Vatican
Video: Kevin Eckstrom on PBS NewsHour
By Sally Morrow — December 23, 2014
Religion News Service Editor-in-Chief Kevin Eckstrom talks to Gwen Ifill on PBS NewsHour on Monday night about Pope Francis' latest diagnosis of the ills that ail the Catholic Church.
The doctor is in: Pope Francis’ list of 15 diseases that ail the church
By Josephine McKenna — December 22, 2014
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Part psychologist, part oncologist, here's Pope Francis' diagnosis for what ails the church's central bureaucracy.
Pope Francis to Curia: Merry Christmas, you power-hungry hypocrites
By Josephine McKenna — December 22, 2014
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Francis attacked the “terrorism of gossip” and the danger of cliques that "enslave their members and become a cancer that threatens the harmony of the body" and eventually kill it by "friendly fire."
First showers, now sleeping bags: Pope Francis’ birthday gift to the homeless
By Josephine McKenna — December 18, 2014
VATICAN CITY (RNS) "This is a gift for you from the pope on the occasion of his birthday," volunteers, including nuns and members of the Swiss Guard, told the recipients during the operation.
Pope Francis takes a victory lap after brokering US-Cuba breakthrough
By Josephine McKenna — December 18, 2014
VATICAN CITY (RNS) “The Holy See takes the long view," one Vatican source said. "There is a lot of quiet diplomacy going on.”
How Pope Francis’ diplomacy may change everything, not just US-Cuba relations
By David Gibson — December 18, 2014
(RNS) “Pope Francis did what popes are supposed to do: Build bridges and promote peace,” Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski said after Wednesday’s announcement about the U.S.-Cuba rapprochement.
Pope Francis played key role in restoring US-Cuba ties
By Gregory Korte — December 17, 2014
(RNS) The pope wrote a personal letter to President Obama this fall — something he'd never done before — and a separate letter to Cuban President Raul Castro.
If Rome wins 2024 Summer Olympics, Vatican could host competitions
By Josephine McKenna — December 17, 2014
VATICAN CITY (RNS) "The church has always defended sport because its values are not only Christian but universal," said Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins. "It teaches you how to put human values such as compromise and collaboration in practice overcoming division."
The Vatican vs. the nuns: 3 takeaways from Tuesday’s report
By David Gibson — December 16, 2014
(RNS) The "War on Women" is over, and other conclusions from the Vatican investigation of women’s religious communities in the U.S.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan cuts ties with anti-abortion crusader Frank Pavone
By David Gibson — December 15, 2014
NEW YORK (RNS) For decades, the outspoken Rev. Frank Pavone has often clashed as much with his own bishops as he has with abortion-rights foes.
Pope Francis is naming new cardinals. Will any be American?
By David Gibson — December 11, 2014
(RNS) Pope Francis did not pick any Americans when he made his first batch of cardinals, and several U.S. cardinals are very close to 80.
Lost in translation? 7 reasons some women wince when Pope Francis starts talking
By David Gibson — December 10, 2014
(RNS) When he speaks about women, Francis can sound a lot like the (almost) 78-year-old Argentine churchman that he is, using analogies that sound alternately condescending and impolitic.
Vatican survey: How do we help people with ‘homosexual tendencies’?
By Josephine McKenna — December 9, 2014
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican once talked about the "gifts and qualities" of LGBT Catholics. Now, church leaders want to know how to help families where someone has "homosexual tendencies."
Smoking gun? Pope Francis’ critics cite new book in questioning his papacy
By David Gibson — December 5, 2014
NEW YORK (RNS) The furor stems from a behind-the-scenes account of the March 2013 conclave, presented in a new book about Francis titled “The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope.”
Meet the pope’s astronomer, who says he’d baptize an alien if given the chance
By David Gibson — December 3, 2014
NEW YORK (RNS) “The thing that really bothers me is the creeping fundamentalism among Catholics who think that they have to sacrifice their reason to follow God. And that is exactly the opposite of what God wants.”
