Francis would release the new rules after a commission of canon lawyers spent the...

US Catholics Clash With Vatican Over These 5 'Sins'

Divorce, non-traditional families among them

(Newser) - American Catholics may be fans of Pope Francis—but not necessarily the ideas he represents as head of the Catholic Church. A new Pew Research Center poll of 5,122 adults shows Americans who identify as Catholic are much more accepting and have a very different view on what constitutes...

Pope: Priests Can Forgive Women Who've Had Abortions

Francis grants absolution power during Holy Year for 'painful decision'

(Newser) - Abortion is one of the sins that mandates automatic excommunication in the Roman Catholic Church, but for the Holy Year of Mercy that begins Dec. 8, Pope Francis says priests can, at their discretion, absolve women for terminating pregnancies, Reuters reports. "Many … believe that they have no other...

Vatican Envoy Accused of Sex Abuse Is Dead

Jozef Wesolowski was to be first high-ranking official tried for such crimes

(Newser) - Jozef Wesolowski will never see his day in court. The 67-year-old ex-envoy for the Vatican to the Dominican Republic, who was awaiting trial on charges of sexually abusing children there, died today of apparent natural causes, the Vatican reports via the AP . His body was found in the room at...

How the Pope Could Save This Killer on Death Row

Lidia Guerrero hopes Francis will intervene on behalf of son

(Newser) - When Lidia Guerrero met with Pope Francis in Rome last year, he told her he knew all about Guerrero's son, who has been on death row in Texas for 19 years. "I've prayed so much for that young man," she says Francis told her. The short...

Pope Francis: Hey, Ease Up on Remarried Catholics

They should be welcomed by the Catholic Church, he says

(Newser) - A Catholic's second marriage after divorce isn't exactly celebrated by the Vatican. But hey, the Catholic Church isn't going to excommunicate you should you choose to tie the knot a second time. That's the word from Pope Francis himself, who spoke about family values during a...

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