Vatican City: Pope Francis has acknowledged the existence of a "gay lobby" and a "stream of corruption" in the Vatican, according to reports in Catholic media not denied by the Vatican.
The pope made the remarks last week in Spanish during a private meeting with representatives of the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious (CLAR), according to the Chilean Catholic website "Reflection and Liberation".
On Tuesday it published what it said was a summary of the conversation written by participants after the June 6 meeting in the Vatican. CLAR, which is based in Colombia, confirmed that a summary had been written but regretted that it had been published.
In the conversation, the pope is quoted as talking about various subjects of concern, including the problems of the Curia, the Church's central administration which was at the centre of a corruption scandal in 2012....
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07:28 AM, Jun 12, 2013
Vatican City: Pope Francis led Roman Catholics on Sunday in the first worldwide "Holy Hour," in which participants prayed at the same time around the globe for those suffering from war, slave labour, human trafficking and the economic crisis. The Vatican asked Catholics to join him between 5-6 pm Rome time (1500-1600 GMT) in what is known as a Eucharistic adoration - praying before a consecrated communion host. They were...
06:20 AM, Jun 03, 2013
Rome: Pope Francis spoke out against mafia organisations exploiting and enslaving people, calling on mafiosi on Sunday to repent in words that recalled an impassioned plea by Pope John Paul II 20 years ago. Speaking off the cuff after his weekly Angelus blessing in St Peter's Square, Francis spoke about the mafia for the first time since he became pontiff two months ago. High profile killings by the Italian mafia...
06:34 AM, May 27, 2013
Dhaka: The mayor of the Bangladesh municipality where a factory building collapsed killing more than 400 people was suspended from office on Thursday, a government minister said, as rescuers pressed on with the task of recovering bodies from the wreckage. The scale of the April 24, 2013 disaster has prompted a worldwide outcry at poor safety and pay in many factories making clothes for Western brands, with Pope Francis on...
07:12 AM, May 03, 2013
Rome: Pope Francis told priests on Sunday to practice what they preach, saying the church's credibility was on the line. During a Mass to formally take possession of one of the Vatican basilicas in Rome, Francis said ordinary Catholics need to "see in our actions what they hear from our lips." Francis has made himself an example of a more humble and frugal church by refusing many of the trappings...
09:03 AM, Apr 15, 2013
Mumbai: The Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) on Sunday hailed the appointment of Mumbai's Cardinal Oswald Gracias by Pope Francis as one of his advisors in the Vatican. Cardinal Gracias, 68, was among the eight high-ranking advisors appointed on Saturday by the new Pope to an advisory council to look into ways of reforming the Vatican bureaucracy. CSF, a Mumbai-based Catholic NGO, said: "There could be no better person than Cardinal...
05:27 AM, Apr 15, 2013
Vatican City: India's Oswald Gracias was among eight high-ranking cardinals from around the world who were on Saturday appointed by Pope Francis in an advisory council to look into ways of reforming the Vatican bureaucracy. The council will help the Pope revise the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia Pastor bonus - the Church administration which helps him in the daily governance, the Vatican said in a statement. Pope John...
06:34 PM, Apr 13, 2013
Rome: Pope Francis was formally installed as bishop of Rome on Sunday and he urged lapsed Catholics not to be afraid to return to God. Francis celebrated a Mass before thousands of people in the Rome Basilica of St John in Lateran to formally take possession of the cathedral in his capacity as bishop of the Italian capital, his other major role along with the papacy. Francis, the former archbishop...
07:14 AM, Apr 08, 2013
Vatican City: Pope Francis wants the Catholic Church to "act decisively" to root out sexual abuse of children by priests and ensure the perpetrators are punished, the Vatican said on Friday. Francis, in a meeting with the Holy See's doctrinal chief, Archbishop Gerhard Mueller, had declared that combating sexual abuse was important "for the Church and its credibility", a statement said. Francis inherited a Church mired in problems and a...
11:41 AM, Apr 06, 2013
Vatican City: Pope Francis wants the Catholic Church to "act decisively" to root out sexual abuse of children by priests and ensure the perpetrators are punished, the Vatican said on Friday. Francis, in a meeting with the Holy See's doctrinal chief, Archbishop Gerhard Mueller, had declared that combating sexual abuse was important "for the Church and its credibility", a statement said. Francis inherited a Church mired in problems and a...
06:35 AM, Apr 06, 2013
Pope Francis delivered his first traditional Papal blessing in front of huge crowds in Saint Peter's Square on Easter Sunday. He called for peace in the Middle East, Asia and Africa and drew attention to the war in Syria. ...
04:10 PM, Apr 01, 2013
Pope Francis, appearing before more than 250,000 people for his first Easter Sunday address, called for world peace, respect for the environment and a diplomatic solution to the crisis on the Korean peninsula. ...
11:29 PM, Mar 31, 2013
Pope Francis used his first Easter Sunday address to call for peace in the world and appealed for a diplomatic solution to the crisis on the Korean peninsula. In his first "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message, Francis also called for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, an end to the civil war in Syria, and political solutions to conflicts in several African countries. ...
07:50 PM, Mar 31, 2013
Pope Francis, leading the world's 1.2 billion Catholics into Easter for the first time, on Saturday urged those who have strayed from the faith to allow God back into their lives. ...
11:53 AM, Mar 31, 2013
Pope Francis celebrated a trimmed back Easter Vigil service on Saturday after having reached out to Muslims and women during a Holy Week in which he began to put his mark on the Catholic Church. ...
06:19 AM, Mar 31, 2013
Pope Francis reached out in friendship to "so many Muslim brothers and sisters" during a Good Friday procession dedicated to the suffering of Christians from terrorism, war and religious fanaticism in the Middle East. The new pontiff, who has rankled traditionalists by rejecting many trappings of his office, mostly stuck to the traditional script during the nighttime Way of the Cross procession at Rome's Colosseum, one of the most dramatic...
08:16 AM, Mar 30, 2013
In his most significant break with tradition yet, Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of two young women at a juvenile detention center - a surprising departure from church rules that restrict the Holy Thursday ritual to men. ...
08:56 AM, Mar 29, 2013
The two men in white embraced and showed one another the deference owed a pope in ways that surely turned Vatican protocol upside down: A reigning pope telling a retired one, "We are brothers," and insisting that they pray side-by-side during a date to discuss the future of the Catholic Church. ...
08:38 AM, Mar 24, 2013
Pope Francis urged the West on Friday to intensify dialogue with Islam and appealed to the world to do more to combat poverty and protect the environment. Speaking in Italian, the new pontiff said richer countries should fight what he called "the spiritual poverty of our times" by re-forging links with God. ...
04:55 AM, Mar 23, 2013
An artist from Milwaukee, Niki Johnson, has come up with a unique portrait of the former Pope Benedict XVI. ...
10:46 AM, Mar 21, 2013
