Beware of those who limit God’s horizons and reduce the love of God down to our size.  That was at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily at the Mass Thursday morning (Oct.15) at the Casa Santa Marta.

VATICAN CITY - With 30,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis asked forgiveness for scandals that have occurred within the Church recently.

VATICAN CITY - Tensions already roiling a high-level Vatican summit spilled into the open Oct. 12 with the publication of a letter allegedly sent to Pope Francis from 13 conservative cardinals warning of plots by progressives to hijack the proceedings.

The Joke with the Pope contest is over and the winner is … a rabbi.

VATICAN CITY - Gathered with a worldwide representation of bishops, including patriarchs and other bishops from the Middle East, Pope Francis dedicated the morning prayer of the Synod of Bishops on the family to pleas for peace in the Middle East.

The Synod on the Family is not about communion for divorced and remarried Catholics, or how to reach out to gay Catholics, or even celibacy of priests. It’s about the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis reminded 318 delegates as they began closed door discussions on family issues.

(Vatican Radio) God does not abandon the righteous, while those who sow evil are like strangers, whose names heaven remembers not. This is the lesson Pope Francis drew from the readings of the day at Mass Thursday morning in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican.

Francis caught up in smear job by social ideologues

Pope Francis has energized debate about the threat to the planet’s natural environment. But now he faces an even greater challenge — mobilizing Catholics and society in general to tackle the man-made threat to the bedrock of our social environment, the family.

Pope Francis’ first U.S. visit gave his already-high favourability ratings only a modest bounce with most Americans — and no bounce at all among Catholics.

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican said Tuesday (Oct. 6) that “concrete steps” were being taken to arrange a papal trip to Mexico, with reports Pope Francis’ visit could come in early 2016.

Pope Francis has warned against having a hard heart that is closed to God’s mercy.

VATICAN CITY - As the discussion began at the world Synod of Bishops on the family, Pope Francis urged members not to act as if the only question that mattered was the pastoral care of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, his spokesman said.

The world Synod of Bishops on the family is not a parliament where participants will negotiate or lobby, Pope Francis said, but it must be a place of prayer where bishops speak with courage and open themselves to “God who always surprises us.”

The front of St. Peter’s Basilica was lined with green and scarlet as the Synod Fathers gathered around the altar for the opening mass of the Ordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family on Sunday presided over by the Holy Father, Pope Francis.