Pope Francis
Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I arrive for an inter-religious prayer service in Rome, Italy, on October 20, 2020. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
"Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They are children of God and have a right to a family," says Francis in a new film.
Pope Francis holds weekly general audience virtually from the Library of the Apostolic Palace due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the Vatican April 15, 2020. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS
Pope Francis praised the work of nurses around the world on Tuesday, saying the coronavirus crisis had shown how vital their service is, as he appealed to governments to invest more in health care.
Pope Francis greets members of the media after leading a Mass and the Regina Coeli prayer in Rome's Santo Spirito in Sassia church, in Rome, April 19, 2020. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
Pope Francis made an impassioned plea for protection of the environment on Wednesday's 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, saying the coronavirus pandemic had shown that some challenges had to be met with a global response.
Pope Francis holds a palm branch as he leads the Palm Sunday mass in St. Peter's Basilica without public participation due to the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the Vatican April 5, 2020. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS
The symbolic procession was only several meters long and a few potted olive trees were brought in.
Netflix
ACCORDING TO ARISTOTLE'S Poetics, art is supposed to imitate life. However, Oscar Wilde claimed that life more often imitates art. In the case of the recent Netflix movie The Two Popes and warring camps within the Catholic Church, it may be hard to tell which is which.
The Two Popes —which depicts an imagined relationship between Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and his successor, Pope Francis—was bound to inflame tensions between those who believe that Francis wants to toss out historic church teachings on marriage and sexuality and those who suspect that anyone with a soft spot for the Latin Mass wants to bring back the Inquisition. Then, within weeks of the movie’s release, we had the spectacle of Benedict appearing as co-author on a book about priestly celibacy that seemed like a timed rebuke to the limited openness to ordaining married men expressed at the Amazon Synod that was called by Francis. Benedict later asked that his name be removed from the book.
People crowd the beach, while other jurisdictions had already closed theirs in efforts to combat the spread of novelcoronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Clearwater, Fla. March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Steve Nesius/File Photo
The problem is not only with the corporations struggling to make choices when profits are on the line. As a culture infused with the values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, Americans value individualism and have a hard time understanding their role in community health measures. When we are taught to prioritize our individual rights and needs (see the discussions about guns, vaccines, and universal health care), it quickly leads to seeing other people as our enemy instead of a neighbor to protect. And that’s where religious communities must lead.
An empty St. Peter's Square as Pope Francis gives his weekly general audience via transmitted video a day after the Vatican closed the square, seen from Rome, Italy March 11, 2020. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Pope Francis, holed up in the Vatican by Italy's coronavirus epidemic, held his first virtual general audience on Wednesday, thanking medical staff but urging the world not to forget the plight of Syrian refugees.
Marchers rally at the Supreme Court during the 46th annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. Jan. 18, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
On Friday, President Donald Trump prepared to be the first U.S. president to attend the March for Life, the annual gathering of anti-abortion activists and faith groups in Washington, D.C., just after Vice President Mike Pence met with Pope Francis during an unusually long audience at the Vatican.
Photo via 'Two Popes' trailer / Netflix
The film humanizes the two popes, while exploring their different ecclesial emphases: church as an inward-facing haven from the world or church as an outward-facing sojourner.
Pope Francis at the Vatican, June 2019. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo
Pope Francis on Tuesday announced sweeping changes to the way the Roman Catholic Church deals with cases of sexual abuse of minors, abolishing the rule of "pontifical secrecy" that previously covered them.
Pope Francis speaks during a news conference onboard the papal plane on his flight back from a trip to Thailand and Japan, Nov. 26, 2019. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/Pool
Two years after the Vatican State signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (currently ratified by 34 countries), he declared during an in-flight press briefing from Japan to Rome, “Not only their use, but also possessing them: because an accident or the madness of some government leader, one person’s madness can destroy humanity.”
Pope Francis receives a flower after giving a speech at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan Nov. 26, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool
Pope Francis wrapped up a four-day trip to Japan on Tuesday by turning from the anti-nuclear message that was the backbone of his visit to other key campaigns of his, urging students to defend the earth and show greater compassion.
Image via Reuters/Ann Wang
The bishops hope that these new policies will prove powerful and effective in nationalizing and systematizing structures already in place. Advocates don’t trust the Church, especially when there is no required lay involvement in the reporting process.
Roman Catholic pilgrims travel as they accompany the statue of Our Lady of Conception during an annual pilgrimage along the Caraparu River in Santa Izabel do Para. REUTERS/Paulo Santos/File Photo
The document also issues a strong defense for the protection of the environment in the Amazon, deforestation, illegal mining, and development projects that threaten native cultures and the delicate ecosystem vital for the planet.
President Donald Trump holds up an executive order as he announces that the United States will drop out of aninternational arms treaty. April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis
Gun violence and small arms deaths disproportionately impact communities of color, women, and other marginalized groups. As the biggest arms exporter, the U.S. signature to the ATT demonstrated its support for the establishment of common international standards for all states in the global arms trade.
Alessandro Battaglia, a survivor of sexual abuse reacts as founding member of the ECA (Ending Clergy Abuse) Denise Buchanan looks on, in front of Saint Peter's Square. Feb. 24, 2019. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Pope Francis ended his conference on the sexual abuse of children by clergy on Sunday by calling for an "all-out battle" against a crime that should be "erased from the face of the earth." But victims and their advocates expressed deep disappointment, saying Francis had merely repeated old promises and offered few new concrete proposals.
Pope Francis attends the four-day meeting on the global sexual abuse crisis, at the Vatican Feb. 22, 2019. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS
A nun and a woman journalist delivered the toughest criticism of Church leaders heard so far at Pope Francis' sexual abuse conference on Saturday, accusing them of hypocrisy and covering up horrendous crimes against children.
Pope Francis attends the four-day meeting on the global sexual abuse crisis at the Vatican. Feb. 21, 2019. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS
Pope Francis promised that concrete actions against child sexual abuse by priests would result from a conference he opened on Thursday, countering scepticism among survivors who said the meeting looked like a public relations exercise.
Image via Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS
He pointed out that this is not a new problem, confirming that the Catholic Church knew about the abuses against nuns even if the public did not.