Tag: Vatican

• Wednesday, September 26th 2018 - 08:37 UTC

  Pope says he will appoint Chinese bishops, following on the Beijing/Vatican accord

  

  Pope Francis on Tuesday defended a landmark deal between the Vatican and China on the appointment of bishops, saying he, and not the Beijing government, will have the final say on who is named. In his first public comments on the deal signed in Beijing on Saturday, he told reporters on the plane returning from a trip to the Baltics that while he realizes not everyone will understand the logic behind the agreement, he was confident in the “great faith” of Chinese Catholics.

• Wednesday, August 29th 2018 - 08:29 UTC

  Vatican infighting surfaces and questions an “embittered” Pope

  

  Pope Francis has no intention of stepping down as he fights accusations that he protected a former archbishop accused of sexual abuse, Italian news agency ANSA reported, citing “close associates” of the pope.

• Monday, August 27th 2018 - 08:59 UTC

  Francis ends visit to Ireland begging forgiveness for the abuses perpetrated by Church leaders

  

  Pope Francis has begged forgiveness for members of the Catholic Church's hierarchy who “kept quiet” about clerical child sex abuse. He was ending a two-day visit to the Republic of Ireland by celebrating a Mass at Dublin's Phoenix Park.

• Tuesday, August 21st 2018 - 09:09 UTC

  Argentines begin campaigning for a Secular State

  

  Argentines gathered in Buenos Aires last Saturday to oppose the influence of religion on Argentine politics and encourage people to quit the Catholic Church, in the wake of the recent Senate vote not to legalize some abortions.

• Tuesday, August 21st 2018 - 08:55 UTC

  Francis: “We showed no care for the little ones,” Francis wrote. “We abandoned them.”

  

  Pope Francis vowed Monday that “no effort must be spared” to root out priestly sex abuse and cover-up from the Catholic Church, but gave no indication that he would take action to sanction complicit bishops or end the Vatican culture of secrecy that has allowed the crisis to fester.

• Friday, August 17th 2018 - 09:44 UTC

  Pope Francis sides with victims of 300 “predators” and wants “to root out this tragic horror”

  

  Pope Francis is on the side of victims of more than 300 “predator” priests in the US accused of abusing children in one state, the Vatican says. In a statement, it said the Church wanted to listen to the victims to “root out this tragic horror”.

• Saturday, May 19th 2018 - 09:21 UTC

  Priests sex-abuse in Chile: all bishops offered to resign after meeting the Pope

  

  In an unprecedented move, all of Chile’s bishops offered to resign on Friday after attending a crisis meeting this week with Pope Francis about the cover-up of sexual abuse in the country.

• Thursday, May 3rd 2018 - 08:22 UTC

  Pope sends a greeting message to “Mothers of Plaza de Mayo” on their 41st anniversary

  

  Pope Francis sent an audio message for the 41st anniversary of the “Madres de Plaza de Mayo” (Mothers of Plaza de Mayo), who protested against the disappearance of their children during the Dirty War (1976-1983) of Argentina’s military dictatorship.

• Tuesday, May 1st 2018 - 10:03 UTC

  Vatican's Treasurer to stand trial in Australia on sexual abuse charges

  

  A magistrate in Australia has ordered Cardinal George Pell, one of the Vatican's senior-most officials, to stand trial on sexual abuse charges involving allegations from multiple individuals dating back decades.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2018 - 10:15 UTC

  Francis balancing act in a letter to Argentines on the fifth anniversary of his pontificate

  

  In a letter addressed to Argentine women and men who expressed their closeness on the fifth anniversary of his pontificate March 13, Pope Francis said his love for Argentina continues to be “great and intense,” and also apologized for gestures he’s made that might have caused offense.