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"Our work has made us realise once again that the gravity of the scourge of the sexual abuse of minors is, and historically has been, a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies," he , ...ادامه مطلب

Pope Francis celebrates a mass on Christmas eve on December 24, 2018 at St Peter's basilica in the Vatican. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP. Pope Francis on Monday assailed the "insatiable greed" of today's c, ...ادامه مطلب

Pope Francis delivering the "Urbi et Orbi" message from the balcony of St Peter's basilica on December 25, 2018. Photo: VATICAN MEDIA / AFP. Pope Francis used his Christmas message Tuesday to appeal f, ...ادامه مطلب

The Church will never seek to hush up or not take seriously any case," the pope said in his annual address to the Church's goveing Curia at the Vatican. "Let it be clear that before these abominatio, ...ادامه مطلب

Former pope Benedict XVI celebrating his 90th birthday in 2017. Photo: Osservatore Romano/AFP Pope emeritus Benedict XVI hinted on Wednesday that he is nearing death and ready for his final "pilgrimage" at the age of 90. "In the slow decline of my physical strength, inteally, I am on a pilgrimage to the House [of the Lord]", Joseph Ratzinger wrote in a letter published in the Corriere della Sera daily, which had told him many readers were conceed about his health. The former pope, who will tu 91 in April, said he was moved that "so many readers want to know how this last period of his life is going". "It is a great grace for me to be surrounded, in this last point of a sometimes tiring path, with affection and kindness that I would not have imagined," Benedict added. Since his resignation five years ago, the German-bo pope has been living in a small monastery in the Vatican, with four nuns and his personal secretary Georg Gaenswein. Two years ago, Gaenswein reported that Benedict was "going out like a candle, slowly and serenely". Benedict celebrates mass every day, prays a lot, receives visitors in small numbers and responds to many letters. He a, ...ادامه مطلب

Pope Francis pictured during his weekly general audience. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP Pope Francis waed on Wednesday against the temptation of fake news, drawing a parallel between ethically compromised joualism and the biblical tale of Adam, Eve, the snake and the forbidden fruit. In his annual World Communication Day message held on the feast day of Francis de Sales, the patron saint of joualists, the Pope referred to Eve being fooled by the snake as "the first fake news"."We need to unmask what could be called the 'snake-tactics' used by those who disguise themselves in order to strike," he said. Fake news" was popularised as a phrase by Donald Trump during his victorious 2016 US presidential election campaign and first year in the White House. Trump uses it as a barb towards what he believes is a mainstream media biased against him, but it has come to be used as a way of describing the proliferation of outlets and websites publishing invented news stories as a tool of political propaganda.Pope Francis used the story of Adam and Eve, from the Old Testament's Book of Genesis, to highlight that "there is no such thing as harmless disinformation; on the contrary,, ...ادامه مطلب

Pope Francis has been given a two-wheeled Popemobile. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP The answer is Pope Francis on a bike, a prospect made tantalizingly possible by the pontiff's latest gift.  Francis was presented with a customized racing bike on Wednesday by three-time world cycling champion Peter Sagan, who dropped off the bicycle during a visit to the Vatican. The speedy-looking two-wheeler came in the papal colours, gold and white, and was emblazoned with "Francesco".  Peter Sagan (centre) with the Pope's bike. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP The Slovakian cyclist, who attended the Pope's weekly audience in St Peter's Square, also offered the signed jersey he wore as world champion.  This is the pontiff's second pedal-powered Popemobile: in 2015, during a visit to Philadelphia in the US, he was presented with a more sturdy model by local bike makers Breezer. They also donated 100 bicycles to community programmes in the city. They're the least flashy, but most eco-friendly, of the various vehicles that the Pope has received as gifts, which include a Harley Davidson motorcycle and a Lamborghini sports car.  He had both vehicles auctioned off to raise money for charity.  , ...ادامه مطلب

A handout photo from Osservatore Romano shows Pope Francis waving at the crowd outside the Cathedral of Trujillo on Saturday. AFP PHOTO / OSSERVATORE ROMANOPope Francis on Saturday urged Latin America's faithful to fight rampant violent crime against women including murder, while holding mass in Trujillo, Peru's largest northe city. "I wish to invite you to combat a plague across our Latin American region: the numerous cases of violent crimes against women, from beatings to rape to murder," the visiting pontiff told thousands in Trujillo's main colonial-era square. Half of the 25 countries with the greatest number of murders of women are in Latin America, according to UN Women. In Argentina, the pope's homeland, there were at least 254 murders of women in 2016 that authorities think were gender related, which helped spark the online campaign #NotOneMore murder. "There are so many cases of violence that stay silenced behind so many walls," Francis said, arousing cheers from the crowd. "I'm calling on you to fight against this source of suffering including legislation and a culture that rejects every type of violence." The northweste city Trujillo is still struggling to rebuil, ...ادامه مطلب

Pope Francis on Monday used his New Year homily to urge peace and understanding for migrants and refugees. "Let us not extinguish hope in their hearts or smother their expectations of peace," the leader of the world's estimated 1.2 billion Catholics said, marking the Church's World Day of Peace before millions of worshippers braving a rainswept Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican. Taking up the theme of the ongoing migrant crisis, the pontiff said they were "ready to risk their lives in their search for a peaceful future "which is a right for everyone" and which everyone should strive to ensure for all. , ...ادامه مطلب

