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Pope Leo XIV urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to take a meaningful step in favor of peace during a phone call Wednesday that focused on the ongoing war in Ukraine and the worsening humanitarian situation. The conversation, described by the Vatican as “frank and focused on the urgency of dialogue,” saw the Pope appeal directly for a gesture from Moscow that could help reduce tensions and create the conditions for further diplomatic engagement. According to Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, the Pontiff underlined the “importance of dialogue to create positive contacts between the parties and seek...

When Mykola Bychok took part in the Walk for Justice for Refugees in his adopted homeland of Australia, he had a simple message. “Let us remember that the first refugee was Jesus Christ,” he told the crowd in the Melbourne sunshine. A little over a year later and the 44-year-old was made the world’s youngest cardinal

Pope Francis remains in critical condition after he experienced a severe asthmatic respiratory crisis this morning requiring high-flow oxygen therapy, according to a Vatican update released Saturday. “The Holy Father’s condition continues to be critical, therefore, as explained yesterday, the Pope is not out of danger,” the Vatican’s statement said. The Vatican said the prognosis remains “reserved,” indicating a cautious outlook as medical teams continue to stabilize his condition.

[Catholic Caucus] A 'female cardinal' at the head of the Governorate? Francis on Italian TV announces other 'epochal' changes.A female Cardinal? Well, we're getting there... Pope Francis announced that Sister Raffaella Petrini, the current Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, will assume the role of President starting in March 2025, replacing Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga. However, the Pope's own promulgated rule states that only a Cardinal can be President of the Governate... further amendments may be necessary. "Women handle problems better than men," said the Pope, riding one of the most painful clichés.On Sunday, January 19, 2025,...

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Pope Francis on Saturday and awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, the nation's highest civilian honor, the White House said. It was the first time during his four years in office that Biden awarded the medal "with distinction," it said. Biden, 82, leaves office on Jan. 20. To oversee the federal response to the fires in California, he canceled a trip to Rome this week, where he was due to meet Francis in person. A lifelong Catholic who has met the pope several times, Biden told reporters on Friday that he...

ROME — Pope Francis has named progressive San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy — a vocal Trump-basher — as the next archbishop of Washington D.C. Shortly after Trump’s first-term inauguration in 2017, then-bishop McElroy urged an audience of social justice warriors to disrupt Trump’s efforts to fulfill his campaign promises. In a 20-minute address to the U.S. regional meeting of the World Meeting of Popular Movements, McElroy said that “President Trump was the candidate of disruption. He was the disrupter.”

Pope Francis says tax billionaires, stop sports betting in fiery economics speechPope Francis encouraged the leaders of the popular movements to stand up to “the dehumanization” that is spreading in today’s world and to fight against injustice wherever it rears its ugly head in a passionate talk on social justice this morning, Sept. 20. “It is often precisely the wealthiest who oppose the realization of social justice or integral ecology out of sheer greed,” he said.The pope traveled from the Vatican to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in the Palazzo San Calisto in Trastevere to give this talk....

[Catholic Caucus] Rupnik artwork must come down, says top US cardinal as he breaks ranks with RomeAmerican Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston issued a statement saying he has asked the heads of all offices in the Roman Curia to take down the artwork of a famed priest and artist accused of abusing dozens of adult women.The statement came from the Pontifical Commission for Protecting Minors (PCPM), for which O’Malley serves as President, and said in that capacity, the cardinal has written to the heads of all Vatican departments asking that “pastoral prudence would prevent displaying artwork in a way that...

ROME — Pope Francis commemorated Earth Day on Monday by warning that the planet is “falling into ruin” thanks to humanity’s failure to protect it. “Our generation has bequeathed many riches, but we have failed to protect the planet and we are not safeguarding peace,” the pontiff chided on X (former Twitter) “We are called to become artisans and caretakers of our common home, the Earth which is ‘falling into ruin,’” he declared, followed by “#EarthDay.”

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Sarah: African bishops ‘have spoken for the whole Church’ by rejecting homosexual ‘blessings’Cardinal Sarah issued a stirring call to the African episcopacy, urging them to ‘speak in the name of unity of faith’ as ‘many Western prelates are paralyzed by the idea of opposing the world.’MVOLYÉ, Cameroon (LifeSiteNews) –– Warning that the “Church is dying,” Robert Cardinal Sarah has issued a striking call to action for African Catholics to be the “defenders of the universality of faith” especially at the Synod on Synodality, while also praising them for their rejection of same-sex blessings. Speaking in Cameroon as...

Israel's Chief Rabbi David Lau addresses letter to Pope Francis after Pope accuses Israel of engaging in terrorism just like Hamas.Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau addressed a letter today (Sunday) to Pope Francis in which he called on the Pontiff to retract comments made during a conversation with President Isaac Herzog last month in which he appeared to accuse both Israel and Hamas of “terrorism” in the ongoing war that started with the Hamas massacre of over 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7. During the conversation, Pope Francis said that it is “forbidden to respond to terror...

