Pope Francis

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John Paul Who? Record 6M Turn Out for Francis

Philippine streets jammed for pope's final day in Asia as rain pours

(Newser) - A record 6 million people poured into Manila's rain-soaked streets and its biggest park today as Pope Francis ended his Asian pilgrimage with an appeal for Filipinos to protect their young from sin and vice so they can become missionaries of the faith. The Vatican received the figure officially...

Pope Dons Rain Poncho, Visits Typhoon Survivors

But Francis has to leave Philippines early because of another storm

(Newser) - Pope Francis traveled to the far eastern Philippines to comfort survivors of devastating Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, but had to cut his own trip short because of another approaching storm. In a windy and rainy morning Mass with a crowd that included Haiyan survivors, he conceded it was hard to...

Pope on Free Speech: Curse My Mom and Get Punched

Francis says free speech has its limits

(Newser) - Freedom of expression has its limits, and those limits include the pope's mama and poking the faith of others. Aboard the papal plane ahead of his trip to the Philippines, Pope Francis addressed the Charlie Hebdo attack by way of pointing to the man at his side, saying, "...

Francis to Moms: It's Cool, Nurse Babies in Sistine

Pontiff baptizes 33 infants, again tells mothers to feed if they're hungry

(Newser) - Pope Francis has baptized 33 babies in the Sistine Chapel as part of an annual tradition, this year repeating an invitation to mothers to nurse their babies if crying out of hunger. Francis pronounced each baby's name and poured water from a golden shell-shaped cup on to their foreheads...

Filipino Cops to Wear Diapers During Pope's Visit

Plan to keep bathroom runs at bay has been 'well received,' Manila official says

(Newser) - Pope Francis will be visiting the Philippines next week, and the country's traffic enforcement officers are on the ready—diapers and all. Francis Tolentino, the chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, says that the 2,000-strong traffic team on duty during the Jan. 15-19 visit will be made...

Francis Picks 15 New 'Princes' From All Over

New cardinals hail from 14 nations, reflecting the church's diversity

(Newser) - Pope Francis named 15 new cardinals today, selecting them from 14 nations, including far-flung corners of the world such as Tonga, New Zealand, Cape Verde, and Myanmar, to reflect the diversity of the church and its growth in places like Asia and Africa. Other cardinals hail from Ethiopia, Thailand, and...

Francis Condemns ISIS' 'Brutal Persecution'

Derides 'contemporary Herods' with blood on their hands

(Newser) - Pope Francis focused his second Christmas address on the "so many tears" being shed on Christianity's biggest holiday, blasting in particular the "brutal persecution" being suffered at the hands of the Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq. "I ask him, the savior of the world,...

Pope Knocks Vatican's 'Spiritual Alzheimer's'

Pontiff describes 15 'ailments' in Christmas speech

(Newser) - Speaking to cardinals, bishops, and priests during his yearly Christmas speech, Pope Francis offered up a harsh critique of Vatican practices. Francis described 15 "ailments" within the church administration known as the Curia—ailments he's seeking to remedy next year, the BBC reports. Among his concerns are "...

Pope Gives Sleeping Bags to Homeless for His Birthday

Pontiff handed out 400 sleeping bags to Rome's destitute to celebrate his 78th

(Newser) - Pope Francis spent his birthday last year by going to church with four homeless locals . This year he upped the ante, celebrating his 78th birthday on Wednesday by donating 400 sleeping bags—complete with an imprinted papal coat of arms—to homeless people around Rome, ABC News reports. Volunteers and...

Nope, Pope Francis Didn't Say Dogs Were Going to Heaven

Though some think he at least left open the possibility

(Newser) - Pope Francis endeared himself to animal lovers this week after he was widely quoted as saying that dogs and other animals can go to heaven. Turns out, it was a different pope who said that. The confusion seems to stem from a misleading headline in an Italian newspaper, explains Religion...

Francis to ISIS: Leave Christians Alone

Pope wraps up visit to Turkey, makes statement with Orthodox patriarch

(Newser) - Pope Francis and the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians demanded an end to the persecution of religious minorities in Syria and Iraq today and called for dialogue with Muslims, capping Francis' three-day visit to Turkey with a strong show of Christian unity. Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew...

Pope: Europe Is 'Elderly and Haggard'

Francis warns EU that it risks 'losing its own soul'

(Newser) - Pope Francis has been rather nice to gays and atheists , but Europe, look out. The Wall Street Journal reports that the pope took Europe to task today during a speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, calling the continent "elderly and haggard" and "no longer fertile and...

Pope: Kids Deserve a Mom and Dad

They have a 'right' to that type of family, he says

(Newser) - Despite a recent move toward embracing non-traditional families , Pope Francis said yesterday that "children have a right to grow up in a family with a father and a mother." He made the remark during the Complementarity of Man and Woman conference, a "gathering of global religious conservatives"...

Coming to America: Pope Francis

Pontiff confirms he'll visit Philly next September

(Newser) - A pontiff who has long championed human kindness is coming to the City of Brotherly Love. Pope Francis confirmed today that he will make his first papal visit to the United States with a trip to Philadelphia next September for the World Meeting of Families. Francis' announcement, at an interreligious...

After Man Tells Bishop He Smells, Vatican Takes Action

3 public showers to be installed

(Newser) - Pope Francis made headlines last year when he said that he would like a "poor church, and for the poor." Now, after a man declined an invitation to dine with a bishop because, the man said simply, "puzzo"—or "I smell"—the pope is...

Pope Francis: Sorry, Creationists, God Has No 'Magic Wand'

God isn't a 'magician,' and the Big Bang makes sense, he says

(Newser) - Pope Francis has some bad news for creationists and those who believe in the theory of intelligent design: He thinks both camps are wrong. In remarks to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Francis embraced the concepts of evolution and the Big Bang theory in straightforward language, reports the Independent .
  • God
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Pope Francis: Let's Abolish Life Sentences

They are nothing more than a 'hidden death penalty,' he says

(Newser) - That Pope Francis spoke out today against capital punishment is no big surprise. But he made headlines by coming out against life sentences as well, reports the Guardian . In a speech to the International Association of Penal Law, the pope urged all "people of good will" to fight for...

Pope Francis Beatifies Paul VI

Says 'God is not afraid of new things'

(Newser) - Pope Francis today beatified Pope Paul VI, concluding the remarkable meeting of bishops debating family issues that drew parallels to the tumultuous reforms of the Second Vatican Council which Paul oversaw and implemented. Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI was on hand for the Mass. The bishops failed to reach consensus on...

Vatican Warming Toward Gay and Divorced Catholics

Synod urges Church to appreciate 'positive aspects of civil unions,' 'gifts' of gay Catholics

(Newser) - The Vatican, in the latest sign that this is not your daddy's Catholic Church , appears to be opening its arms to gay and divorced Catholics, urging its priests to make "courageous pastoral choices" that are inclusive to a bevy of family models outside the traditional one. The shift...

Vatican Charges Ex-Archbishop With Pedophilia

Jozef Wesolowski's arrest is first ever in Vatican for child sexual abuse

(Newser) - The Vatican arrested former Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski yesterday on pedophilia charges and placed him under house arrest until trial—the first official charges within the city-state's walls for child sexual abuse, Reuters reports. It's the latest step for Pope Francis, who has a "zero tolerance" philosophy for...

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