January 11, 2017 Rift grows between Pope Francis, ancient Catholic order Strains between Pope Francis and the Roman Catholic Church’s traditional leadership have erupted into the open with leaders of a millennium-old lay Catholic order publicly telling the pope, in effect, that he has no authority to meddle in the order’s affairs.
January 2, 2017 Canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II Thousands of pilgrims from around the world gathered in Vatican City's St. Peter's Square Sunday as Pope Francis led a service declaring two of the 20th century's most popular and influential popes to be saints.
December 28, 2016 China: Willing to have talks with Vatican but Catholics must be patriots China's head of religious affairs said that Beijing is willing to have constructive dialogue with the Vatican but stressed that Catholics should "hold up high the flag of patriotism" and adapt Catholicism to Chinese society.
December 24, 2016 Order of Malta to Pope Francis: Stay out of our internal affairs The Order of Malta, the ancient Roman Catholic aristocratic lay order, has told Pope Francis that his decision to launch an investigation into the ouster of a top official over an old condom scandal is "unacceptable."
December 22, 2016 Pope in Christmas speech blasts Vatican resistance to reform Pope Francis on Thursday denounced the resistance he's encountering in reforming the Vatican bureaucracy, saying some of it is inspired by the devil and that the prelates who work for him must undergo "permanent purification" to serve the Catholic Church better.
December 7, 2016 Pope Francis calls spreading fake news a sin Pope Francis, who in the past has not shied away from offering his opinion about U.S. politics, said in an interview that “spreading disinformation” is probably “the greatest damage that the media can do.”
November 21, 2016 Pope Francis allows priests to absolve 'grave sin' of abortion Saying nothing is beyond the reach of God's mercy, Pope Francis told Catholics worldwide he is allowing all priests to absolve the faithful of abortion — women and health workers alike — even while stressing that it is a grave sin in the eyes of the church to "end an innocent life."
November 1, 2016 Pope Francis: Catholic church's ban on women priests may last forever Pope Francis has ruled out women's ordination, saying the "last word" on the question was delivered by St. John Paul II and that no changes are foreseen.
October 26, 2016 Top Vatican cardinal interviewed about sexual assault allegations Australian police flew to Rome to interview a top Vatican cardinal about allegations of sexual assault dating back decades, officials said Wednesday.
October 11, 2016 Pope Francis 'saddened' 2 lesbian former nuns married Vatican leader Pope Francis was reportedly saddened by news of two former Roman Catholic nuns who married each other, calling their love a "gift of God."
