Doctors say 86-year-old has shown marked improvement and has been treated for bronchitis
Pope Francis has had a marked improvement in his health and could be discharged from hospital “in the next few days”, doctors treating the 86-year-old said on Thursday.
The pontiff was taken to Gemelli hospital in Rome on Wednesday afternoon after complaining of breathing difficulties and chest pain in recent days.
Continue reading...Pontiff says on peace mission that religious leaders ‘cannot remain neutral’ amid abuses of power
Pope Francis has said churches in South Sudan “cannot remain neutral” but must raise their voices against injustice and abuse of power, as he and two other Christian leaders conducted a peace mission to the world’s newest country.
On his first full day in South Sudan, Francis addressed Catholic bishops, priests and nuns in St Theresa Cathedral in the capital, Juba, as the archbishop of Canterbury and the head of the Church of Scotland held services elsewhere.
Continue reading...An open letter, backed by opinion poll, urges the UK to restore aid budget on eve of a three-day ‘pilgrimage for peace’ in the east African country
The British government’s financial support for Ukraine must not be at the cost of aid to other areas of the world in crisis, three faith-based charities have warned, on the eve of an unprecedented joint pilgrimage to South Sudan led by Pope Francis.
The organisations are calling on the government to restore the 59% cut in the UK’s aid budget to South Sudan, and invest in peacebuilding, conflict management and reconciliation.
Continue reading...Around 20 people were seen kneeling in prayer in the church – typically used for baptisms and weddings – prior to funeral for Australia’s most senior Catholic
George Pell, Australia’s most senior Catholic, is lying in state in a closed dark brown wooden coffin behind the walls of the Vatican as preparations continue for his funeral, which will be blessed by Pope Francis.
Pell, who was the subject of damning findings by Australia’s child abuse royal commission, is in a coffin on the floor of the small church of St Stephen of the Abyssinians, inside the Vatican walls.
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Continue reading...Journalist who published the anonymous memo criticising ‘politically correct’ decisions reveals cardinal was its author
Cardinal George Pell was the author of an anonymous memo condemning the papacy of Pope Francis as a “catastrophe” where political correctness held sway while global wrongs were ignored, says the journalist who published it.
Released last year under the pseudonym Demos, the document accuses the pope of silence on moral issues, including the German Catholic church’s openness to the LGBTQ community, female priests and communion for the divorced.
Continue reading...Pontiff praises ‘determination and wisdom’ of Pell, who was convicted but then acquitted of child sexual abuse
Pope Francis has praised George Pell for his “determination and wisdom”, in a statement dedicated to the controversial cardinal after his death at the age of 81.
Pell, who was Australia’s most senior Catholic and was found guilty and then acquitted of child sexual abuse, had undergone a hip operation in Rome and died after a cardiac arrest. Days earlier, he attended the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican.
Continue reading...Benedict’s body displayed in chapel of the Vatican monastery and will lie in state at St Peter’s Basilica
Thousands of people are expected to pay their respects to former pope Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday, in the days leading up to his funeral this week.
Benedict’s body was displayed on Sunday in a chapel of the Vatican monastery where he lived, and will lie in state at St Peter’s Basilica from Monday until Thursday. His funeral in St Peter’s Square will be a simple, solemn and sober ceremony in keeping with his wishes, the Vatican said.
Continue reading...Pontiff says world suffering from ‘famine of peace’ as Justin Welby praises example of late monarch
The archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis have used their Christmas addresses to call for an end to the war in Ukraine.
During his sermon, Justin Welby also spoke of those suffering “immense anxiety and hardship” during the cost of living crisis and made reference to the “desperate struggles of hospital wards”.
Continue reading...Thirty-nine people imprisoned for forcing a procession in Sicily to pay homage to crime boss Francesco La Rocca in 2016
A judge in Sicily has handed down jail sentences totalling 80 years to 39 people for diverting a Good Friday religious procession to the house of a mafia family and paying homage to an imprisoned crime boss.
People were carrying a statue of Jesus Christ through the Sicilian village of San Michele Di Ganzaria at Easter in 2016 when a group stopped the cortege, moved it away from the agreed itinerary and forced it to pass in front of the house of the mafia godfather Francesco La Rocca.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Mohammed Ramadhan, who alleges he was tortured into confessing to deadly bombing, urges pontiff to act on visit to Gulf state
A former airport security guard who is on death row in Bahrain for a crime he alleges he was tortured into confessing to has urged Pope Francis to call for his release during the pontiff’s visit to the Gulf state.
In a letter shared exclusively with the Guardian through the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (Bird), Mohammed Ramadhan, who has been in prison for nine years, asked the pontiff to “ask the king of Bahrain to release me and reunite me with my family and children”.
Continue reading...Country’s first female prime minister leads the most rightwing government since the second world war
Pope Francis offered prayers for “unity and peace in Italy” as Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s first female prime minister, took the helm of the country’s most rightwing government since the second world war.
Meloni, the leader of Brothers of Italy, a party with neofascist origins, met the outgoing prime minister, Mario Draghi, for a formal handover ceremony on Sunday. “I did not expect this welcome,” Meloni, 45, said as she was greeted by Draghi, referring to the ceremonial guard. “It’s an emotionally impacting thing.”
