Vatican News

After new appointments, will Pope Francis' stalled curial reform start moving?

Vatican City, Jul 11, 2018 / 01:15 pm (CNA).- A long-time priority of Pope Francis, curial reform – specifically the overhaul of Vatican finances and communications – has been hanging by a thread for the past few years, and some wonder about the pope’s ability to make any meaningful or lasting changes in the Vatican’s way of doing business.

New Mexico bishop made coadjutor of San Jose

Vatican City, Jul 11, 2018 / 05:57 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican announced Wednesday Pope Francis' appointment of Bishop Oscar Cantú of Las Cruces, New Mexico to be coadjutor bishop of San Jose, California.

As coadjutor, Cantú will assist Bishop Patrick J. McGrath, 73, in the administration of the Diocese of San Jose, and succeed McGrath upon his retirement or death.

What happens when a church is no longer a church?

Vatican City, Jul 10, 2018 / 02:49 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- St. Catherine of Siena Church was built by immigrants in a Catholic Boston neighborhood, in the late nineteenth century. For more than a century, it welcomed the poor, the lost, and the searching. Then in 2008, the church was closed.

Pope Francis prays for Japan amid deadly flooding

Vatican City, Jul 9, 2018 / 09:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis sent his prayers and condolences to Japan Monday following the death of at least 119 people in some of the worst flooding and landslides the country has seen in decades.

Heavy rains and flooding began July 5, and have primarily affected the Hiroshima prefecture.

Pope: God doesn't meet our expectations – he surprises us instead

Vatican City, Jul 8, 2018 / 04:24 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis said Sunday that God always surprises people with the way he works, and because of this, believers should be open to the Lord's way of thinking and acting, rather than expecting him to conform to their aspirations.

Peace cannot be built with walls, Pope Francis says in Bari

Vatican City, Jul 7, 2018 / 05:41 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis said Saturday that peace in the Middle East will never be achieved through division, violence or the pursuit of private interests, and called for negotiation on issues such as the status of Jerusalem and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In Bari, Pope decries 'murderous' indifference to a weeping Middle East

Vatican City, Jul 7, 2018 / 01:43 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Joined by heads of Christian Churches in the Middle East, Pope Francis Saturday condemned the “complicit silence” and indifference of the world to the conflicts tearing the region apart, and urged Christians to pray for peace.

“Indifference kills, and we desire to lift up our voices in opposition to this murderous indifference,” the pope said July 7.

After Cardinal Farrell’s marriage prep remarks, some Catholics ask for clarity

Denver, Colo., Jul 6, 2018 / 02:52 pm (CNA).- Priests, theologians, and lay pastoral workers have responded to recent comments from a senior Vatican official, which suggested that priests lack the necessary experience to offer marriage preparation programs for engaged couples.

Francis thanks Ukrainian Greek-Catholics for their 'service to Christian unity'

Vatican City, Jul 6, 2018 / 10:41 am (CNA/EWTN News).- According to a release from the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, during a meeting with the Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyč on Tuesday, Pope Francis commended the Church for its witness to Christian unity.

The world needs a change of heart on environmental issues, pope says

Vatican City, Jul 6, 2018 / 06:54 am (CNA/EWTN News).- When it comes to supporting a healthy future for the planet, Christians have an important role to play in helping people have a change of heart and mind regarding responsible protection of the earth, Pope Francis said Friday.

Retreat House Bandra