reform
US archbishops Chaput and Cupich offer sharply different visions of Vatican synod
By David Gibson — October 16, 2015
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Philadelphia's Chaput said "anxieties are running high" among conservatives, while Chicago's Cupich, a reform-minded delegate, said hard-liners need to be like Francis and chill out.
Are conservatives at high-stakes Vatican summit overplaying their hand?
By David Gibson — October 16, 2015
VATICAN CITY (RNS) There are growing signs of exasperation with the pressure tactics of the traditionalists. But in the end, their arguments may trump any annoyance.
No rest for a weary pope: Francis now faces a bigger test than US trip
By David Gibson — October 2, 2015
(RNS) The high-level summit of bishops from around the world that Francis convenes of Sunday will spend most of the month arguing about how, and whether, the Catholic Church can change -- and the fate of his papacy may rest on the outcome.
First rabbinical school to allow students with non-Jewish partners
By Lauren Markoe — September 30, 2015
(RNS) It's another "first" for the little-known but influential movement known as Reconstructionist Judaism.
Who rules in Rome: Pope Francis or the Roman Curia? A papal blueprint faces red tape
By David Gibson — September 23, 2015
(RNS) There have been other attempts to reorganize the Curia, but many have resisted efforts to reform the papal bureaucracy; they know that popes come and go, but the Vatican civil service remains.
Cardinal Raymond Burke: Gays, remarried Catholics, murderers are all the same
By David Gibson — March 27, 2015
(RNS) The Catholic Church has always taught that sin is sin, but few people see killing someone as equivalent to marrying a lifelong same-sex partner.
Pope Francis: ‘All I want is to go out for a pizza!’
By David Gibson — March 13, 2015
(RNS) Pope Francis isn't a fan of being cooped up inside the Vatican, and he may not be for very long. That and other juicy tidbits from his two-year anniversary interview.
Two years in, Pope Francis faces headwinds in reforming the Vatican. Here’s how he can prevail
By David Gibson — March 9, 2015
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Transforming the dynamic of Vatican power is key to what Pope Francis considers his greater goal: reorienting Catholicism itself to face the new challenges of the third millennium.
Pope Francis to church: Don’t be a closed caste or afraid of outcasts
By David Gibson — February 15, 2015
VATICAN CITY (RNS) “For Jesus, what matters above all is reaching out to save those far off, healing the wounds of the sick, restoring everyone to God’s family," the pope said. "And this is scandalous to some people!”
Pope Francis tells new cardinals to be models of love, not brooding schemers
By David Gibson — February 14, 2015
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Avoid “that smoldering anger which makes us brood over wrongs we have received," Francis told the new princes of the church. “No! This is unacceptable in a man of the church."
Pope Francis diversifies his cardinals. But will they have clout where it counts?
By David Gibson — February 13, 2015
VATICAN CITY (RNS) “You see the function of cardinal, the position of a cardinal, is changing,” Cardinal-designate Berhaneyesus Souraphiel of Ethiopia said. “It's no more a big honorific task.”
Pope Francis wants ‘absolute transparency’ as he pushes Vatican reform
By David Gibson — February 12, 2015
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The overhaul is taking longer than expected and is still encountering resistance. But Francis is gathering 150 cardinals in Rome for two days to press ahead.
Saudi’s new King Salman likely to stay the Muslim kingdom’s course
By Oren Dorell — January 27, 2015
(RNS) Saudi Arabia's King Salman has sought to bring slow change to one of the most conservative nations on earth.
Archbishop Justin Welby: ‘There is a possibility that we will not hold together’
By Trevor Grundy — December 9, 2014
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) Welby said that although individual churches remain "strong, resilient and thriving," the differences among them remain profound.
Pope Francis heads East, pointing to a new future for his Western church
By David Gibson — August 8, 2014
(RNS) Upcoming trips to Asia highlight Pope Francis’ push to globalize and reform a Catholic Church that is still very much centered on what happens in Rome.
