Letter from Rome After 20 years of restoration work and millions in funding from benefactors worldwide, the unveiling of the Pontifical Sanctuary of the Holy Stairs in Rome was supposed to be a grand, celebratory moment slated for this spring, in time for Holy Week and Easter. The public was going to be able to…
The Vatican’s financial situation must be “a glass house” that displays transparency and honesty, letting Catholics know where its revenues come from and go, said the head of the Secretariat for the Economy. Presenting a detailed budget report of the Roman Curia for 2019, Jesuit Fr Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves said Catholics “have the right…
Pope Francis has revised and clarified norms and procedures for holding bishops and religious superiors accountable in protecting minors as well as in protecting members of religious orders and seminarians from abuse. The new juridical instrument is meant to help bishops and religious leaders around the world clearly understand their duties and church law, underlining…
Migrants are not a threat to a nation’s cultures, traditions and value, Pope Francis has said. Every nation is a product of immigration and the integration of diverse peoples, united by specific values, cultures and “healthy traditions”, he said. That is why any nation that “stirs up nationalistic sentiments in its people against other nations…
God never tricks, traps or tempts his children to sin or commit evil, Pope Francis has said. God is with his people every step of the way – during times of joy and sadness, triumph and tribulation – and he always helps lead people away from the devil and his temptations, the Pope said during…
The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, named a new director and editorial board for its women’s magazine, Women-Church-World. The announcement came a little more than one month after the magazine’s founder and former director, Lucetta Scaraffia, resigned along with her editorial staff, claiming a lack of trust and support from the new management at the newspaper.…
Sometimes Christians seem to prefer complaining and being unhappy in life, but that makes them a perfect target for the devil, Pope Francis has said in a morning homily. “Desolation is from the serpent”, who tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden and who “always bites” when a person sinks in despair, the pope said…
No one should be afraid that God has allowed there to be different religions in the world, Pope Francis has said. “But we should be frightened if we are not doing the work of fraternity, of walking together in life” as brothers and sisters of one human family, he said. As is customary, at his…
Pope Francis has made it more than obvious that he does not like people kissing his ring. The viral video of him yanking his right hand away from a string of about 17 people coming up to him one-by-one during a trip to Loreto, Italy, on March 25, caught many people by surprise because of…
Christians have faith in a God who wants to and is able to transform the world, conquering evil with good, Pope Francis said. That is why “it makes sense to obey and abandon oneself” to God and his will, even during life’s most difficult moments, the Pope said yesterday during his general audience in St…