“God Bless Bulgaria,” Pope Francis prayed, and “keep her in peace and ever hospitable, and grant her prosperity and happiness.”
Vatican Dispatch
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
What to expect from Pope Francis’ trip to Bulgaria and North Macedonia
Pope Francis will visit Bulgaria and North Macedonia from May 5 to 7, two majority Orthodox countries with very small Catholic populations.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis at Easter appeals for peace in the world, prays for victims of “cruel violence” in Sri Lanka
Pope Francis prayed for victims of the attacks in Sri Lanka and called for peace, highlighting 18 conflicts around the world.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
“Do not bury hope,” says Pope Francis at Easter Vigil
Pope Francis called on Christians not to give into a “tomb psychology,” and quoted the American poet Emily Dickinson, who wrote “We never know how high we are/Till we are called to rise.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
The Chilean church has lost its credibility. Bishop Aos is hopeful he can change that.
On March 23, Pope Francis appointed the Spanish-born Capuchin friar, Bishop Celestino Aos Braco as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese of Santiago, Chile.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Guaidó supporters describe a ‘silent war’ in Venezuela
The executive branch headed by President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela “lacks legitimacy” but has de facto power, while Mr. Guaidó has legitimacy but not executive power. Venezuela in effect has two governments.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
South Sudan’s political and religious leaders to begin a retreat at the Vatican in effort for peace
The Vatican described the retreat as “a propitious occasion for reflection and prayer, as well as an occasion for encounter and reconciliation.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Human rights delegation seeks Vatican support for the decriminalization of homosexuality
The delegates requested that the church declare that “human dignity implies the respect of every person as created by God” and “hence criminalization of L.G.B.T. people is today a manifestation of irrational hatred for that which is different from the norm and that homophobia is, in effect, a feeling of hatred and rejection which the church condemns, wherever it takes place.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis: ‘Build bridges, not walls’
Aboard the papal plane, Francis spoke with reporters about the need to build solidarity, not barriers.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis celebrates largest Mass in the history of Morocco
Among those attending the Mass was Brother Jean-Pierre Schumacher, O.C.S.O, the last monk survivor from the monastery of Tibhirine in Algeria.