Pope Francis

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2 Popes Meet: 'We Are Brothers'

Pope Francis prays with Pope emeritus Benedict

(Newser) - It's a Catholic first: A sitting pope met with his predecessor today. Pope Francis traveled to Castel Gandalfo outside Rome to visit with Pope emeritus Benedict, reports the BBC . The AP says both men paid deference to other other. When they entered a chapel, for instance, Benedict directed Francis...

Pope Francis to Wash, Kiss Inmates' Feet

New pope will break Holy Thursday tradition

(Newser) - At least he's washing them first: The new pope plans to wash and kiss the feet of juvenile delinquents in a rare gesture next Thursday, the Guardian reports. Instead of holding Holy Thursday mass in either St Peter's basilica or the basilica of St John in Lateran, Pope...

Pope Reaches Out to Islam, China, Atheists

Pope Francis' first foreign policy address concentrates on bridge building

(Newser) - In his first foreign policy address as pope, Francis today called for more dialogue with Islam and offered an olive branch to China and other countries that don't have diplomatic relations with the Holy See. The occasion was an audience with ambassadors from the 180 countries that have diplomatic...

Bergoglio Backed Gay Civil Unions

Compromise offer shocked Argentine bishops

(Newser) - Pope Francis has made some uncompromising statements on issues like gay marriage but he also has a strong pragmatic streak that could hint at changes to come for the Catholic church, the New York Times finds. As the church in Argentina fought to prevent the legalization of gay marriage in...

At Inaugural, Francis Calls for Protection of Planet, Poor

New pope tours St. Peter's Square in open-top Jeep

(Newser) - Pope Francis officially kicked off his papacy today with a call to protect the planet and its poor, in a "low-key" yet dignitary-stuffed inaugural Mass that installed him as the Catholic Church's 266th pontiff. “Let us never forget that authentic power is service and that the pope,...

Pope Francis Hangs Out With Pilgrims, Gives 1st Angelus

Makes surprise appearance at Vatican side gate

(Newser) - Those looking for pomp and circumstance from Pope Francis' first Sunday as pontiff got instead an eyeful of his humble, man-of-the-people charm offensive. Ahead of his first Angelus blessing, Francis slipped out a side gate of the Vatican and mingled with startled pilgrims, even kissing babies and asking one, "...

Pope: Advice From Cardinal Led to Name 'Francis'

'Don't forget the poor,' friend told him

(Newser) - Pope Francis met with the international media today and shed more light on why he picked the name Francis. As the votes were being counted and it became clear that Jorge Bergoglio would be the next pope, a fellow cardinal from Brazil turned to him and said, "Don't...

Vatican: There's No Evidence Pope Helped Junta

Allegations from Argentina dog Pope Francis

(Newser) - The Vatican today addressed the whispers that the new pope seemed to get along with Argentina's military dictatorship in the '70s. "There has never been a credible, concrete accusation against him," nor was he ever charged with anything, a Vatican spokesman said today, according to the...

Pope to Church: Cheer Up
 Pope to Church: Cheer Up 
Mar 15, 2013 10:08 AM CDT

Pope to Church: Cheer Up

Francis praises Benedict, warns against pessimism in address to cardinals

(Newser) - Pope Francis praised his predecessor in a meeting with his cardinals today, and told them, essentially, to keep their happy faces on. "Let us not give in to pessimism, to that bitterness that the devil offers us every day," he said, perhaps a veiled reference to the Church'...

Pope's Young Sweetheart Recalls His Love Letter

Amalia Damonte says 12-year-old Bergoglio wanted to marry her

(Newser) - Apparently you can credit Amalia Damonte for Jorge Bergoglio becoming Pope Francis—or perhaps her father, reports the Week . When Bergoglio was just 12, he had a young "romance" with Damonte, writing a letter saying they would be married and drawing a picture of the house they would live...

How It Ended Up Being Bergoglio

A front-runner, Scola, got a mistaken email of congratulations

(Newser) - Insiders are beginning to open up about how they chose Jorge Bergoglio as the new pope . For one thing, he wasn't part of the Vatican's troubled Curia hierarchy, but it was believed he could help heal it, the New York Times reports. It also helped that he didn'...

Don't Expect Gay Rights to Advance Under Francis

Richard Socarides: New pope's previous statements are pretty clear

(Newser) - Humble, yes . A champion of social justice and the underprivileged, sure. But Pope Francis is also a strict conservative on church doctrine, which means that even though polls show most Catholics favor gay marriage, the Vatican isn't about to soften its views on homosexuality, writes Richard Socarides at the...

One Reason Cardinals May Have Picked a 76-Year-Old

Nate Silver: Benedict's resignation eased fears of an infirm pontiff

(Newser) - Jorge Bergoglio wasn't on many short lists to be the next pope partly because he's 76, which puts him among the 10 oldest pontiffs upon election, writes Nate Silver in the New York Times . Veering away from politics, Silver pokes around papal history and notes that the others...

Pope Starts First Day by ... Paying Hotel Bill

Even though he now kinda runs the hotel

(Newser) - Never let it be said that Pope Francis is a deadbeat. He began his first day as pontiff by returning to the hotel where he'd been staying way back when he was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, picking up his own bags, and insisting on paying his bill—even though he...

Dark Cloud in Francis' Past: The Dirty War

Critics accuse Bergoglio of working with military junta

(Newser) - Although responses to Pope Francis have been chiefly positive , one dark stain in church history is raising serious questions about the new pope—the church's role during the dictatorship in Argentina, reports the Guardian . The church backed the dictatorship during its rule from 1976 to 1983, urging its followers...

Pope Francis: The Meaning Behind the Name

Celebrates St. Francis of Assisi: Vatican

(Newser) - So we've got a new pope , and he's got a new name—but what exactly does the moniker mean? It's a salute to St. Francis of Assisi, says a Vatican spokesman.
  • For a Jesuit pope, the choice is a nod to the Franciscans, often seen as Jesuit
...

Pope Francis Known for Humble Style

As archbishop in Buenos Aires, he avoided the trappings of his position

(Newser) - The world is getting to know Jorge Bergoglio, to be known as Pope Francis from this day forward. The 76-year-old Jesuit is the son of Italian immigrants who has spent nearly his entire life in Argentina. He is known as conservative on most church issues—staunchly opposing gay marriage, for...

New Pope: Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina

He will be called Pope Francis

(Newser) - The Catholic church has chosen a new pope: Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, a 76-year-old Jesuit. He will be known as Pope Francis and is the first pontiff from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than 1,000 years. He stepped out onto the balcony of...

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