Pope Francis seems to describe his life in the Vatican almost as if he were in prison mdash at least as far as his freedom of movement goes But that is not the first thing he cites when he talks about what he and prisoners have in common When visiting a prison he said quot I think to myself 3

Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero's preferential love for the poor "was not ideological, but evangelical," said Cardinal Angelo Amato, the prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes.The cardinal, who was delegated by Pope Francis to preside over Archbishop Romero's beatifi

Chaldean Bishop Antoine Audo of Aleppo, Syria, and his people are exhausted.The bishop, who is president of the church's charitable agency, Caritas Syria, left the country for a few days to attend the general assembly of Caritas Internationals in Rome May 12-17.Daily life "is becoming more

Vatican and Palestinian representatives have finalized the text of a formal agreement recognizing freedom of religion in the "State of Palestine" and outlining the rights and obligations of the Catholic Church, its agencies and its personnel in the territory.Without fanfare, the Vatican ha

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, who was convicted in 2012 on one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse.The Vatican announced the bishop's resignation April 21, specifying it was under the terms of the

Pope Francis has considered the possibility of visiting Cuba in September—before or after his trip to the United States—but discussions with Cuban authorities are so preliminary that the idea cannot be considered more than a hypothesis, the Vatican said."Contacts with the Cuban auth

The process of arriving at new statutes and bylaws was not always smooth.

Mercy is what makes God perfect and all-powerful, Pope Francis said in his document officially proclaiming the 2015-2016 extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy."If God limited himself to only justice, he would cease to be God, and would instead be like human beings who ask merely that the law be resp

Condemning deadly terrorist attacks against a Catholic and an Anglican church in Pakistan, Pope Francis said "the world is trying to hide" a wave of anti-Christian persecution in various parts of the globe."With sadness, with much sadness, I learned of the terrorist attacks today agai

As the second anniversary of Pope Francis' election approached, an international group of philosophers, sociologists and theologians gathered to discuss how to renew the church in a secular age; many said that is exactly what Pope Francis is doing."I think the church had gotten into the sta