by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Aug 5, 2020 / 03:48 am MT (CNA).- Pope Francis has asked for prayers for Lebanon and for the victims of yesterday’s Beirut explosions, which have killed over a hundred people and caused serious destruction to the city. Speaking after his general audience address on …

by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Aug 3, 2020 / 10:26 am MT (CNA).- The Vatican said Monday the health problems of Benedict XVI are not serious, though the pope emeritus is suffering from a painful disease. The Vatican press office said according to Benedict’s personal secretary, Archbishop George Ganswein, “the …

by Hannah Brockhaus Rome Newsroom, Aug 3, 2020 / 03:21 am MT (CNA).- Pope emeritus Benedict XVI is sick with a bacterial infection and “very frail,” according to a German newspaper report. Citing Benedict biographer Peter Seewald, German newspaper Passauer Neue Presse (PNP) reported Aug. 3 that the 93-year-old pope …

by Hannah Brockhaus Rome, Italy, Jul 30, 2020 / 05:30 am MT (CNA).- Exorcism is not an obscure practice shrouded in darkness, but a ministry filled with light, peace, and joy, according to a new guide for Catholic exorcists. “When implemented in situations of real diabolical possession and according to …

by Hannah Brockhaus Rome Newsroom, Jul 22, 2020 / 08:30 am MT (CNA).- A Spanish teenager with an intellectual disability received an encouraging letter from Pope Francis after walking the Camino de Santiago this month. Álvaro Calvente, 15, walked the traditional pilgrimage route with his father and a family friend. …

by Courtney Mares Vatican City, Jul 20, 2020 / 04:10 am MT (CNA).- The Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy published instructions Monday on reforming parishes and restructuring dioceses to better serve their “singular mission of evangelization.” The 24-page document is called “The pastoral conversion of the parish community in the service …

by Hannah Brockhaus Rome Newsroom, Jul 18, 2020 / 04:36 am MT (CNA).- A fire at a historic cathedral in western France Saturday morning has been contained, according to the local fire chief, though not before the Gothic church’s great organ and rose window sustained severe damage. Fire Chief Laurent …

by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Jul 16, 2020 / 07:00 am MT (CNA).- The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued Thursday a manual to help bishops and dioceses follow Church procedure in respect to accusations of sexual abuse of a minor by a cleric. The vademecum, released …

by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Jul 16, 2020 / 04:20 am MT (CNA).- Pope Francis Thursday named Bishop Edward C. Malesic of Greensburg, Pa, to lead the Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio. In Cleveland, he fills the vacant see left by Archbishop Nelson Perez’s appointment to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in …

by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Jun 21, 2020 / 06:41 am MT (CNA).- Pope Francis on Sunday encouraged Christians to fear sin, not the hostility, violence, or persecution they may face when sharing the Gospel with the world. “Jesus advises these disciples of yesterday and today who suffer persecution: ‘do …