FAITH/STORIES

Pope Francis and Iraqi President Barham Salih walk inside the presidential palace in Baghdad March 5, 2021.

Pope Francis arrives in Iraq, promoting peace, tolerance, equality

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BAGHDAD -- To consolidate peace and ensure progress, the government and people of Iraq must never treat anyone as a second-class citizen and must work each day to promote harmony, Pope Francis said.

Pope Benedict XVI reads his resignation in Latin during a meeting of cardinals at the Vatican in this Feb. 11, 2013, file photo. Speaking of his resignation, the retired pope recently told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that "it was a difficult decision, but I made it in full awareness, and I believe it was correct."

Benedict XVI discusses his resignation, Francis' trip to Iraq in interview

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VATICAN CITY -- Although it took obvious effort to pronounce each word and sometimes his secretary repeated what he said to make it clear, retired Pope Benedict XVI spoke to an Italian newspaper about his retirement and about Pope Francis' planned trip to Iraq.

Pope Francis greets the crowd as he leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Feb. 28, 2021. In his Angelus address, he encouraged people to read the Gospel during Lent and fast from gossip.
March 1, 2021

Pope Francis: For Lent, read the Gospel, fast from gossip

VATICAN CITY -- People should fast from gossiping and spreading hearsay as part of their Lenten journey, Pope Francis said.

Dorothy Pilarski

Women of Faith conference balances the spiritual and feminine

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Dorothy Pilarski is only half joking when she urges the women in her mother’s group to use their kitchen counters as a pulpit.

Vatican official insists religious services are 'essential services'

Vatican official insists religious services are 'essential services'

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VATICAN CITY -- For believers, the ability to practice their faith and receive spiritual guidance are "the highest of essential services," and pandemic practices over the past year have shown they are not automatically super-spreader events, the Vatican foreign minister said.

Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments

Cardinals Sarah, Comastri retire from Vatican posts

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VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis accepted the resignations of 75-year-old Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, and 77-year-old Cardinal Angelo Comastri, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica and vicar for Vatican City State.

February 23, 2021
Pope Francis greets the crowd as he leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Feb. 21, 2021. Pope Francis said that faith, prayer and penance are the weapons Christians are given to overcome temptations from the devil.

Fight temptation with faith, prayer, penance, Pope Francis says at Angelus

VATICAN CITY -- Christians must never engage in dialogue with the devil, but instead must fight against temptations with the same spiritual weapons Jesus used in the desert, Pope Francis said.

Archbishop Jan Pawlowski, an official at the Vatican Secretariat of State and papal delegate, celebrates Mass at the Divine Mercy Shrine in Plock, Poland, Feb. 22, 2021. The Mass marked the 90th anniversary of the first apparition of Jesus to St. Faustina Kowalska.

Pope Francis marks 90th anniversary of Divine Mercy apparition

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VATICAN CITY -- Marking the 90th anniversary of the apparition of Jesus to St. Faustina Kowalska, Pope Francis wrote a letter to Catholics in Poland expressing his hope that Christ's message of divine mercy would remain "alive in the hearts of the faithful."

Push on to pray million rosaries for peace

Push on to pray million rosaries for peace

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A team of more than 20 young Catholic ambassadors is working feverishly to rouse believers of Christ young and old across the world to participate in a global mission to pray the Hail Mary one million times by Easter Sunday.

A man receives the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the atrium of the Paul VI hall at the Vatican in this Jan. 20, 2021, file photo. A variety of sanctions have been issued by the head of the commission governing Vatican City State for citizens, residents and personnel who fail to follow current COVID-19 measures. The sanctions cover employees who refuse vaccination.

Vatican mandates COVID vaccine for employees

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VATICAN CITY -- As a last resort, the Vatican may sanction employees who refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine for non-medical reasons, according to a new Vatican decree.

A Christ statue stands outside Sts. Paul and Peter Church in Baie-Saint-Paul, in the Archdiocese of Quebec, which is re-organizing its parishes.

The changing parish

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In announcing another reorganization and consolidation of parishes, Quebec City Archbishop Cardinal Gérald Lacroix sought to focus the conversation on “our ability to fulfill our essential mission.”

Pope Francis walks from the papal plane as he arrives at an airfield during a 2015 foreign trip.

In Iraq, Pope Francis hopes to encourage Christians, build bridges to Muslims

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AMMAN, Jordan -- On his historic visit to Iraq in March, Pope Francis hopes to encourage his Christian flock, badly bruised by sectarian conflict and brutal Islamic State attacks, while building further bridges to Muslims by extending fraternal peace.

Xaviere Missionary Sister Nathalie Becquart attends a news conference at the Vatican in this Oct. 9, 2018, file photo. Last May Sister Becquart was one of six consultants appointed by Pope Francis to the general secretariat of the Synod of Bishops. Five of those appointed were women, and it was the first time women had served in that role.

Pope Francis gives a woman a vote in next synod of bishops

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VATICAN CITY -- Xaviere Missionary Sister Nathalie Becquart will not be the first woman undersecretary of a major Vatican office, but she will be the first woman with a right to vote at a meeting of the Synod of Bishops.

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