FAITH/STORIES

The dome of St. Peter's Basilica is pictured at the Vatican.

Vatican releases guide on how leaders must handle abuse allegations

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VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released a 17-page document offering a step-by-step guide for how bishops, religious superiors and canon lawyers are supposed to handle accusations of alleged abuse by clerics against minors.

Pope Francis leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.
July 13, 2020

Pope Francis 'saddened' by Turkish court ruling to turn Hagia Sophia into mosque

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis said he was saddened after a Turkish court ruled to revert the iconic Hagia Sophia museum into a mosque.

A file photo shows U.S. military personnel working on an F/A-18E Super Hornet as an aircraft carrier conducts drills in the South China Sea.

Vatican task force calls for an end to arms production

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VATICAN CITY -- Human health, peace, security and progress would be better served with a complete end to the production of weapons worldwide, said members of a Vatican task force.

Carmelo Barbagallo, president of the Vatican's Financial Information Authority, gestures during a July 2, 2020, interview in Vatican City ahead of the release of the authority's annual report.

Financial watchdog sees increased cooperation with Vatican agencies

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VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican's financial watchdog agency has expanded its reach of cooperation, and it plans on continuing to increase its staff to better fulfill its mandate.

July 6, 2020
Pope Francis greets the crowd as he leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in this file photo. On July 5, 2020, the pope backed a U.N. resolution calling for a global cease-fire.

Pope Francis backs U.N. resolution calling for global cease-fire

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis praised the United Nations' adoption of a global cease-fire resolution amid the coronavirus pandemic that has swept the world.

Demonstrators take part in a rally in Gaza City July 1, 2020, as Palestinians called for a "day of rage" to protest Israel's plan to annex parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Vatican's top diplomat meets about Mideast with U.S., Israeli ambassadors

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VATICAN CITY -- Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, met with the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors to the Vatican to express concern that "possible unilateral actions" on their part would further jeopardize peace in the region.

After raid, pope names commissioner for oversight of St. Peter's Basilica

After raid, pope names commissioner for oversight of St. Peter's Basilica

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VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis appointed a commissioner charged with overseeing and reorganizing the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the office responsible for the physical care and maintenance of St. Peter's Basilica.

June 29, 2020
Pope Francis leads the Angelus from his window at the Vatican June 29, 2020, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. At his June 28 Angelus, the pope said in order to follow Christ's call to take up the cross and follow him, Christians must take the same path he did "without looking for shortcuts."

Pope Francis: No true love without the cross

VATICAN CITY -- True love is not defined by preserving one's personal interests but by willingness to sacrifice oneself for the good of others, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis delivers his blessing as he celebrates Mass marking the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican June 29, 2020.

World needs more prayer, less complaints Pope Francis says at pallium Mass

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VATICAN CITY -- Some people always will want to destroy unity and stifle prophets, Pope Francis said on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.

June 24, 2020
Pope Francis speaks during his weekly general audience in the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican June 24, 2020. During the audience, the pope said people can put themselves back in God's hands through prayer.

Pope Francis: God listens to everybody -- sinner, saint, victim, killer

VATICAN CITY -- Everyone lives a life that is often inconsistent or a "contradiction" because people can be both a sinner and a saint, a victim and a tormentor, Pope Francis said.

A file photo shows a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe as it is unloaded from a truck after a procession to the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Tijuana, Mexico, where Mass was celebrated. Pope Francis has asked Catholics to add "Comfort of Migrants" and two other titles for Mary to the popular "Litany of Loreto."

Pope Francis adds 'Comfort of Migrants,' other Marian titles to litany

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VATICAN CITY -- Among the many titles under which Catholics invoke Mary, Pope Francis has asked them to add "Mother of Mercy," "Mother of Hope" and "Comfort of Migrants."

June 22, 2020
Pope Francis leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican June 21, 2020.

In times of trial, never surrender to despair, Pope Francis says

VATICAN CITY -- Christians have no need to fear in moments of trial and adversity because God's grace is more powerful than evil, Pope Francis said.

A photo of Jose Gregorio Hernandez Cisneros, a Venezuelan doctor born in 1864, is displayed following Mass in Caracas June 19, 2020. That day the Vatican announced Pope Francis had advanced the sainthood causes of the doctor, born in 1864, and four others.

Pope Francis advances five sainthood causes

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VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of three men and two women, including an Italian nun who was brutally murdered by three teenage girls who claimed it had been a satanic sacrifice.

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