On his second day in Lithuania, Pope Francis traveled 65 miles to Kaunas, the country’s second largest city, to celebrate Mass in Santakos Park for more than 100,000 people.
Vatican Dispatch
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis arrives in Lithuania, tells audience to “build bridges”
Pope Francis arrived in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, to celebrate the centenary of the country’s independence.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Vatican and China sign agreement on the appointment of bishops
In a historic breakthrough, the Holy See has signed today, Sept. 22, “a provisional agreement” with China on the appointment of bishops.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
A historic struggle for independence: Pope Francis visits the Baltic states
He is the second pope to visit these Baltic nations. John Paul II came to the region in September 1993, after the collapse of communism, and was welcomed as a hero. Pope Francis comes exactly 25 years later, but much has changed since that first papal visit.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis says he will go to Japan in 2019
It will be the pope’s fourth visit to Asia, the continent where he foresees growth for the Catholic Church in the 21st century.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis summons the world’s top bishops for sexual abuse prevention summit
The Feb. 21-24, 2019 meeting is believed to be the first of its kind.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis to meet with top U.S. bishops to discuss sexual abuse scandal
Pope Francis will meet with three U.S. archbishops on Thursday, Sept. 13, as the church continues to grapple with fallout from sexual abuse scandals.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
The Vatican is preparing a response to Viganò’s accusations
The cardinal council members said that they were aware the Holy See “is formulating the eventual and necessary clarifications” to the Viganò documents among other recent events.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Cardinal O’Malley: Church leaders must respond to sex abuse in ‘rapid’ manner
“If the church shows itself to be incapable of responding with all its heart…all our other activities of evangelization will feel it.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis recommends silence before forces of scandal and division
He said the Gospel story helps us “to reflect how to act in daily life, when there are misunderstandings” and “to understand how the father of lies, the accuser, the devil, acts to destroy the unity of a family, of a people.”