It is not official yet, but Pope Francis and the Primate of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Justin Welby, will celebrate First Vespers on October 5 in Rome, in the Basilica of San Gregorio al Celio. The announcement was made by one of the Camaldolese monks of the monastery associated with the basilica during [...]
With a short, off-the-cuff speech during celebrations for the 65th anniversary of his priesthood, Benedict XVI clarified that Pope Francis alone is Pope. However, the turmoil generated by the notion of an “enlarged papacy” comprised of “an active member and a contemplative member” reveals a certain nervousness around the question, as though [...]
There is an anecdote that relates better than any other how Pope Francis tackles issues. Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Armenian Church in America, reported it. in a conversation with the author of this commentary. “Last year, before the Armenian-Rite Mass in St. Peter’s to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Armenian genocide, [...]
Its name is “Iuvenescit Ecclesiae” (The Church rejuvenates) and it is a small – but long time in the making – document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It was presented June 13, and aims at reiterating the importance of ecclesiastical movements within the Church, while asking them to be [...]
What is Pope Francis’ modus operandi for governing the Catholic Church? After three years of this pontificate, after the 15th meeting of the Council of the Cardinals, the question must be posed. The Council is not called upon to make decision, but simply to advise the Pope, while all decisions are left to the [...]
Pope Francis’ decision to extend by an additional day his visit to Sweden in order to celebrate a Mass with the Swedish Catholic community explains a lot about how decision making in the Domus Sanctae Marthae takes place. And it also shows that there are collaborators around Pope Francis able to intercept certain kinds [...]
What is Pope Francis’ dilemma? That of choosing between Christ and Moses. That is, choosing between the merciful truth and the casuistry for the hard of heart. That is, choosing between religion and sociology. In the end, Moses’ mistake is also Karl Marx’s mistake, as explained by Stanislaw Grygiel in a profound and [...]
While the meeting between Pope Francis and Grand Imam of al Azhar is being prepared – the meeting will re-open a dialogue with Sunni Islam – we should ask ourselves what is Pope Francis’ diplomatic model, beyond the slogan of the culture of the encounter? Certainly, Pope Francis’ “pastoral visits” to Lampedusa and [...]
In a nutshell, what happened last week probably represents well Pope Francis’ Pontificate. Meeting with the General Union of Superiors General, that is, the plenary assembly of more than 800 leaders of religious sisters from all over the world, Pope Francis held a Q & A session. The sisters posed five questions, and [...]
A Europe made of bridges, not of walls. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, described this way Pope Francis’ idea of Europe at the eve of the Charlemagne Prize Award Ceremony in honor of the Pope. Since 1950, the prize is conferred to a person who has promoted European integration. Pope [...]