nbsp Not since the Second Vatican Council has a gathering of representatives of the world rsquo s Catholic bishops sparked such interest and controversy as the extraordinary synod of bishops on the family which opens in the Vatican on October 5 While the agenda is very wide public interest has ma

Pope Francis issued a heartfelt call to his brother Jesuits worldwide to ldquo row together rdquo with him as he rows with considerable effort in lsquo the barque of Peter rdquo and to ldquo pray a lot rdquo because ldquo the night and the powers of darkness are always close rdquo nbsp H

Pope Francis has deposed the controversial bishop of Ciudad del Este in Paraguay Monsignor Rogelio Ricardo Livieres Plano by relieving him of his duties as bishop of that diocese and declaring the see vacant nbsp The bishop was accused not only of incardinating a priest into his diocese in 2005

Recent appointments make clear that the safeguarding of children and minors is a top priority of Francis' pontificate.

The former nuncio to the Dominican Republic Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski was placed under house arrest on Sept 23 to prevent him from escaping justice or tampering with evidence the Director of the Vatican Press Office Fr Federico Lombardi S J told reporters today He will be tried at the end

The Vatican has announced that the Holy See’s former nuncio to the Dominican Republic, Archbishop Josef Wesolowski, has been placed under house arrest inside the Vatican City State for the abuse of the minors in the Latin American state.The decision, which appears not to have a precedent in mo

I have been on many papal trips to foreign countries over the past thirty years and have experienced some profoundly moving and faith-filled moments on several of them but I had never before seen a Pope so overcome with emotion that he wept But that is what I witnessed on Sunday evening September

Pope Francis drew enthusiastic and prolonged applause when in his homily at mass in Mother Teresa Square in Tirana the capital of Albania attended by some 300 000 people mdash most of them Catholics but also very many Orthodox and Muslims mdash he greeted them saying ldquo May peace be in your

Pope Francis has given a new direction to the American Church by appointing the bishop of Spokane, Blase Joseph Cupich, 65, as the ninth archbishop of Chicago.The archbishop-elect is a highly-talented leader, a pastor with vision, together with long, varied and successful pastoral and administrative

Pope Francis is going to Albania on Sunday Sept 21 It is his first visit to a European country and he has chosen to go to the only majority Muslim country on the periphery of the old continent where Christians and Muslims who suffered under communism now live together in harmony and have formed