Vatican News

Saints Peter and Paul witness to the power of God’s forgiveness, pope says

Vatican City, Jun 29, 2019 / 06:25 am (CNA).- Pope Francis said Saturday that Saints Peter and Paul are both witnesses to the transformative power of God’s forgiveness through which all Christians can experience a new beginning of peace and joy.

Pope Francis tells German Catholics to focus on evangelization

Vatican City, Jun 29, 2019 / 03:30 am (CNA).- Pope Francis sent a 28-page letter to Catholics in Germany Saturday calling for a focus on evangelization in the face of the “erosion” and “decline of the faith” in the country.

"Evangelization must be our guiding criterion par excellence, by which we can recognize all the steps we are called to take as an ecclesial community," Pope Francis wrote in a letter published June 29.

German cardinal thanks Pope Francis for his letter’s call to conversion

Cologne, Germany, Jun 29, 2019 / 03:30 am (CNA).- German Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki thanked Pope Francis for ‘fearlessly’ calling Catholics in Germany to be a missionary church in a letter published Saturday.

“It is refreshing how clearly and fearlessly the Holy Father also puts into words the terms which we often express in this country only with hesitation and a certain timidity, which we have almost lost: repentance, conversion, mission,” Cardinal Woelki said in a statement June 29.

Chinese priests do not need to register with government, Vatican says

Vatican City, Jun 28, 2019 / 12:40 pm (CNA).- The Vatican issued new guidance for priests and bishops in mainland China on Friday, addressing government requirements that clergy register with the Communist government.

‘The heart of the Church’s mission is prayer,’ Pope Francis says

Vatican City, Jun 28, 2019 / 09:00 am (CNA).- The Sacred Heart of Jesus wishes to welcome all into ‘a revolution of tenderness’ through life-changing prayer, Pope Francis said Friday, while insisting that “the heart of the Church’s mission is prayer.”

Benedict XVI: The Church’s unity is stronger than internal conflicts

Vatican City, Jun 28, 2019 / 04:51 am (CNA).- Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said in an article published Friday that the unity of the Church has always prevailed over internal struggles and affirmed that there is currently only one pope.

“The Pope is one, it is Francis,” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said in an interview with an Italian magazine published by Corriere Della Sera June 28.

Pope gives chaplains of sailors same faculties as Missionaries of Mercy

Vatican City, Jun 27, 2019 / 07:01 pm (CNA).- In a meeting with the Apostleship of the Sea on Thursday, Pope Francis emphasized the importance of mercy, and said he was giving sea chaplains the same expansive faculties he had given to the Missionaries of Mercy.

Pope Francis encourages unity in the fight against world hunger

Vatican City, Jun 27, 2019 / 06:07 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis said Thursday that world hunger must be addressed by all nations and encouraged the cooperation of individuals, governments, and businesses.

The pope spoke at the 41st General Conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), based in Rome.

Pope could see final draft of new curial constitution by September

Vatican City, Jun 27, 2019 / 10:22 am (CNA).- Pope Francis could receive a final draft of a new constitution for the Roman curia as soon as September, according to the secretary of the pope’s Council of Cardinal Advisors.

Pope Francis 'profoundly saddened' at image of drowned migrant father and daughter

Vatican City, Jun 26, 2019 / 08:00 am (CNA).- Pope Francis expressed his "immense sadness" upon seeing the image of the migrant father and child who drowned in their attempt to cross the Rio Grande, a Vatican spokesman said Wednesday.

“The Pope is profoundly saddened by their deaths, and is praying for them and for all migrants who have lost their lives while seeking to flee war and misery,” Holy See Press Office interim director Alessandro Gissoti said June 26.

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