MANILA, Philippines - With Christmas just 10 days away, former Manila Mayor Gemiliano "Mel" Lopez Jr. on Friday recalled the "precious" time he spent with the late Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in Rome 22 years ago. Of the Pope, Lopez said, "he had a special love for children....
The Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who had travelled to Rome despite an EU travel ban, caused polemic. Zimbabwe argues that the Vatican is a sovereign state and therefore not affected by EU travel ban. The EU travel ban against dictator Mugabe applies since 2002. However, the controversial...
The envoy, Ivan Soltanovsky, said Francis also told him he wanted another meeting with Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, who has strongly supported President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Soltanovsky, a 68-year-old career diplomat, presented his cr...
Serena Barbon, visiting Assisi from Treviso on Saturday with her husband and three children, said she hoped that if Francis doesn’t make it, the next pope will be just like him. “He’s been very charismatic and we pray for him and that any new pope might also be someone who ...
Define Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Benedict XVI synonyms, Pope Benedict XVI pronunciation, Pope Benedict XVI translation, English dictionary definition of Pope Benedict XVI. Originally Joseph Ratzinger. Born 1927. Pope . Noted as a conservative theologian be
“I’d like to ask Italy: More births, more children,” Francis said. Article content Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in the world and Francis has frequently lamented its “demographic winter.” Article content Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni, who campaigned on a “God, family and...
When the name of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was announced to be the new leader of the church in crisis, everyone wanted to know more about the first pope who had come from outside Europe besides Saint Peter the Apostle. POPE FR ANCIS -Times Man of the Year Other popes ...
He said children have suffered from an “educational catastrophe" with closed schools, women have been victims of domestic abuse, the faithful have been deprived of communal worship and that all of humanity has been restricted from close human contact. “Along with vaccines, fraternity and hope...
His legacy was marred by the clergy sexual abuse crisis, even though he recognized earlier than most the “filth” of priests who raped children, and actually laid the groundwork for the Holy See to punish them. As cardinal and pope, he passed sweeping church legislation that resulted in ...
to defend children from sexual exploitation and other dangers lurking online. the pontiff, speaking at a conference in rome, said the catholic church needed to accept responsibility "before god, victims and public opinion" for its own sex abuse scandals, but wanted to share the lessons it ha...