"Restorationism has come to gag the Council [Pope Francis referring to the Second Vatican Council, 1962-1965]. The number of groups of 'restorers' – for example, in the United States there are many – is significant." —Pope Francis, in a May 19 conversation in Rome with Jesuit magazine editors from a number of countries. The full [...]
Pope Francis on Sunday remembered Pope Paul VI forty years from his death which took place on 6 August 1978. Greeting the pilgrims present in St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus, Pope Francis turned his thoughts to a Pope he is preparing to canonize. “Forty years ago Blessed Pope Paul VI – the Pope of [...]
Pope Francis has announced that Paul VI will be proclaimed a saint on Sunday, October 14th in the Vatican. Pope Paul VI, who had the task of closing the Second Vatican Council in 1965, will be canonized in St Peter’s Square together with Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, and another four saints of charity, during the [...]
Julian Filochowski, chair of the Archbishop Romero Trust, looks ahead to the canonization of the saint from El Salvador, alongside the pope who gave him unconditional support A consistory of cardinals took place here in the Vatican on Saturday during which the canonisation of six new saints was officially announced. Of those six names, the two [...]
In remarks to the Italian Theological Association, Pope Francis said theological reflection requires creative fidelity, communion, and the eyes of faith in order to confront the challenges facing humanity today. Pope Francis told the Italian Theological Association (ATI) on Friday the world needs a theology capable of helping Christians to proclaim “the salvific Face of the [...]
Pope Francis told the faithful on Wednesday that missing out on Mass on Sundays means missing out an encounter with the Lord. Speaking to those present in the Paul VI Hall for the weekly General Audience, the Pope reflected on the question: “why go to Mass on Sunday?” Continuing his catechesis on the Eucharist Pope Francis reminded Christians that we [...]
Pope Francis is encouraging Catholics and Orthodox not only to further theological dialogue between them, but also to promote joint initiatives on issues such as caring for the environment, peaceful coexistence among peoples and the presence of Christians in the Middle East, without waiting for the day of full and visible communion. The Pope, who is on an apostolic visit to Myanmar and [...]
Church leaders from the different Eastern Catholic rites have been gathered in Rome this week to mark the centenary of the foundation of the Pontifical Oriental Institute and the Congregation for Eastern Churches. Pope Francis visited the Institute on Thursday and issued a mesage praising its "high achievements" and reminding it to be always attentive to the "enormous challenges facing [...]
Pope Francis issued a Motu Proprio on Saturday entitled, “Magnum principium” which refers to the translation of liturgical texts. A Motu Proprio is a special document, or apostolic letter, issued by the Pope on his own initiative and signed by him. In the document Pope Francis writes that, taking into account the experience of the Second Vatican Council with regard [...]
Pope Francis has sent a message to the head of the Bose monastic community to mark the opening of their 25th international ecumenical conference on Orthodox spirituality. The Bose community, based in northern Italy, was founded in December 1965 on the day that the Second Vatican Council concluded its work. It currently numbers around 80 members, men and women [...]
