Pope Francis celebrates Mass with Congolese at St. Peter's
VATICAN CITY -- The sounds of ululations and drums and a litany of saints filled St. Peter's Basilica Dec. 1 as Pope Francis celebrated Mass according to what is commonly called the Zairean Rite.
Pope Francis returns part of relic of Jesus' crib to Holy Land
VATICAN CITY -- As Advent approached, Pope Francis gave a small fragment of Jesus' crib back to Catholics in the Holy Land.
Pope Francis encourages faithful to set up Nativity scenes
VATICAN CITY -- A Nativity scene is a simple reminder of something astonishing: God became human to reveal the greatness of his love "by smiling and opening his arms to all," Pope Francis said in a letter on the meaning and importance of setting up Christmas cribs.
Peter Stockland: Religious narrative losing its voice
The online publication The Catholic Thing recently dubbed Pope Francis “idiosyncratic” for his insistence that evangelical encounters should witness to Christ without having a proselytizing edge.
Canadian missionary named 'venerable' by Pope Francis
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis advanced the sainthood cause of Bishop Ovide Charlebois -- a Canadian Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate who ministered to First Nations peoples and migrant workers scattered throughout the vast, lake-covered province of Manitoba.
Pope Francis to theologians: 'Don't confuse the faithful'
VATICAN CITY -- Theologians must explore and debate disputed questions, at times even taking "risks" with what they propose, but those discussions should take place within the academy so as not to confuse the faithful, Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis names new head of Vatican financial agency
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis appointed a seasoned Italian finance inspector to lead the Vatican's financial watchdog agency following the resignation of its president.
Pope Francis prays for Albania after devastating earthquake
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis led prayers for the people of Albania after the country was struck by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake.
Pope Francis: Scandal shows financial reforms are working
ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM JAPAN -- Questions about Vatican finances, especially those involving a real estate deal in London, are serious, but they also are a sign that reforms begun by Pope Benedict XVI are working, Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis ends Japan trip with visit to Jesuit university
TOKYO -- Pope Francis spent his last morning in Japan at the Jesuit-run Sophia University, celebrating Mass with his Jesuit confreres, visiting aged members of the Jesuit community and addressing students and staff.
Bishop accused of abuse headed back to Argentina for court appearance
VATICAN CITY -- Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta was set to leave Vatican City to present himself before judicial authorities in Argentina before a Nov. 28 deadline that, if ignored, could result in an arrest warrant.
TOKYO -- While not adopting the Japanese bishops' opposition to nuclear power plants as his own, Pope Francis insisted the 2011 meltdown at the Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Fukushima raises serious questions.
Pope Francis in Japan: Powerful nations protect all life
TOKYO -- Beauty, creation and each human life are gifts of God to be treasured and shared, not enslaved to current societal ideas of what is valuable, perfect or productive, Pope Francis said at a Mass in the famous Tokyo Dome.
Pope Francis: A world without nuclear weapons is possible
HIROSHIMA, Japan -- Saying it is "perverse" to think the threat of nuclear weapons makes the world safer, Pope Francis urged a renewed commitment to disarmament and to the international treaties designed to limit or eliminate nuclear weapons.
Honour martyrs and work for peace, Pope Francis says in Nagasaki
NAGASAKI, Japan -- While the world knows Nagasaki as the site of a U.S. atomic bomb blast, for the Catholic Church it is also the site of one of the fiercest campaigns of anti-Christian persecution.