Continue reading...Francis said migrants and refugees should be able to ‘live in peace and with dignity’ at open-air mass in Matera
Pope Francis has urged Italians to help migrants as voting proceeded in a general election widely expected to bring an anti-immigration rightwing coalition into power.
Speaking at the end of an open-air mass in the southern Italian city of Matera, the pope recalled that Sunday coincided with the Catholic church’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees. “Migrants are to be welcomed, accompanied, promoted and integrated,” he told the assembled faithful.
Continue reading...Pontiff apologises on visit to country over ‘catastrophic’ historical mistreatment of Indigenous children
Pope Francis has apologised for the “disastrous error” and “evil” of Canada’s church-run residential schools, asking survivors of the system that abused tens of thousands of children for forgiveness as he toured the country on a “pilgrimage of penance”.
The pontiff’s widely anticipated apology came during a Monday morning visit to the community of Maskwacis, Alberta – the first formal event of his one-week tour after landing in the western province on Sunday.
Continue reading...‘This is a trip of penance,’ says Pope Francis, ahead of mass to be held during five-day trip
Pope Francis landed in Canada on Sunday to kick off a five-day trip that will centre around his apology on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church for the abuse that Indigenous children endured at mostly church-run residential schools.
“This is a trip of penance. Let’s say that is its spirit,” the pope told reporters after his flight took off from Rome.
Continue reading...Pope will meet Indigenous leaders and residential school survivors, thousands of whom were taken from families
Pope Francis will spend the next week on a “pilgrimage of penance” in Canada, meeting with Indigenous leaders and residential school survivors as he looks to atone for the church’s grim legacy in the country.
For the first papal visit to Canada in two decades, the pontiff plans to visit First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities as he travels from Alberta to Quebec, ending his visit in the Arctic territory of Nunavut.
Continue reading...Pontiff, 85, had planned to visit Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan in early July
Pope Francis has scrapped a trip to Africa owing to an ongoing problem with his knee, raising further scrutiny about the 85-year-old pontiff’s health.
The Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said the planned visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan in early July had been cancelled “at the request of his doctors in order not to jeopardise the results of the therapy that he is undergoing for his knee” and would be rescheduled to a later date.
Continue reading...Move would be highest-profile visit of a world figure since Vladimir Putin began invasion of Ukraine
Pope Francis has said he is considering visiting the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in what would be the most high-profile visit of a world figure since Russia invaded the country.
The head of the Catholic church was invited by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, along with Ukrainian religious leaders on 8 March.
Continue reading...In his weekly address to crowds gathered in St Peter’s Square, Rome, the pontiff rejected Russia’s assertion that it is carrying out a 'a special military operation'. 'In Ukraine, rivers of blood and tears are flowing. This is not only a military operation but a war which is leading to death, destruction and misery,' Pope Francis said
Continue reading...Gustavo Zanchetta convicted by court in a major blow to Pope Francis, who had initially defended the bishop
A court in Argentina has sentenced a Roman Catholic bishop to four and a half years in prison for sexual abuse of two former seminarians in a major blow to Pope Francis, who had initially defended the bishop.
Gustavo Zanchetta, 57, was convicted on Friday of “simple, continued and aggravated sexual abuse”, with his offense aggravated by his role as a religious minster.
Continue reading...Comments made during a recent general audience at the Vatican criticised
Whether millennials prefer to raise plants and pets over children for financial and environmental reasons or because they’re lazy and entitled has been hotly discussed in recent years. Now Pope Francis has waded in, saying that not having children is “selfish and diminishes us” and that people are replacing them with cats and dogs.
Pet owners have reacted angrily to the comments, made during a general audience at the Vatican. They argue that animals have a lower environmental footprint than children, enable them to lead a life that is different but equally rewarding, and compensate for financial or biological difficulties in having children, rather than directly replacing them.
On social media, people pointed out that the pope himself chose not to have children and said there was hypocrisy in such comments, coming from an institution which has grappled with a legacy of child sexual abuse.
Guardian readers who responded to a call-out asking for their views were similarly critical of the pope’s comments, which were branded “out of touch” and “sexist”.
Sophie Lusby, a 48-year old NHS manager in Belfast, said they were “really naive and insensitive” and failed to reflect that not everybody can or should have children. As a Catholic, she has struggled with feelings of shame about her inability to have children for medical reasons, given her religion’s emphasis on motherhood. “That’s what’s quite triggering about the pope’s words.”
She added that although she has two pets, which are “great company when you live on your own”, she doesn’t see them as substitutes for children, and instead has found meaning in her relationships with her nephews, nieces, siblings and parents. “If Catholicism is about family, I’ve been very successful at being a great family member and I don’t need to be told off.”
Estee Nagy, a 27-year-old jeweller from London, said that “having a child in today’s world is a luxury” because of lower earning power and a more challenging labour market. “It’s easier for those who were simply lucky and are rich or have more money than an average salary, but it gets harder when there isn’t enough.”
Stef, who works in education, said that in her home town of Brighton “loads of people have dogs and treat them like kids”. She has taken her rescue dog, Boss, on holiday to 11 countries, including the Vatican, and feels that he is “part of the family”.