VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis will visit Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Singapore in September, the Vatican announced Friday, confirming the longest trip of Francis’ papacy that is sure to test his health, stamina and mobility. The Vatican confirmed the Sept. 2-13 visit, saying the 87-year-old pope would visit Jakarta, Indonesia; Port […]

Transgender Catholics — as well as a priest who welcomes them to his parish — expressed disappointment Monday with a new Vatican document rejecting the fundamental concept of changing one’s biological sex. In essence, it was a restatement of longstanding Catholic teaching, but the dismay was heightened because recent moves by Pope Francis had encouraged some trans […]

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican on Monday declared gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy as grave violations of human dignity, putting them on par with abortion and euthanasia as practices that it said reject God’s plan for human life. The Vatican’s doctrine office issued “Infinite Dignity,” a 20-page declaration that has been in the works for five […]

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis met Monday with relatives of hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, marking the six-months since the attack in southern Israel with an hourlong audience. The Vatican released photos of the encounter, showing relatives of several of the hostages sitting in a semicircle in front of Francis in his private […]

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis on Saturday soldiered through a more than 2-hour Easter Vigil Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, one of the longest services in Catholic liturgy, amid renewed concerns about the 87-year-old’s frail condition. His voice at times sounded raspy and out of breath, but he read out all of his prepared […]

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Francis cancelled at the last minute his attendance at the Good Friday procession at Rome’s Colosseum, in what the Vatican described as a bid “to preserve his health” ahead of more Easter week engagements. Francis’ agenda for the next two days consists of an Easter Vigil service on Saturday evening and […]

Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of 12 women inmates at a Rome prison during a Holy Thursday ritual meant to emphasize his vocation of service and humility. The 87-year-old Francis performed the ritual from his wheelchair, after recent ailments have compounded his mobility problems.  READ: Daily Gospel, March 29 The Rebibbia prison venue […]

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian and allied officials Sunday criticized Pope Francis for saying that Kyiv should have the “courage” to negotiate an end to the war with Russia, a statement many interpreted as a call for Ukraine to surrender. The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Poland, a vocal ally of Kyiv, condemned the pope’s remarks. […]

MADRID — A Spanish bishop rebuked comments made by some priests on a weekly internet program about praying for Pope Francis to die as soon as possible. The priests later apologized. Archbishop Francisco Cerro Chaves of Toledo posted a statement on the archdiocese website Wednesday saying it rejected the comments and warned that it may […]

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the highest-ranking Filipino prelate serving in the Vatican, has been inducted to the French Legion of Honor, the highest recognition France bestows on its citizens and foreign nationals. In ceremonies held in Rome on Thursday, Tagle was cited for his “remarkable career as a man of the Church at the service […]