As doctors were preparing to certify the brain death of a Brazilian man in 2010, members of a local Catholic charismatic prayer group began to pray for a miracle.
Pope Francis recognized the healing of the man, "Paulo G.," in Uberlandia, Brazil, as
Governments must eliminate laws discriminating against women and help guarantee women's human rights, Pope Francis said.
"Let us respect women. Let us respect their dignity, their basic rights. And if we don't, our society will not progress," the pope said in a video
The Vatican press office announced that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith's declaration on human dignity, said to include a faith-based critique of "gender ideologies" and surrogacy, will be released April 8.
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the dicastery, and Msgr.
Pope Francis voted for Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, in the 2005 conclave that followed the death of St. John Paul II.
"He was the only one who could be pope at that time," Pope Francis said about his immediate
Like the women disciples who discovered Jesus had risen from the dead and ran to tell the others, Christians should be filled with such joy at Easter that they cannot help sharing it with others, Pope Francis said.
"The resurrection of Jesus is
Just as Jesus removed the stone that sealed his tomb on the morning of the Resurrection, on Easter Christ alone "has the power to roll away the stones that block the path to life" and which trap humanity in war and injustice,
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Easter is a promise that no matter how dark the world may seem and no matter how heavy the burdens one carries, victory belongs to the Risen Christ and all who believe in him, Pope Francis said. “Let
Editor’s note: For the first time in his 11-year papacy, Pope Francis has chosen to write his own meditations for the Good Friday Stations of the Cross service at Rome’s Colosseum. The complete text of the meditations, originally published on the Vatican website, is included below.
Just before some 1,500 priests, bishops and cardinals renewed their priestly promises, Pope Francis asked them to embrace "compunction," which he said was "an aspect of the spiritual life that has been somewhat neglected yet remains essential."
Looking at its etymology, he said
Of the thousands of people packed into the Paul VI Audience Hall for Pope Francis' weekly general audience, two visitors received special praise from the pope for their unlikely friendship.
The presence of Bassam Aramin from Palestine and Rami Elhanan from Israel, seated
Pope Francis told Catholics in the Holy Land that he knows Holy Week this year is "so overshadowed by the Passion and, as yet, so little by the Resurrection."
In a letter published March 27, Pope Francis told the region's Catholics that he