"God loves what is small and makes it bear fruit," he told members of the "Sentinelles de la Sainte Famille" (Sentinels of the Holy Family) during an audience at the Vatican Jan. 11.
Founded in Brussels in 2013, the group coordinates an international
Vincenzo Riva, a man with neurofibromatosis, whose photograph with Pope Francis was seen around the world a decade ago, died in Vicenza, Italy, Jan. 10 at the age of 58.
Riva, whose face was disfigured by the disease, was embraced by Pope Francis
Policies that are at the service of humanity "cannot allow themselves to be dictated by finance and the inner workings of the market," Pope Francis said.
Instead, societies must consider how their people can share challenges and resources, the pope told representatives of
As soon as the liturgies of the Christmas season ended, the Vatican published the calendar of public liturgies Pope Francis will preside over in January and February.
First on the list released by the master of papal liturgical ceremonies is the celebration of
The Catholic Church should revise its celibacy requirement for Latin-rite priests, a senior official in the Vatican's doctrinal office said.
"If it were up to me, I would revise the requirement that priest(s) have to be celibate," said Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta,
The Vatican's doctrine chief said the sometimes-graphic book on sexuality and spirituality that he published 25 years ago is "a book of my youth that I certainly would not write now."
In comments to church news websites Crux and InfoVaticana Jan. 8, Cardinal
While bishops may take a cautious approach to the Vatican's guidance on blessing same-sex or other unmarried couples, they should not deny their priests the possibility of discerning and imparting blessings on people who ask for them, the Vatican doctrinal office said.
In its annual report on Catholic missionaries murdered during the year, the Vatican-based news agency, Fides, noted what many of them had in common was living a normal life in areas where violence had become common.
"They did not carry out any sensational
Song and music are gifts capable of touching the hearts of young people, drawing them out of spirals of anxiety and bringing them closer to God, Pope Francis said.
Greeted with song Dec. 30 by young people from the International Foundation of Pueri
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The world and the Catholic Church must respect and defend women and foster a motherly care for others to end dehumanizing cycles of violence, Pope Francis said. “The church needs Mary in order to recover her own feminine