Back to the catacombs: New emphasis placed on bishops' simplicity pact
VATICAN CITY - Italian Bishop Luigi Bettazzi is the last surviving bishop of the 42 members of the Second Vatican Council who celebrated a Mass Nov. 16, 1965, in the Catacombs of Domitilla and signed a pact promising to live simply and close to the poor.
Vatican advance team, in Mexico, visits border city of Juarez
MEXICO CITY - Pope Francis is exploring the possibility of visiting the previously problematic border city of Ciudad Juarez, where a battle between drug cartels during the past decade cost more than 10,000 lives in a four-year period.
A family that doesn't eat together is 'hardly a family,' Pope says
VATICAN CITY - A family that chooses to watch TV or play with their smartphones rather than talk at the dinner table is "hardly a family," Pope Francis said.
Security a top concern for Pope Francis’ Africa visit
NAIROBI, Kenya - From stitching 2,000 vestments to training large-scale security teams, Catholic Church leaders and Kenyan officials say they’re ready to host Pope Francis.
To help people, church must be in touch with 'reality,' Pope says
FLORENCE, Italy - If God and his word are to help people, Christians have to be in touch with what is really happening in people's lives, Pope Francis said during an afternoon Mass.
Pope calls for end to economic exploitation, power-hungry church
FLORENCE, Italy - Meeting workers and addressing a major gathering of the Catholic Church in Italy, Pope Francis demanded an end to economic exploitation, to clerics "obsessed" with power, to apathy among youth and to a cold, fearful church that forgets Christ is always by its side.
Leaked documents won't stop financial reforms, Pope says
VATICAN CITY - Leaked and published information about Vatican financial problems and irregularities were already known and are the reason "measures have already been taken that have begun to bear fruit," Pope Francis said.
Pope thanks pro-life movement for following example of good Samaritan
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis said that Christians are called to follow the example of the good Samaritan in helping the defenseless who are attacked by those who steal "not only their possessions but also their dignity."
Pope gives interview to homeless vendor, reveals childhood memories
VATICAN CITY - Inundated with requests from major media outlets around the world, Pope Francis chose to sit down for an interview with a homeless man who makes his living selling newspapers in Netherlands.
Vatican official, consultant arrested for financial documents leak
VATICAN CITY - A Vatican official and a former lay consultant on a pontifical commission were arrested for leaking documents to an Italian journalist who has announced plans to publish them in a book.
Apostolic exhortation on the family could come soon, says cardinal
VATICAN CITY - Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said an apostolic exhortation on the family following the recently concluded Synod of Bishops could be released soon.