Pope thanks well-wishers for prayers; Vatican says recovery going smoothly
ROME (CNS) -- Pope Francis has thanked people for their prayers and many messages of support and affection, said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican...
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France knife attack sign of violence in society, bishop says
(OSV News) – Calling on Catholics to pray for the victims of a stabbing at a local playground, French Bishop Yves Le Saux of Annecy said the horrific...
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UPDATE: Pope on liquid diet, calls mother of baby he baptized in March
ROME (CNS) -- Among the many messages Pope Francis has been getting over the course of his first full day recovering from abdominal surgery at Rome's Gemelli...
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Vexing vexillology: Even the Vatican gets its flag wrong
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The flag of Vatican City, yellow and white with crossed keys under the papal tiara, is incorrect in many emojis, flying outside...
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Ukrainian religious scholars provide advice to British experts collecting evidence of Russian crimes for trial in The Hague
LVIV, Ukraine (OSV News) -- Leading forensic experts at the British University of Exeter are collecting evidence and testimonies of Russian war crimes...
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Pope asks Catholics to welcome everyone, create communion
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Holy Spirit invites the faithful to share in God's love and to make the church a loving home whose door is open to everyone,...
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With parts of Corpus Christi processions restricted and priests arrested, conditions harden for Belarus Catholics
OSV News) -- A Catholic parish priest accused of "offending state authorities" in Belarus said he understood the hardships facing prisoners of conscience...
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Nicaraguan regime freezes bank accounts of dioceses nationwide in another wave of church persecution
(OSV News) -- Nicaragua has frozen the bank accounts of dioceses nationwide as the regime of President Daniel Ortega escalates its persecution of the Catholic...
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Pope to hear confessions, eat lunch with young people, at World Youth Day
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis will have nine events with young people, including hearing their confessions and eating lunch with them, during his...
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Pope Francis undergoes successful three-hour surgery for hernia
ROME (CNS) -- Pope Francis was conscious and alert after a three-hour abdominal surgery that was performed "without complications" to treat a hernia, the...
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Pope to undergo surgery for hernia, expected to remain in hospital
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis was scheduled to undergo surgery at Rome's Gemelli hospital June 7 to treat a hernia that had developed at an incision...
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Pope plans to write document dedicated to St. Thérèse of Lisieux
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Individuals become Christian because they have been touched by Christ's love, not because they have been convinced or coerced by...
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Vatican bank reports increased profit in 2022, recovery of stolen funds
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Institute for the Works of Religion, often referred to as the Vatican bank, made a net profit of 29.6 million euros (about $31.6...
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Papal envoy meets Zelenskyy in Kyiv amid destruction of critical dam that flooded south of country
LVIV, Ukraine (OSV News) -- Pope Francis' peace envoy to Ukraine, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, was finishing his two-day visit to Ukraine June 6. He met President...
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Pope returns to hospital for medical checkup
ROME (CNS) -- Pope Francis returned to the hospital for a brief medical checkup June 6, the Vatican said. In a statement to journalists, Matteo Bruni,...
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Pope: Quick change of course necessary to beat climate change
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A faster change of course away from today's throwaway culture and toward greater care for the common good is necessary to ensure...
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Pope names Australian, American, Chinese scholars to papal academy
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis named Tracey Rowland, an Australian theologian; Justin Farrell, a U.S. sociologist; and Tongdong Bai, a Chinese philosopher,...
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Pope prays for Indian train crash victims during Angelus; Indian officials lower death toll to at least 275
BALASORE, India (OSV News) -- Government authorities June 4 were working to get rail services back in operation in the district of Balasore after the deadliest...
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Act of reparation performed on altar of St. Peter's Basilica
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, celebrated a penitential rite at the basilica's main altar June 3 after...
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Pope names Cardinal Farrell next head of Vatican City high court
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has named U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, to be the next president...
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Pope has named two-thirds of cardinals eligible to elect his successor
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, the retired archbishop of Naples, celebrated his 80th birthday June 2 and, consequently, became ineligible...
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Those with political power must be 'servants' to citizens, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The greatest way of life is serving others, and those in political power must see themselves as servants, too, Pope Francis said. "Yet,...
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Numbers of Irish Catholics are falling rapidly; only half of Dublin residents say they're Catholic
DUBLIN (OSV News) -- Once a Catholic giant, Ireland is becoming less religious, census data shows. Just over half of the residents of the Irish capital,...
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A host of sacramental statistics: Vatican tracks practice of the faith
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As first Communion season winds down and wedding fever rises, Catholic counters are busy. The Central Office of Church Statistics,...
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Record number of Catholics walk in annual pilgrimage from Paris to Chartres
(OSV News) -- From national television newscasts to radio shows to podcasts, media across France this Pentecost were mesmerized by an annual pilgrimage...
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Evangelizer's strength comes from practicing what one preaches, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The most powerful and effective method of evangelization is to live according to what one teaches and preaches, Pope Francis said. "I...
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St. Peter's Basilica opens exhibit on Marian coronations
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Of the more than 1,300 Marian images crowned around the world, one of the first to receive this honor does not have a crown today. For...
