Pope Francis appealed on Sunday (May 17th) for an end to the violence in Burundi and urged its people to act responsibly for the good of the nation. Burundi saw an attempted coup earlier this week and has been the scene of violent clashes between supporters and opponents of the president. The Pope’s appeal for ...read more

Pope Francis canonized four women religious on Sunday, all 19th century nuns who worked in education. St. Marie-Alphonsine and St. Mary of Jesus Crucified were from the territory that made up historical Palestine; St. Jeanne Emilie de Villeneuve was a French nun and foundress; and St. Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception came from Italy. Below, ...read more

For an institution that still uses smoke signals to communicate the election of a new leader one wonders how the Church will respond to the challenges of the digital age? When I reflect on this topic, I can’t help but remember when the good old Pope Benedict launched News.va. That’s right, in case you’ve forgotten, ...read more

At 5:00 pm, during the sixth Tuesday of Easter, Pope Francis celebrated at St. Peter’s Basilica, a Holy Mass for the occassion of the 20th Caritas Internationalis General Assembly Opening on the theme: One Human Family, Caring for Creation, (Rome, 12-17 May 2015).Below you will find the Holy Father’s homily: The reading from the Acts of the ...read more

Point of View: Interpreting the Francis Effect is a S+L series that goes deeper into the questions surrounding the person and pontificate of Pope Francis. The series consists of a selection of the full interviews from S+L’s original documentary The Francis Effect. Find the full schedule for Season 2 of POV here. Tonight: Scott Pelley When ...read more

This week we learned that Pope Francis’ encyclical on human ecology should be released in June. Environmental groups welcomed the news warmly while skeptics told anyone who would listen that the pope is being taken for a ride by new-age tree huggers. Whatever one’s opinion on environmental issues, the encyclical has been written and is ...read more

Join us in prayer for the intentions entrusted to us by Pope Francis. For May 2015, we join the Holy Father in praying for: Care for the suffering. That, rejecting the culture of indifference, we may care for our neighbors who suffer, especially the sick and the poor. Openness to mission. That Mary’s intercession may help ...read more

For some time now we have been anticipating the forthcoming encyclical by Pope Francis on the environment. Some would trace the anticipation as far back as that unforgettable audience with journalists a few days after the Pope’s election where he explained the reasons behind his choice of the name Francis, after the beloved Francis of ...read more

(Vatican Radio)  The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with Pope Francis in the Vatican on Tuesday before going on to address a conference exploring the moral issues connected to climate change. The one day international symposium has been organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and will include a video message to participants ...read more

Bigger than any financial scandal or bishops’ resignation was the story of hundreds of illegal migrants who drowned off the coast of Libya when their vessel capsized. Pope Francis used his Angelus address to draw attention to the tragedy and call on the international community to take “decisive and quick action” to prevent further tragedies. ...read more