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Pope wraps troubled Belgium visit with comments on abortion, women and abuse
Pope Francis has doubled down on his traditional views on abortion and women during his in-flight press conference coming home from Belgium. He has praised Belgium’s late King Baudouin as a “saint” for having abdicated for a day in 1990 rather than sign legislation legalizing abortion. Francis said: “You need a politician who wears pants to do this.” Francis drew...
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Francis will be only the second pope to visit Singapore, one of the wealthiest nations
When Pope Francis arrives Wednesday in Asia’s financial powerhouse Singapore for the last leg of a four-nation tour, he is expected to bring his message of unity and hope to one of the world’s richest nations.
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Pope Francis enters Papua New Guinea's remote jungles with humanitarian aid and toys
Pope Francis has arrived in the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea. He landed in Vanimo, on the northwest coast of the country, with a ton of humanitarian aid to deliver to the missionaries and faithful who live there.
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Bishop Michael Cote retires
The Most Reverend Michael R. Cote has retired as Bishop of Norwich after reaching his 75th birthday. The Diocese of Norwich said on Tuesday morning that Bishop Cote submitted his resignation on June 19, which is standard in the Catholic Church when a bishop reaches the age of 75, and Pope Francis has accepted it. Bishop Cote will transition to…
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Pope Francis is the headliner at a comedic conclave that includes Jimmy Fallon
Stephen Colbert, Jim Gaffigan, Conan O’Brien, Chris Rock, Whoopi Goldberg and Tig Notaro are also on the Pope’s guest list for the Vatican fun-fest.
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Pope apologizes after being quoted using vulgar term about gay men in talk about ban on gay priests
Pope Francis has apologized after he was quoted using a vulgar term about gay men to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s ban on gay priests.
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Vatican blasts gender-affirming surgery, surrogacy and gender theory as violations of human dignity
The Vatican has declared that gender-affirming surgeries and surrogacy are grave violations of human dignity.
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Pope overcomes health concerns to preside over a blustery Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square
Pope Francis has rallied from respiratory problems to lead some 60,000 people in Easter celebrations and make a strong appeal for a cease-fire in Gaza and a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine. Francis presided over Easter Sunday Mass in a flower-decked St. Peter’s Square. He then delivered a heartfelt prayer for peace in his annual roundup of global crises,...
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Pope calls for universal ban on surrogacy after comparing it to human trafficking
In a speech to his diplomatic core on Monday, Pope Francis compared surrogacy to human trafficking and called for a universal ban on the practice. “I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child.”
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Pope Francis denounces the weapons industry as he makes a Christmas appeal for peace in the world
Pope Francis delivered his annual Christmas Day speech from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to the throngs of people in the piazza below.
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Catholic priests can now bless same-sex couples, Vatican announces
The Vatican said Monday that Pope Francis had approved Catholic priests to bestow blessings to people in same-sex relationships.
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Hartford Archdiocese welcomes new archbishop
The Most Rev. Christopher Coyne is the new Archbishop of Hartford.
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Church roof collapses in Mexico, killing at least nine and injuring about 50, officials say
Authorities in Mexico say the roof of a church has collapsed in northern Mexico during a Mass, killing at least nine people and injuring about 50.
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Louisiana grand jury charges 91-year-old disgraced priest with sexual assault of teenage boy in 1975
A Louisiana grand jury has charged a now-91-year-old disgraced priest with sexually assaulting a teenage boy in 1975.
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Archdiocese of Philadelphia settles child sex abuse case for $3.5 million
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a man who claims he was sexually assaulted by a priest when he was 14 years old.
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For clergy abuse survivors, Sinead O'Connor's controversial Pope protest was brave and prophetic
In 1992, Sinéad O’Connor destroyed a photo of Pope John Paul II on U.S. national television. While the pushback was swift, for survivors of clergy sex abuse O’Connor’s protest was prophetic, forecasting the global denomination’s public reckoning that was still to come.
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The Vatican's new doctrine czar defends book on kissing he wrote as a young priest
Conservative sectors in the church are criticizing the appointment of Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández to lead the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith over his 1995 book “Heal Me with Your Mouth: The Art of Kissing.”
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Ex-Roman Catholic cardinal, now 92, is not competent to stand trial in sex abuse case, expert says
Former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is not competent to stand trial on charges accusing him of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in Massachusetts decades ago, an expert for the prosecution says, raising doubts about the future of the criminal case against the 92-year-old. Prosecutors this week disclosed the findings of their expert to the judge, who will ultimately rule…
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Pope Francis to be released from hospital ‘in the coming days' after abdominal surgery, the Vatican says
Pope Francis is expected to be released from the hospital “in the coming days,” as he recovers well and without complications from abdominal surgery last week, the Vatican said Wednesday.
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Michigan Priest Pleads Guilty to Molesting 5-Year-Old Boy After Family Funeral
Vincent DeLorenzo, 84, will likely get a year in jail when he is sentenced in June and will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.