Pope Francis

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Pope Blesses ... Harley Davidsons?

Thousands of bikers jam St. Peter's Square for Mass

(Newser) - It was a rougher-than-usual crowd in St. Peter's Square today, with the dull roar of Harley Davidsons drowning out the "Our Father" and Pope Francis himself doling out blessings to the thousands of bikers crowding into what the AP terms "a giant Harley parking lot." The...

Francis: 'It's True,' Vatican Has Gay Lobby

Stunning admission in reported comments to private audience

(Newser) - Pope Francis has stunned Vatican-watchers by acknowledging that a "gay lobby" exists high up in the church hierarchy. "It is true, it is there ... We need to see what we can do," the pontiff told a key Latin American church group on June 6, according to a...

Pope: I Stay in Hotel for My 'Psychiatric' Health

Francis gets frank in talk with students

(Newser) - Pope Francis has revealed that he never wanted to be pope and that he's living in the Vatican hotel for his "psychiatric" health. Francis got very personal today as he met with thousands of children from Jesuit schools across Italy and Albania. Answering their questions one by one,...

Pope Thinks You're Stealing, Basically

'Throwing away food is stealing from... those who are poor and hungry'

(Newser) - If you've ever thrown out good food, Pope Francis says you're a thief. "Throwing away food is like stealing from the table of those who are poor and hungry," he said during an audience at the Vatican this week, in which he blamed a "culture...

Vatican: Oops, Atheists Still Hell-Bound

Looking a little toasty for Protestants, too

(Newser) - Pope Francis' admission that atheists are capable of doing good has been followed by a Vatican statement clarifying that the church still believes atheists are going to hell. In a corrective statement that suggests people misunderstood the pontiff's remarks, a Vatican spokesman stresses that the church believes all salvation...

The Good News: Pope Francis Is Cool With Atheists

The godless may not care, but Mary Elizabeth Williams applauds His Holiness' tolerance

(Newser) - Pope Francis had a refreshing message when asked about atheists yesterday on Vatican radio, assuring his flock that yes, the godless could be good people, too. "'But father, he is not Catholic! He cannot do good,'" Francis imagined a follower protesting. "Yes, he can. He...

Vatican Denies Pope Performed Exorcism
 Vatican: This Is Not an Exorcism
May 22, 2013 5:20 AM CDT

Vatican: This Is Not an Exorcism

Exorcists insist pontiff cast out man's demons

(Newser) - Pope Francis was merely praying in a video that some claim shows him performing an exorcism on a Mexican pilgrim, the Vatican says. In the video—broadcast on a TV station owned by the Italian Bishops' Conference—the man convulses and then goes limp after the stern-faced pontiff places his...

A Look at Pope Francis' 1st Round of Saints

They include hundreds who refused to convert to Islam

(Newser) - Pope Francis has made hundreds of new saints at his first canonization ceremony in St. Peter's Square. Here is a look at the people receiving the Church's highest honor:
  • Antonio Pezzulla and 812 fellow martyrs: In 1480, some 20,000 Turkish troops overran Italy's citadel of Otranto,
...

Pope to Nuns: Don't Be 'Old Maids'

Francis warns against dangers of careerism at Superiors General meeting

(Newser) - Pope Francis has told nuns from around the world that they must be spiritual mothers and not "old maids." Francis also warned the sisters against using their vocations for personal ambition, saying priests and sisters who do so "do more harm to the church." Francis has...

The Vatican: Now With 100% More Pope

Benedict, Francis are new neighbors

(Newser) - Former Pope Benedict XVI is lugging his suitcases back to the Vatican today—marking the first time two popes have ever simultaneously lived behind Vatican walls. Benedict has been staying at the pontifical summer residence since abdicating in February, but will fly via official papal helicopter to his new home,...

