Pope Francis

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Most Unusually, Pope Confesses in Public

Visits priest during St. Peter's service

(Newser) - At a service in St. Peter's Basilica yesterday, Pope Francis emphasized the importance of confession—and, in a rare move for a pope, made his own confession in public. As he was being shown to an empty booth to hear others confess, he instead headed to a booth already...

Obama Meets Pope, Gives Him Seeds

President tells Francis, 'I'm a great admirer'

(Newser) - President Obama called himself a "great admirer" of Pope Francis as he sat down at the Vatican today with the pontiff he considers a kindred spirit on issues of economic inequality. Their historic nearly hourlong first meeting comes as Obama's administration and the church remain deeply split on...

What the Pope Should Tell the President

And vice versa: Doyle McManus

(Newser) - When President Obama heads to the Vatican tomorrow, he and the pope should have a lot to talk about. America's first black president is meeting the Catholic Church's first Latin American pope; both took their jobs amid crises; both have political minds and initially boasted widespread support, notes...

Germany&#39;s &#39;Bishop of Bling&#39; Steps Down
 'Bishop of Bling' Steps Down 
Mar 26, 2014 9:51 AM CDT

'Bishop of Bling' Steps Down

Pope Francis accepts Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst's resignation

(Newser) - A German bishop temporarily expelled last year by Pope Francis has now left his post for good. The pope has accepted the resignation of Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg, the Vatican says. Tebartz-van Elst had reportedly spent some $43 million on renovating church buildings, including his own residence, the...

Pope Names 4 Women to Sex Abuse Team

One of whom was a sex abuse victim

(Newser) - Pope Francis has created a commission to advise him on priest sex abuse, but it's unclear whether the group will wield any power against abusers and bishops who cover up for them, report the Daily Beast and the AP . The commission consists of four men, three of whom are...

Pope Blasts Mafia: Repent or Go to Hell

Francis says mobsters' 'blood-stained' money is worthless

(Newser) - Pope Francis attended a vigil for mafia victims in Rome yesterday, reports the BBC , but he made bigger headlines by unloading on the mobsters themselves in his remarks:
  • "This life that you live now won't give you pleasure," he said. "It won't give you joy
...

Francis Marks 1 Year of Change ... Just Not Profound

Critics weigh in on pope's first year at the Vatican

(Newser) - It's been a year since the Catholic Church chose Jorge Bergoglio as its new pope , and while Pope Francis marks the anniversary with a low-key, week-long spiritual retreat with cardinals and bishops—he characteristically traveled there by bus—here's a look at how he's been doing over...

Pope: I Stole Cross From My Confessor's Casket

...while arranging roses in the man's casket

(Newser) - Pope Francis, superpope with sticky fingers? The pontiff today admitted that he took the cross of his late confessor's rosary from the man's casket and wears it daily in a fabric pouch under his cassock. "And whenever a bad thought comes to mind about someone, my hand...

Francis: Church Could Be OK With Gay Unions

Plus: He finds that 'superpope' myth offensive

(Newser) - As an Argentine cardinal, Jorge Bergoglio backed gay civil unions , and Pope Francis is signaling in an interview that the Catholic Church as a whole could tolerate at least some of them. While maintaining the church's position that "marriage is between a man and a woman," Francis...

Pope Accidentally Utters F-Bomb

Francis wasn't speaking in his native language

(Newser) - Pope Francis' native language is Spanish, which helps explain the F-bomb that he dropped during his weekly blessing yesterday. Speaking from the Vatican in Italian, he intended to say the word "example" or "case," which would have been "caso." Instead, he said "cazzo,"...

Vatican Gets First Overhaul in 25 Years

Move brings lay experts into the world of the Vatican's finances

(Newser) - Pope Francis today announced the first major shake-up in 25 years to what the AP terms the Vatican's "outdated and inefficient bureaucracy," in a move designed to bring outside experts into the murky world of Vatican finances. Reuters reports that Francis used a Motu Proprio—a document...

Pope Shares Secret of Lasting Love

'Never end a single day without being at peace with each other'

(Newser) - What's more romantic than getting together with ... the pope. In the spirit of Valentine's Day, Pope Francis addressed a crowd of engaged couples in St. Peter's Square and gave advice on how to have a happy marriage—though, of course, he's celibate. "It's important...

Pope's Problem: Catholics Can't Agree on Anything

Church houses a diverse crowd that varies widely on social issues: William Saletan

(Newser) - Based on recent poll results, you might think the Catholic Church needs to shift to the left. After all, Univision finds that 54% of US Catholics back same-sex marriage, 59% support women as priests, and 76% believe abortion should in some cases be allowed; in fact, "on every issue,...

Catholic School Fires Pregnant, Unwed Teacher

She 'failed to follow Catholic lifestyle'

(Newser) - An unmarried Montana schoolteacher who became pregnant is now unemployed because she failed to "follow a lifestyle in line with Catholic teachings," the diocese says. Shaela Evenson, who has taught literature and physical education to sixth, seventh, and eighth-graders for nine years, was sacked from a private school...

Pope Francis Scores Rolling Stone Cover

Plus: Rome graffiti shows him as Superman

(Newser) - Pope Francis, pop culture icon? So it seems. He's the 266th pope to hold his job—but the first to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone, NDTV notes. The magazine's article , by Mark Binelli, calls Francis "a man whose obvious humility, empathy and, above all, devotion...

Mafia 'Hit' on 3-Year-Old Rattles Italy

'Coco' Campolongo was gunned down with his grandfather

(Newser) - Little Nicola "Coco" Campolongo has become the latest focal point in Italy for anger against the mafia. As the Daily Beast explains, the toddler was executed along with his grandfather and his grandfather's companion over an apparent drug debt. The killers shot all three in the head, and...

Bird Thugs Attack Pope's 'Peace Doves'

Seagull, crow apparently didn't get the peace memo

(Newser) - It was supposed to be a nice moment: Pope Francis, in the course of calling for calm in the Ukraine today, had a couple of little kids release two doves over St. Peter's Square in a gesture of peace. But apparently in the animal world, as in the human...

Pope May Visit Philadelphia, NYC Next Year

He might attend families forum, address UN

(Newser) - It looks like Pope Francis is coming to the US next year. The National Catholic Reporter quotes Vatican sources as saying Francis hopes to attend the 2015 World Meeting of Families, which runs from Sept. 22-27 in Philadelphia. But don't expect confirmation until the event draws near, part of...

'Secret Gay Society' Imperils Pope: Ex-Swiss Guard

Elmar Mader accepts homosexuals but questions their loyalty

(Newser) - A gay lobby indeed exists at the Vatican and may pose a threat to Pope Francis, a former commander of the Swiss Guard tells a Swiss newspaper. "I cannot refute the claim that there is a network of homosexuals," said Elmar Mader, a Guard commandant from 2002 to...

Benedict Defrocked 400 Pedophile Priests in 2 Years

Numbers spiked dramatically in 2011-12, says AP

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests over just two years for sexually molesting children, according to a document obtained by the AP . The statistics for 2011 and 2012 show a dramatic increase over the 171 priests removed in 2008 and 2009, when the Vatican first provided details on the...

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