Vatican News

Pope Francis challenges young people in April prayer video

Vatican City, Apr 5, 2017 / 01:51 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Young people are the subject of Pope Francis’ universal prayer intention for April, and in his prayer video presenting the petition, the pontiff challenges them to “be the protagonists of change.”

Released April 4, the video opens with Pope Francis saying, “I know that you, young people, don’t want to be duped by a false freedom, always at the beck and call of momentary fashions and fads.”

Dialogue is essential, Pope Francis tells British Muslim leaders

Vatican City, Apr 5, 2017 / 11:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis met Wednesday with a delegation of Muslim leaders from Great Britain along with Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster to promote dialogue and collaboration following the deadly attack in London last month.

During the private meeting at the Vatican's Paul VI Hall April 5, Pope Francis said the most important job everyone has in this moment is to listen to each other.

Charles and Camilla meet Pope Francis, tour Vatican archives

Vatican City, Apr 4, 2017 / 02:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Charles, Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, met Pope Francis Tuesday at the Vatican, shortly after the British prince had received the Renaissance Man of the Year award for his philanthropic work.

Charles, 68, is heir to the British throne, and in recent years has drawn attention to the plight of Christians in the Middle East and to his own country's Christian heritage.

Pope Francis creates path for SSPX priests to validly celebrate marriages

Vatican City, Apr 4, 2017 / 05:53 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Tuesday Pope Francis approved a way for the Church to recognize marriages celebrated by priests of the Society of St. Pius X, which before now were not considered valid by Church authorities.

Through a letter published April 4, the Pope has given diocesan bishops, or other local ordinaries, the authorization to grant priests of the SSPX the ability to licitly and validly celebrate the marriages of faithful belonging to the Society.

ISIS captive among new refugees welcomed by Pope Francis

Vatican City, Apr 3, 2017 / 11:23 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican has taken in three new Syrian families, some members of which were ISIS prisoners before gaining freedom and fleeing the country.

According to an April 3 Vatican communique, the families – two of whom are Christian – took the place of the families welcomed by the Vatican last year, who with the help of various organizations have now become independent, and have moved out of their Vatican apartments.

Pope: Don’t dwell on suffering, let Jesus heal you

Vatican City, Apr 2, 2017 / 04:42 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Sunday, Pope Francis said that each of us carries some kind of tomb inside our heart, whether from sin or suffering, and we can either stay bogged down in misery, focusing only on ourselves, or we can allow Jesus to come into that place and heal it. 

“In front of the big ‘why’ of life we have two paths,” the Pope said April 2, “to stay to watch gloomily the tombs of yesterday and of today, or to bring Jesus to our tombs.”

Pope Francis says Catholic shrines are a key place for evangelization

Vatican City, Apr 2, 2017 / 01:24 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Saturday, Pope Francis moved the responsibility for Catholic shrines to be under the Congregation for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, stating that shrines, as sacred places, are especially suitable to conversion and the strengthening of faith.

April 1 the Pope issued the edict – called a motu proprio – formally moving the competency of shrines from the Congregation for Clergy to the Vatican department on the New Evangelization.

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