Pope: Doomed Bangladesh Workers Were 'Slave Labor'

As thousands participate in May Day protests in Dhaka

(Newser) - Pope Francis has strong words on the Bangladesh factory collapse that killed at least 402 people: Workers in the doomed factory were living on just $50 a month, which he condemned as "slave labor" at a private mass this morning, the AP reports. The Telegraph has his full quote:...

19th-Century German Nun Performed Miracle: Vatican
19th-Century German Nun 
Performed Miracle: Vatican
in case you missed it
Apr 20, 2013 6:30 PM CDT

19th-Century German Nun Performed Miracle: Vatican

Affirmed Mother Theresia Bonzel healed Colorado Springs boy in 1999

(Newser) - For anyone looking for a miracle amidst the gloomy news, the Vatican provides: The Denver Post reports that Pope Francis has set a 19th-century German nun on a journey toward sainthood after verifying she was responsible for healing a Colorado Springs boy in 1999. In the first days of his...

Frugal Pope: No 'New Pope' Bonus for Vatican Workers

They typically receive extra during papal succession

(Newser) - The global economic crisis is hitting Vatican employees in their cassock pockets. The Vatican said yesterday that Pope Francis, known for his frugal ways, decided Vatican employees won't be getting the bonus that traditionally comes with the election of a new pope. In the past, the Vatican's 4,...

Pope Calls for Aid as Argentina Floods Kill 52

At least 46 dead in La Plata, 6 in Buenos Aires

(Newser) - Pope Francis is calling for public and church institutions in his native Argentina to step up assistance to the tens of thousands of people left homeless by torrential rains that have killed at least 52 people. Francis sent a telegram today to his newly appointed successor, Buenos Aires Archbishop Mario...

Pope Again Champions Women

New speech again speaks of their role as witnesses to resurrection

(Newser) - Just days after (figuratively) stepping on some toes by (literally) washing some women's feet , Pope Francis has done the sisterhood another solid: In his weekly address at St. Peter's Square, he once again recognized women as the first witnesses of Christ's resurrection and emphasized their "special...

Francis Celebrates 1st Easter
 Francis Celebrates 1st Easter 
Mar 31, 2013 5:54 AM CDT

Francis Celebrates 1st Easter

250K pack St. Peter's Square to hear pontiff's call for peace

(Newser) - Pope Francis celebrated his first Easter Sunday Mass as pontiff in St. Peter's Square, packed by joyous pilgrims, tourists, and Romans and bedecked by spring flowers. Wearing cream-colored vestments, Francis strode onto the esplanade in front of St. Peter's Basilica and took his place at an altar set...

Pope Broke Rules, Washed Women's Feet

Francis first pope ever to do so

(Newser) - The new pope has already done something none of his predecessors ever did: Yesterday, as he washed the feet of youths in a detention center, he included two young women—thereby violating liturgical rules, the AP reports. One of the women, the Telegraph notes, was a Muslim. "The pope'...

Pope Francis Washes Young Inmates' Feet

Symbolic act normally performed on lay people at basilica

(Newser) - Pope Francis took yet another step to burnish his "humble pope" image today, washing the feet of 12 prisoners at a youth detention center near Rome. While it's traditional for the pope to wash some feet on Maundy Thursday in a symbolic recreation of Jesus doing the same...

Pope Shuns Palace Dwelling
 Pope Shuns Palace Apartment 
Mar 27, 2013 12:39 AM CDT

Pope Shuns Palace Apartment

He opts for hotel room over 12-room papal dwelling

(Newser) - Pope Francis, much like his saintly namesake, is keeping things simple. He has shunned the fancy robes favored by his predecessor, and now he's broken with a tradition more than a century old by declining to move into the grand papal apartment in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, Reuters...

Pope Phones Home, Cancels Newspaper

Seems the former cardinal forgot to end his subscription

(Newser) - The guy who started the first day of his papacy by settling his hotel bill is running more errands: This time it was an Argentine newspaper vendor left with his mouth hanging open when someone named "Cardinal Jorge" called up to cancel his longtime subscription, reports the BBC . "...

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