Vatican News

Pope Francis: Christian joy comes from going against the tide

Vatican City, Nov 11, 2015 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Florence this week, saying that joy comes from discerning the real Jesus from the image offered by distorted philosophies of God, popular only for a short time.

“Our joy is to go against the tide and overcome the popular opinion, which, then as now, cannot see in Jesus more than a prophet or a teacher,” the Pope said Nov. 10.

In Tuscany, Pope Francis says proximity overcomes indifference

Vatican City, Nov 10, 2015 / 02:58 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis today traveled to the Tuscan city of Prato, where he told the city’s labor force – many of whom are Chinese immigrants – to be courageous in fighting corruption and indifference, and to work toward a culture of inclusion.

“This is what the Lord asks us today, today more than ever: not to remain closed in indifference, but to open ourselves,” the Pope said.

Pope Francis to pro-life activists: You are world's Good Samaritans

Vatican City, Nov 9, 2015 / 10:40 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis praised pro-life activists as “Good Samaritans” to the most vulnerable, citing their commitment to defending life at all stages and their role in affirming the dignity of women.

Pope: 'Deplorable' leak of private docs doesn’t damper Vatican reform

Vatican City, Nov 8, 2015 / 05:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Sunday Pope Francis spoke out for the first time on what has been called the most recent “Vatileaks” scandal with the theft of confidential information by the Holy See, but offered his assurances that the reform process would move forward.

If you have the right to work, you have the right to rest, Pope says

Vatican City, Nov 7, 2015 / 09:20 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The dignity of workers was at the center of an address by Pope Francis on Saturday, during which the pontiff reflected on the connection between the right to employment and the right to leisure.

This “right to rest,” Pope Francis said, above all, refers to a “dimension of the human being which does not lack the spiritual roots and which, even you, for your part, are responsible.”

Money and status don't make you happy – selflessness does, Pope says

Vatican City, Nov 6, 2015 / 02:25 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On Friday Pope Francis praised those Christians who serve others and renounce their own comfort. He also gave a blunt warning about careerism and greed in the Church.

Through St. Paul, Jesus Christ shows us “this Church that never stands still” and a Church that “always goes forward and shows us the path,” Pope Francis said in his Nov. 6 homily at the chapel of Casa Santa Marta in Vatican City.

Pope Francis explains why he won't sell the Church's 'treasures'

Vatican City, Nov 6, 2015 / 09:38 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a new interview ranging from fame to finances to his childhood dreams, Pope Francis explained that despite his strong concern for the poor, he will not sell the “riches of the Church.”

Asked whether he has ever felt pressure to sell “the treasures of the Church,” the Pope responded, “This is an easy question. They are not the treasures of the Church, (but) the treasures of humanity.”

Pope Francis is going to Kenya - and here's what people are talking about

Vatican City, Nov 6, 2015 / 03:38 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As anticipation mounts in Africa ahead of Pope Francis’ coming visit, one Kenyan bishop said his country is excited to see the Pope’s simplicity and humility in action, especially toward the poor.

“People are very much waiting to see Pope Francis because of what they hear about his way of doing things, the way that he’s simple, he goes to the poor and to the simple,” Bishop James Maria Wainaina Kungu told journalists Oct. 28.

For Pope Francis, unity of martyrdom is stronger than Christian divisions

Vatican City, Nov 5, 2015 / 12:15 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Despite the numerous divisions among Christians today, the followers of Christ are powerfully united in the witness of martyrdom across the globe, Pope Francis said Wednesday.

“In various parts of the world the witness to Christ, even to the shedding of blood, has become a shared experience of Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, Protestants, Evangelicals and Pentecostals,” the Pope told the Global Christian Forum in a Nov. 4 message.

Excluding people isn't Christian – it leads to war, Pope says

Vatican City, Nov 5, 2015 / 09:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis on Thursday said that those who form private, exclusive groups mimic the attitude of the Pharisees, leading to conflict and division, whereas true Christians open the doors – with prudence – to everyone.

“There are two paths in life: the path of exclusion of persons from our community and the path of inclusion,” the Pope said Nov. 5 at daily Mass in the chapel of Vatican City’s St. Martha Guesthouse.

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