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 of the papacy, living in the Vatican hotel rather than the Apostolic Palace and wearing a simple white cassock of the papacy rather than fancy vestments and capes for formal occasions that his predecessors wore. "Inconsistency on the part of pastors and the faithful between what they say and what they do, between word and manner of life, is undermining the church's credibility," he said.
Toward that end, Francis on Saturday took the first step toward following through on calls from cardinals that the Vatican be more responsive to the needs of the church on the ground, creating a group of eight cardinals from around the globe to advise him on running the church and reforming the Vatican bureaucracy.
The cardinals, from North and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia, include prelates with whom the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has long collaborated, including Cardinal Sean O'Malley, a Franciscan Capuchin monk who knows Bergoglio well and visited him in Buenos Aires. Other members include representatives of regional bishops' conferences, including Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India,
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: Hollywood director Ridley Scott has filmed a TV series 'The Vatican' in Rome, starring Bruno Ganz as the fictional present-day Pope Sixtus VI. Scott, who last filmed in Rome the blockbuster 'Gladiator', paid the city of Rome 50,000 euros a day to film in the area around St. Peter's Square, the Messaggero daily reported. A crowd of tourists looked on as Scott and his crew filmed in Pius XII...
12:20 PM, Apr 13, 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
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
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
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien will lead the Indian delegation to the inaugural pontifical mass of Pope Francis I in Vatican City on Tuesday, official sources said on Sunday. According to the sources, besides Kurien, the four-member delegation includes his wife Susan, his secretary PJ Antony and Kerala Congress Lok Sabha MP Jose K Mani. ...
03:50 AM, Mar 18, 2013
Walking up to crowds, shaking hands with surprised bystanders in the street, mixing his formal speeches with off-the-cuff remarks, Pope Francis stamped his own style on the papacy Sunday. ...
01:27 AM, Mar 18, 2013
Newly elected Pope Francis made an appearance for the first Angelus in St Peter's Square. The first Pope from Latin America appeared before scores of people and asked the faithful to pray for him. ...
08:32 PM, Mar 17, 2013
Pope Francis, speaking to an overflow crowd of more than 150,000 in St Peter's Square, urged the world on Sunday to be more forgiving and merciful and not so quick to condemn other people's failures. "A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just," he told the cheering crowd from the window of the papal apartments overlooking the square. ...
07:33 PM, Mar 17, 2013
Pope Francis will bless crowds at St Peter's Square on his first Sunday today. ...
12:15 PM, Mar 17, 2013
Pope Francis, giving his clearest indication yet that he wants a more austere Catholic Church, said on Saturday that it should be poor and remember that its mission is to serve the poor. The pope made his comments in an audience with journalists, explaining why he chose to take the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi, a symbol of peace, austerity and poverty. ...
08:47 PM, Mar 16, 2013
The Vatican has come out in strong defence of Pope Francis after activists condemned the pope for not speaking out against human rights violations during military rule in Argentina. ...
08:51 AM, Mar 16, 2013
Pope Francis returned on Thursday to the Church-run residence where he was staying before becoming pontiff, and insisted on paying the bill, despite now effectively being in charge of the business, the Vatican said. ...
02:26 AM, Mar 15, 2013
Special prayers were held during regular mass in Goa churches on Thursday after Pope Francis was elected to lead the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics. ...
01:45 PM, Mar 14, 2013
Tears and cheers erupted across Latin America on Wednesday as an Argentine cardinal became the first pope from the hemisphere, and many expressed hope that he could help bring the church closer to the poverty-wracked region that is home to more Roman Catholics than any other. ...
09:38 AM, Mar 14, 2013
Pope Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, delivered his first blessing to a huge crowd in St Peter's Square on Wednesday night, asking for the prayers of "all men and women of good will" to help him lead the Catholic Church. ...
08:51 AM, Mar 14, 2013
Pope Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, delivered his first blessing to a huge crowd in St Peter's Square on Wednesday night, asking for the prayers of "all men and women of good will" to help him lead the Catholic Church. ...
06:27 AM, Mar 14, 2013
Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected in a surprise choice to be the new leader of the troubled Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday, and said he would take the name Francis I. ...
01:09 AM, Mar 14, 2013