Pope Francis waves from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica during the traditional "Urbi et Orbi" Christmas message. Photo: AFP. Pope Francis called for "peace for Jerusalem" and "mutual trust" on the Korean peninsula as he highlighted the suffering of children in conflicts across the world in his Christmas address on Monday. In the traditional "Urbi et Orbi" address in Saint Peter's Square, the pontiff spoke of "growing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians", hoping that the "will to resume dialogue may prevail between the parties and that a negotiated solution can finally be reached, one that would allow the peaceful coexistence of two states".  "Let us pray that confrontation may be overcome on the Korean peninsula and that mutual trust may increase in the interest of the world as a whole," the pope said. In his Christmas eve mass on Sunday Pope Francis urged the world's 1.3 billion Catholics not to ignore the plight of migrants who are "driven from their land" because of leaders willing to shed "innocent blood". "So many other footsteps are hidden in the footsteps of Joseph and Mary," the Argentine pontiff, himself the grandson of Italian , ...ادامه مطلب

Cardinal Oscar Oscar Maradiaga looks on during a visit to the Regina Pacis Centre in Amman, Jordan on May 18th 2014. Photo: Khalil Mazraawi/AFP Honduran Cardinal Oscar Maradiaga, a key advisor to Pope Francis, on Friday rejected as "calumny" an Italian media report that he had for years received 35,000 euros ($41,600) a month from a Catholic university in his home country. L'Espresso on Thursday said the cardinal was paid more than 500,000 euros in 2015 alone by the Catholic University of Tegucigalpa, citing an inteal report from the academic institution.  Hitting back at the claims, Maradiaga said the archdiocese and not himself personally received monthly payments that were "more or less" the amount described in reports. The sums were used to "pay the seminarians' tuition, to fund the building and renovations of churches and to provide economic assistance to priests in rural parishes or to priests who have no livelihood" in Honduras, he said in an e-mail message to the Catholic News Agency (CNA). "With these funds, we also help a lot of poor people that seek help every day." Maradiaga instead blamed a former university employee for spreading t, ...ادامه مطلب

Pope Francis. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP Pope Francis will meet Jordan's King Abdullah II at the Vatican next week, the Holy See announced on Friday, as Palestinians continue to clash with Israeli forces over US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Demonstrations and violence broke out across the Palestinian territories for the second Friday in a row after the end of weekly Muslim prayers. Two Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli forces in clashes along the Gaza-Israel border, the Palestinian health ministry said. The pope and King Abdullah, the custodian of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City, are likely to discuss the situation, though the Vatican never indicates topics of discussion for such meetings in advance. On Sunday the pope called for "respect of the status quo" in Jerusalem and waed against "a new spiral of violence". Abdullah has denounced the Jerusalem announcement as "a violation of inteational rights". Jerusalem, which contains sites considered sacred by Christians, Jews and Muslims, is of huge importance to both Israel and the Palestinians. , ...ادامه مطلب

Pope Francis is pictured through the branches of a Christmas Tree, addresses crowds at St Peter's Square. Photo: AFP AFP [email protected] @thelocalitaly 10 December 2017 14:26 CET+01:00 Pope Francis on Sunday renewed a call for "wisdom and prudence" over US President Donald Trump's controversial decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, which has sparked protests and clashes. "The Holy Father renews his appeal for the wisdom and prudence of everyone, and raises fervent prayers so that the leaders of nations, in this time of special gravity, commit themselves to avert a new spiral of violence," a statement from the Vatican said. There were fresh protests in the Middle East and elsewhere Sunday over Trump's declaration, a move that drew global condemnation and sparked days of unrest in the Palestinian territories. Noting that Jerusalem was sacred to Christians, Jews and Muslims, the pope reiterated the church's "well-known position conceing the singular character of the Holy City and the essential need for respecting the status quo". , ...ادامه مطلب

Palestinian girls walk past a mural of Pope Francis in the occupied West Bank on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Photo: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP Pope Francis on Wednesday defended the "status quo" of Jerusalem, hours ahead of an announcement by US President Donald Trump in which officials said he will recognize the disputed city as Israel's capital. "I cannot silence my deep conce over the situation that has emerged in recent days. At the same time, I appeal strongly for all to respect the city's status quo, in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions," the pope said in his weekly address. The Argentine pontiff's call came a day after he spoke by phone with Palestinian preside, ...ادامه مطلب

Pope Francis arrived in Bangladesh from Myanmar on Thursday for the second stage of a visit that has been overshadowed by the plight of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees. PHOTO: MUNIR UZ ZAMA Pope Francis on Saturday said he wept hearing the plight first-hand of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, adding that this meeting was a condition set for his trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Rohingya meeting was a highly symbolic gesture of solidarity with the Muslim minority fleeing violence in Myanmar, and the pontiff told joualists on his plane flying back to Rome that the refugees cried as well.   "I knew that I was going to meet the Rohingyas but I did , ...ادامه مطلب