Monuments in 2,300 cities light up in Sant’Egidio campaign to stop “highly inhuman and useless” capital punishment that “reduces states to mere perpetrators of injustice”
In message to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for St. Andrew’s Day, Pope encourages Churches “to offer an example of dialogue, mutual respect and practical cooperation” for peace
“Let us try to try to bring out the good even from the difficult situation that the pandemic imposes upon us”, Francis encourages at the Angelus
In consistory today, Francis cautions newly-elevated prelates against “corruption in the priestly life”, encourages them to be humble “shepherds”
Francis urges prayers as armed clashes intensify in Tigray region and “serious humanitarian crisis” threatens in wider Horn of Africa
After this Saturday’s consistory, Europeans will make up 42% of cardinals eligible to vote for the next Pope, down from 52% in 2013
“While dialogue may not be able to prevent all atrocities, solidarity in the wake of violence can help to heal communities in the aftermath of trauma”
“We must reject the ruinous ideologies of indifference, invisibility and individualism”, clamours undersecretary of Vatican Migrants and Refugees Section
“For us Christians. the future has a name and this name is hope”, Francis encourages participants in Festival of the Social Doctrine of the Church in Verona, Italy
“I cannot imagine Pope Francis wanting to prevent democratic decisions” on future of Church, says president of Central Committee of German Catholics after pontiff’s controversial remarks at Wednesday General Audience
Francis also expresses concerns over world hunger, COVID-induced food insecurity in private audience with FAO Director-General
Pope invites all to to get involved “in preparing for a holy Christmas by spreading the Word of God and caring for our Common Home”
“Where there is no unity, there is no Spirit of the Lord. The Lord always seeks unity, which does not mean uniformity”, Francis writes in message to Slovenian Caritas
At book launch in Saudi Arabia, Holy See representative to UN in Geneva Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič says human fraternity key to move from “incivility of conflict” to “civilisation of encounter”
In new book ‘Let Us Dream’, Francis likens plight of indigenous ethnic group to that of the Rohingya in Myanmar, the Yazidi in the Middle East and the persecuted Christians of Egypt and Pakistan
At the General Audience: The Church is not a “market”, a “new business”, a “political party” or a “human society”: “The Church is the work of the Holy Spirit”
Holy See culture minister Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi denounces racial prejudice as “negation of relationship”, “social and spiritual denialism” of diversity
“The devastating consequences of inequality can no longer be ignored”, pleads Holy See foreign minister Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher
“Do we look after people or sacrifice them for the sake of the stock market?”, Francis asks in new book, ‘Let Us Dream’, in which he also condemns “horrendous” police killing of Black man George Floyd
Francis speaks by phone with EU Council President to discuss “how to tackle COVID-19 from a multilateral perspective”, double down on “fight against religious hatred and radicalisation”
“May the Lord be close to you as you are close to the sick”, Pope prays in video for health professionals in his native Argentina
To change the world, Francis counsels “attention to the needs of the most fragile”, “compassion”, “sharing” and the “denunciation of injustices”
At the Angelus: “We will be judged on love… We will be judged on works, on compassion that becomes nearness and kind help”
“Religions have nothing to do” with violence, discrimination and hatred, stress Francis and good friend Ahmad Al-Tayyeb
“We need to accept structurally that the poor have sufficient dignity to sit at our meetings, participate in our discussions and bring bread to their own tables”, Francis clamours
Holy See urged human rights be “observed and respected in relation to the children of Israel” a quarter of a century before start of Holocaust, reveals Vatican Secretary of State
“The world continues to close its doors, rejecting dialogue and collaboration”, Francis rues in audience with Latin American seminarians
Preacher to the Papal Household Raniero Cantalamessa alerts “Religion and the gospel risk becoming a pretext for interests that do not promote concord and unity”
“Freedom of worship is not dependent upon the freedom of assembly, but an essential part of freedom of religion”, stresses foreign minister Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher