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For this group of trans women, the pope and his message of inclusivity are a welcome changePope Francis’ recent gesture of welcome for transgender Catholics has resonated strongly in this working class, seaside town south of Rome, where a community of trans women has found help and hope through a remarkable relationship with the pontiff forged during the darkest times of the pandemic.Thanks to the local parish priest, these women now make monthly visits to Francis’ Wednesday general audiences, where they are given VIP seats. On any given day, they receive handouts of medicine, cash and shampoo. When COVID-19 struck,...

Vatican City (AFP) – LGBTQ rights campaigners welcomed a Vatican statement that transgender people can be baptised as a step towards a more inclusive Catholic Church, but denounced caveats that provide cover to those who object.In a document published on Wednesday, the powerful Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, one of the main departments that manages the affairs of the Holy See, said transgender believers can be baptised if it would not cause scandal or confusion.

@fasc1nate In 1981, Mehmet Ali Agca pulled a gun and shot Pope John Paul II during a procession in St. Peter's Square. Though critically wounded, the Pope survived four gunshot wounds to his abdomen. Following the shooting, Pope John Paul II asked people to "pray for my brother…whom I have sincerely forgiven". In 1983, Pope John Paul II and Agca met and spoke privately at the prison where Agca was being held. The Pope brought the photographer and the cameramen because he wanted the image in that cell to be shown around the world. In 2000, the Pope requested a...

Pope Francis is at it again, relativizing about Muslim violence, suggesting that it has no ideological component, but is a “perversion” of true Islam, which is peace.

ROME — U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters Monday that he and Pope Francis are “on the same page” regarding the crisis in Gaza. As Breitbart News reported, Pope Francis telephoned President Biden on Sunday to discuss the best way to address “the latest developments in Israel and Gaza,” the White House said in a statement. Speaking with journalists Monday, Biden said the pontiff could not have been more supportive of current U.S. policy in the area.

Pope Francis called on Palestinian militant group Hamas to free hostages abducted from Israel, adding that he is “concerned” over Israel’s siege of the Gaza Strip. “I continue to follow what is happening in Israel and Palestine with tears and apprehension: many people killed, others injured,” Francis said Wednesday in his address to the general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. “I pray for those families who have seen a feast day transformed into a day of mourning, and I ask that the hostages be released immediately.” “It is the right of those who are attacked to defend...

The Pope recently blessed the homosexual agenda and Pastor Andy Stanley is now allowing gays to speak at his church. What more do we need to see this is the Biblical warning of the last days. “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition” (2Th 2:3)

Pope Francis called on “irresponsible” Western nations Wednesday to implement a “broad” lifestyle switch to halt the advance of climate change, according to a letter from the Vatican.In his Apostolic Exhortation, Francis discussed the “suffering” of the planet and warned that the world is “collapsing” due to “extreme weather phenomena, frequent periods of unusual heat, drought and other cries of protest on the part of the earth,” according to the letter. The pope went on to say that the U.S. emissions per capita were “two times greater” than China and argued that the “irresponsible lifestyle” of the West needed to...

...while heretical and immoral bishops can do as they please". Cardinal Gerhard Müller: “Yes, it is terrible what is being done to Bishop Strickland, an abuse of office against the divine right of the episcopate. If I could advise Bishop Strickland..."

Pope Francis Says ‘No To War,’ Urges Climate Action in Livestreamed Chat With Bill ClintonDuring a conversation with former President Bill Clinton, Pope Francis urged stronger action on climate change, called for diplomacy instead of war, promoted greater health care access for children, and highlighted the crises facing migrants and refugees.“It is important to spread a culture of encounter, a culture of dialogue, a culture of listening and of understanding,” Pope Francis said on Monday morning, appearing virtually at the Clinton Foundation’s 2023 Clinton Global Initiative meeting.

Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Pope Francis called for stronger measures to protect children, stop war and tackle climate change as he urged the world to "take action before it's too late" in comments Monday during a virtual conversation with former President Bill Clinton in New York City

Víctor Manuel Fernández: "The Pope will not go where his visit can be used (or complicated) for political convenience or where the authorities despise his presence" "The extreme right forgets that there is a commandment even more important than the sixth (because it affects justice and charity) which asks not to bear false testimony or lie" "I have several other texts from years ago that could be considered much more 'dangerous' from a theological point of view and yet you have not even seen them. Maybe I am wrong to mention it, but it is the truth" "There will undoubtedly...

From Caritas in Veritate Video lasts about 30 minutes https://youtu.be/Sn5gHD-4WwM?si=j5khKjHQFp-FxclM

Full interview in English “This started with a crazy idea and here we are.” This is how Francisco's welcome begins. With the naturalness with which he has impregnated every corner of a pontificate that has already exceeded a decade and does not smell of wear or liquidation due to closure. At least, that is perceived. Not only first, but when the conversation delves into any topic.

Lisbon (AFP) – Pope Francis on Thursday urged young people to focus on caring for the planet and fighting climate change, calling for an "integral ecology" that melds environmental protection with the fight against poverty and other social problems. The 86-year-old Francis has made the protection of the environment a cornerstone of his pontificate, noting in his landmark 2015 "Laudato Si" (Praised Be) encyclical that the planet was "beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth". "We must recognise the dramatic and urgent need to care for our common home. Yet this cannot be done without...

In 2018, Pope Francis and the Vatican signed an agreement with the Chinese Communists that, among other things, gives both sides a say in the appointment of bishops. This agreement was ignored by Beijing three months ago when they unilaterally named Bishop Joseph Shen Bin to lead the Diocese of Shanghai. Instead of standing up to the Beijing bullies, Francis gave in and announced on Saturday that he had accepted the Communist’s appointment despite Beijing’s blatant violation of the 2018 accord. The Church in China is sharply divided between the “official” Catholic Church sanctioned by the government and an “underground”...

Argentine Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, chosen by Pope Francis to head a powerful Vatican office, admits he made mistakes in the way he handled the 2019 case of a priest accused of child sex abuse, which still brings him criticism for allegedly protecting the cleric.

The Pope believes that the prerogatives of the Bishop of Rome should not necessarily be fully extended to the Orthodox communities.After the liturgy in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, where the delegates of the Church of Constantinople prayed together with the Catholic hierarchy, Pope Francis held a separate meeting with the bishops of the Phanar, at which he explained how he sees the status of the See of Rome in a church united with the Orthodox. The meeting report was published by the Vatican News resource. The Pope expressed his joy at the outcome of the work of the Plenary...

CNA Staff, Jul 5, 2023 / 15:10 pm Pope Francis met with former U.S. President Bill Clinton in a private audience at the Casa Santa Marta papal residence on Wednesday. Clinton’s delegation included several prominent Americans, including Alex Soros of the Open Society Foundations. Clinton, who now focuses his efforts on philanthropy and public affairs, had visited Albania July 3-4 and received from the Albanian prime minister a public gratitude medal for his support of Albania and for NATO's intervention in the Kosovo War, the news site Euractiv reports. Soros, son of the billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros, accompanied...

After several months of intense activity by the factions opposed to the novelties of Chapter VII of Amoris laetitia – minority but hyperactive – or strong attempts to conceal them, the war seems to have come to a standstill. We must now pause to recognize what Francis left us concretely as an irreversible novelty.