Francis’ New Book Hails Islam as a ‘Religion of Peace’Pontiff claims Islamic State terrorist outfit is a creation of the West In a new book recounting the last 10 years of his pontificate, Pope Francis is defending Islam as a "religion of peace" and suggesting the possibility of making celibacy optional for Latin rite priests. Non Sei Solo: Sfide, Risposte, Speranze (You Are Not Alone: Challenges, Answers, Hopes), published in Italian and released Tuesday, is a series of dialogues with journalists Sergio Rubin and Francesca Ambrogetti. The pontiff calls upon Europe to integrate Muslim migrants, insisting that "radical Islam is...

Alarm in the Vatican due to continuous voidsAlthough the official Vatican media tries to hide the reality, the truth is that attendance at the events presided over by Francis are plummeting.For several months now, due to the reduced mobility suffered by the Pontiff, the Vatican has been trying to control and limit all of Francis' movements. The low attendance and participation of the faithful in the Angelus, audiences or Masses in the Vatican has set off alarm bells in Rome.In this medium, both Specola and La Cigüeña de la Torre have echoed on countless occasions the continuous gaps that...

Pope Francis called on Palestinian militant group Hamas to free hostages abducted from Israel, adding that he is “concerned” over Israel’s siege of the Gaza Strip. “I continue to follow what is happening in Israel and Palestine with tears and apprehension: many people killed, others injured,” Francis said Wednesday in his address to the general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. “I pray for those families who have seen a feast day transformed into a day of mourning, and I ask that the hostages be released immediately.” “It is the right of those who are attacked to defend...

Religious persecution is nothing new to Massachusetts. But the commonwealth’s recent denial of a Catholic couple’s application to become foster parents because of their faith is a notable variation on the mass hysteria that once sent “witches” to the executioner.... In this instance, Michael and Catherine “Kitty” Burke were told they weren’t qualified to be foster parents unless they vowed to support a child should he or she someday identify as “LGBTQIA.” Talk about a litmus test. In fact, during a rigorous interview process with a social worker to determine their fitness as foster parents, the Burkes said they would...

[Catholic Caucus]On Eve of Vatican Synod, Bishop Warns of Move to Impose ‘Counterfeit Church’ROME — Kazakh Bishop Athanasius Schneider has joined the many Catholic prelates warning of nefarious plotting behind the scenes of the upcoming Vatican “Synod on Synodality.”O Lord, “prevent the enemies of the Church from exulting in a victory over the authentic Catholic Church obtained by imposing a counterfeit church under the guise of ‘synodality,’” Bishop Schneider wrote in a September 29 prayer for the synod.“For where sin and apostasy in the Church abounds, the victory of Your grace will abound the more,” the bishop added.In his prayer,...

Pope Francis on Imperialism: Is Russia a Special Case?A month after Pope Francis spoke in favorable terms about Russia’s imperial past, the diplomatic ramifications still reverberate. Last week, the Holy Father received the credentials of the new Russian ambassador, a rather routine encounter, though with a Vatican statement about how friendly the meeting was.A few days later, on Friday, the Holy Father received the Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See in a private audience, which is absolutely not a routine encounter. Ambassadors to the Holy See get two meetings with the pope, both pro forma — one when they present...

Pope Francis urges Chinese Catholics to be ‘good citizens’As Pope Francis concluded Mass on Sunday in the Hun Theatre in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar, he took a moment to invite two Chinese bishops to stand with him at the altar for a moment.The Pope greeted Cardinal John Tong Hon, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, and Cardinal-elect Stephen Chow Sau-yan, SJ, bishop of Hong Kong.As he held up their hands, Pope Francis sent greetings to the “noble people of China” and wished “all the people the best.”He encouraged the people of China to “strive ahead, always advancing.”Turning to the faithful...

The Church’s morals didn’t change until Vatican II in the 1960s. Before that, you had nearly two thousand years of consistency. If you speak to neo-Catholics now, they will tell you that there was a great revelation in the 20th century, and they realized that morality is constantly in flux, and that basically, all the fundamental premises of the historic Church are wrong. The Pope has gone from promoting gay anal to now actively attacking the people pushing back on it. He must be feeling he’s in a good position, to move from encouraging gay sex to actively organizing anyone...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis speaks out against his critics in the U.S. Catholic ChurchIn his recent conversation with Portuguese Jesuits in Lisbon during World Youth Day, Pope Francis commented that the situation in the Catholic Church in the United States is “not easy,” where “there is a very strong reactionary attitude” that “is organized and shapes the way people belong, even emotionally.”He also spoke about what should be the pastoral attitude toward L.G.B.T. persons and much else, as revealed in the transcript of the conversation published today in La Civiltà Cattolica, by Antonio Spadaro, S.J., the magazine’s editor, who was...