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Pope calls for an end to the use of torture
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis called on the international community to work concretely against torture and to guarantee support to victims and their...
Read MorePromote Christian values, not divisions, on social media, Vatican says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholics should make an "examination of conscience" about how they use social media, how they allow it to influence them and about...
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Pope on Pentecost: Synod is journey in the Spirit, not 'a parliament'
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church's current Synod of Bishops should not be a "parliament for demanding rights," but a "journey in accordance with...
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Tobacco trails: How popes past, present influenced the plant's journey
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- World No Tobacco Day is observed every May 31 to highlight the harmful effects of tobacco on people's health and the environment. Because...
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Mexican priest murdered, archbishop attacked
MEXICO CITY (OSV News) -- A parish priest was shot dead as he drove on a rural Mexican highway May 22, marking yet another attack in what has become the...
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Pray at Pentecost for courage to evangelize, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians should pray on Pentecost that the Holy Spirit would give them the courage and strength to share the Gospel, Pope Francis...
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Under surveillance, government pressure, China needs prayers, observers say
(OSV News) -- When Pope Benedict XVI instituted the Day of Prayer for Catholics in China in 2007, Aloysius Jin Luxian was bishop of Shanghai. That year,...
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Religious leaders warn of 'extremely detrimental' effects of bill to legalize assisted suicide in Scotland
(OSV News) -- The Scottish Catholic bishops have signed a public statement of protest against a bill to legalize assisted suicide in their country. They...
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AI topic draws record number of participants to media ethics conference at Pontifical University in Krakow
KRAKOW, Poland (OSV News) -- For 17 years, the media ethics conference at the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow has gathered media researchers...
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Pope Francis adds Fátima visit to World Youth Day trip
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis will visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima during his trip to Portugal for World Youth Day 2023, the Vatican said. In...
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Pope advances sainthood cause of Italian priest shot for saving Jews
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis formally recognized the martyrdom of an Italian priest shot by Nazi soldiers after they discovered he was helping his...
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Stockpiling nukes is risk to global security, pope tells G7 leaders
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Global security cannot be guaranteed through stockpiling nuclear weapons but must be centered on an "equitable distribution of the...
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Pope asks Cardinal Zuppi to lead peace mission for Ukraine
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has asked Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna to lead a mission "to help ease tensions in the conflict in Ukraine,"...
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Man who forcibly entered Vatican sent to psychiatric ward
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The man who drove past two security checkpoints to enter a Vatican courtyard May 18 was taken to the psychiatric ward of a hospital...
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Vatican-watch blog says pope wants to send peace envoys to Kyiv, Moscow
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A popular blog that closely monitors the Vatican has reported that Pope Francis wants to send envoys to Moscow and Kyiv to begin...
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Vatican reportedly pulls 'controversial' World Youth Day stamp
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican has pulled from circulation a World Youth Day stamp of Pope Francis with young people in an image that resembles propaganda...
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As Title 42 ends and Title 8 is fully reinstated, what are some of the implications for migrants?
(OSV News) -- On May 11, when the Title 42 public health order comes to an end, processing of migrants will be fully reinstated under Title 8, a measure...
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Pope plays key role in Argentina's bishops asking for forgiveness
BUENOS AIRES (OSV News) -- Argentina's Catholic Church is going through a process of soul-searching as the country gets ready for general elections in...
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Pope praises Julian of Norwich as example of faith and service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Although she died centuries ago, the English mystic Julian of Norwich continues to remind people of the importance of "faith in God's...
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Vatican neutrality is a force for peace, pope tells ambassadors
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In encouraging the peaceful resolution of conflicts and in promoting the common good on the international stage, the Vatican embraces...
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Pope opposes passage of euthanasia law in Portugal's parliament
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis criticized the passage of a law by Portugal's parliament to legalize euthanasia in the country. The controversial law...
Read MoreOverhaul of Caritas essential for its repair, cardinal says
ROME (CNS) -- Drastic leadership changes in Caritas Internationalis were essential to repair workplace dynamics that "represented clear and real dangers"...
Read MorePope, Ukrainian leader talk about humanitarian situation provoked by war
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After literally hundreds of public prayers for peace in Ukraine and 443 days after Russia launched an all-out war on the Eastern...
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Cardinal O'Malley: Effort to clearly define safeguarding body has been 'slow'
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has been trying to define more clearly its relationship with the Dicastery...
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UK bishop denounces new IVF method resulting in first baby born with DNA of three people
LIVERPOOL, England (OSV News) -- An English Catholic bishop has denounced the first reported births of "three-parent" babies in the UK as "deeply concerning." Auxiliary...
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It's unfair, humiliating if only the rich can build a family, pope says
ROME (CNS) -- Starting a family and having children has become a kind of herculean task when instead it should be valued and supported by everyone, Pope...
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Interfaith leaders march for peace in Jerusalem as spiral of violence in Israel, Gaza erupts
JERUSALEM (OSV News) -- Faith leaders and activists for coexistence from across Israel gathered in prayer in front of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem...
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United in prayer: Pope adds Coptic Orthodox martyrs to Catholic calendar
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has continued his predecessors' serious commitment to ecumenical dialogue, but he also makes ecumenical gestures that...
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