FAITH/STORIES

Leaders of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples hold a news conference at the Vatican Oct. 16, 2020. The topic was World Mission Sunday, which will be observed Oct. 18. Pictured from left are Oblate Father Tadeusz J. Nowak, secretary-general of the pontifical mission societies; Archbishop Giampietro Dal Toso, adjunct secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; Archbishop Protase Rugambwa, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; and Cristiane Murray, vice director of the Vatican Press Office.

World Mission Sunday isn't canceled because of COVID-19, officials say

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VATICAN CITY - The collection taken up in parishes around the globe on World Mission Sunday is "as unique as it is rare" because offerings are made by Catholics in the richest and poorest nations, a Vatican official said.

A Swiss Guard is seen as Vatican photographer Simone Risoluti works during Pope Francis' general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican Oct. 7, 2020. The weekend of Oct. 10-11, four Swiss Guards were found to have COVID-19 and are symptomatic, the Vatican confirmed Oct. 12.

Swiss Guards report additional cases of COVID-19 among ranks

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VATICAN CITY - The Swiss Guard reported an additional seven men have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the current number of cases among the 113 guardsmen to 11.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu speaks with journalists during a news conference in Rome Sept. 25, 2020, after he was asked by Pope Francis to resign as prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes. Cecilia Marogna, a political analyst allegedly hired as a security consultant by Cardinal Becciu, was arrested Oct. 13 by Italian authorities in Milan, media reported.

Analyst linked to Cardinal Becciu is arrested

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VATICAN CITY - A political analyst allegedly hired as a security consultant by Cardinal Angelo Becciu was arrested by Italian authorities in Milan, Italian media reported.

Giuseppe Pignatone, president of the Vatican City State criminal court, speaks during the opening of the trial of two Italian priests accused of sexual abuse at a minor seminary inside the Vatican, in this still image taken from video at the Vatican Oct. 14, 2020. Father Gabriele Martinelli, 28, was accused of repeatedly sexually abusing a younger student at the seminary and Msgr. Enrico Radice, 71, former rector of the minor seminary, was accused of obstructing the investigation into Father Martinelli.

Vatican criminal trial begins against priests accused in abuse case

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VATICAN CITY - Dressed in a black polo shirt with a sweater draped around his shoulders, Father Gabriele Martinelli, 28, heard a Vatican criminal court accuse him of repeatedly sexually abusing a younger student at a minor seminary inside the Vatican.

Pope Francis greets the crowd during his general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican Oct. 14, 2020. A few days after four Swiss Guards tested positive for COVID-19, the pope broke from his normal pattern and did not personally greet people in the crowd.

Prayer, crying out to God is only source of salvation, Pope says

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VATICAN CITY - The purpose of crying out to the Lord in prayer is not to get used to suffering, but to remember that God, and not humankind, is the only source of salvation and consolation, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis: Time is running out to fix economy, protect the Earth, help the poor

Pope Francis: Time is running out to fix economy, protect the Earth, help the poor

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VATICAN CITY - The predominant global economic system is "unsustainable," particularly in its impact on the environment, Pope Francis said.

In case related to abuse at minor seminary, two priests face trial at Vatican

In case related to abuse at minor seminary, two priests face trial at Vatican

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VATICAN CITY - Two priests connected to a minor seminary located at the Vatican will appear before a Vatican criminal court Oct. 14 on charges related to the alleged sexual abuse of students at the seminary.

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, center, and Bishop Paul Tighe pose at a 2019 meeting of the Women's Consultation Group at the Vatican. The 20 members of the group, Catholics, other Christians and members of other faiths, met online Oct. 7 for a webinar reflecting together on Pope Francis' 2013 exhortation, "The Joy of the Gospel."

Pope praises women's consultation group at Council for Culture

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VATICAN CITY - Four years after the Pontifical Council for Culture instituted a Permanent Women's Consultation Group to bring women's experiences and voices to the council's deliberations, Pope Francis noted that they represent a "novelty" at the Holy See.

A health worker injects a volunteer with an experimental COVID-19 vaccine during Phase III trials in late September at a hospital in Kocaeli, Turkey. In an interview with a Spanish magazine, Pope Francis said a potential vaccine for COVID-19 belongs to all of humanity and must not "be the property of the country of the laboratory that discovered it or of a group of countries that were allied for this."

Eventual coronavirus vaccine should belong to everyone, Pope says

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VATICAN CITY - An eventual vaccine for COVID-19 would belong to the world and should not be hoarded greedily by countries hosting the lab or labs that develop it, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis named Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life to a lead a commission that determines which economic activities of the Vatican remain confidential. Cardinal Farrell is pictured in a 2018 file photo.

Cardinal Farrell to lead commission determining confidential contracts

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VATICAN CITY - Continuing his efforts to ensure financial transparency and accountability, Pope Francis named Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life to lead a commission that determines which economic activities remain confidential.

October 5, 2020
Pope Francis greets the crowd from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square as he leads the Angelus at the Vatican Oct. 4, 2020.

Pope: Authority is act of serving, not exploiting, others

VATICAN CITY - Those in positions of authority, especially in the Catholic Church, would do well to remember that their responsibility is to serve those in their care and not exploit them for their own selfish interests, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis signs his new encyclical, "Fratelli Tutti, on Fraternity and Social Friendship" after celebrating Mass at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy, Oct. 3, 2020.

Pope Francis signs new encyclical in Assisi

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VATICAN CITY -- Bringing the Vatican official in charge of translations with him, Pope Francis signed his new encyclical, "Fratelli Tutti, on Fraternity and Social Friendship," at the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi, source of the document's title and inspiration.

Visitors are pictured in a file photo looking at a Caravaggio painting titled "St. Jerome Writing" during an exhibition at the Galleria Borghese in Rome. Pope Francis released "Scripturae Sacrae affectus" ("Devotion to Sacred Scripture"), a new apostolic letter on the Bible, Sept. 30, 2020, coinciding with the 1,600th anniversary of St. Jerome's death.

Pope Francis releases apostolic letter on Sacred Scripture

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VATICAN CITY -- In an apostolic letter dedicated to Sacred Scripture, Pope Francis said that even today, Christians can learn new things from the countless translations of the Bible that exist.

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