Pope Francis

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Pope Again Champions Women

New speech again speaks of their role as witnesses to resurrection

(Newser) - Just days after (figuratively) stepping on some toes by (literally) washing some women's feet , Pope Francis has done the sisterhood another solid: In his weekly address at St. Peter's Square, he once again recognized women as the first witnesses of Christ's resurrection and emphasized their "special...

Francis Celebrates 1st Easter
 Francis Celebrates 1st Easter 
Mar 31, 2013 5:54 AM CDT

Francis Celebrates 1st Easter

250K pack St. Peter's Square to hear pontiff's call for peace

(Newser) - Pope Francis celebrated his first Easter Sunday Mass as pontiff in St. Peter's Square, packed by joyous pilgrims, tourists, and Romans and bedecked by spring flowers. Wearing cream-colored vestments, Francis strode onto the esplanade in front of St. Peter's Basilica and took his place at an altar set...

Pope Broke Rules, Washed Women's Feet

Francis first pope ever to do so

(Newser) - The new pope has already done something none of his predecessors ever did: Yesterday, as he washed the feet of youths in a detention center, he included two young women—thereby violating liturgical rules, the AP reports. One of the women, the Telegraph notes, was a Muslim. "The pope'...

Pope Francis Washes Young Inmates' Feet

Symbolic act normally performed on lay people at basilica

(Newser) - Pope Francis took yet another step to burnish his "humble pope" image today, washing the feet of 12 prisoners at a youth detention center near Rome. While it's traditional for the pope to wash some feet on Maundy Thursday in a symbolic recreation of Jesus doing the same...

Pope Shuns Palace Dwelling
 Pope Shuns Palace Apartment 
Mar 27, 2013 12:39 AM CDT

Pope Shuns Palace Apartment

He opts for hotel room over 12-room papal dwelling

(Newser) - Pope Francis, much like his saintly namesake, is keeping things simple. He has shunned the fancy robes favored by his predecessor, and now he's broken with a tradition more than a century old by declining to move into the grand papal apartment in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, Reuters...

Pope Phones Home, Cancels Newspaper

Seems the former cardinal forgot to end his subscription

(Newser) - The guy who started the first day of his papacy by settling his hotel bill is running more errands: This time it was an Argentine newspaper vendor left with his mouth hanging open when someone named "Cardinal Jorge" called up to cancel his longtime subscription, reports the BBC . "...

2 Popes Meet: 'We Are Brothers'

Pope Francis prays with Pope emeritus Benedict

(Newser) - It's a Catholic first: A sitting pope met with his predecessor today. Pope Francis traveled to Castel Gandalfo outside Rome to visit with Pope emeritus Benedict, reports the BBC . The AP says both men paid deference to other other. When they entered a chapel, for instance, Benedict directed Francis...

Pope Francis to Wash, Kiss Inmates' Feet

New pope will break Holy Thursday tradition

(Newser) - At least he's washing them first: The new pope plans to wash and kiss the feet of juvenile delinquents in a rare gesture next Thursday, the Guardian reports. Instead of holding Holy Thursday mass in either St Peter's basilica or the basilica of St John in Lateran, Pope...

Pope Reaches Out to Islam, China, Atheists

Pope Francis' first foreign policy address concentrates on bridge building

(Newser) - In his first foreign policy address as pope, Francis today called for more dialogue with Islam and offered an olive branch to China and other countries that don't have diplomatic relations with the Holy See. The occasion was an audience with ambassadors from the 180 countries that have diplomatic...

Bergoglio Backed Gay Civil Unions

Compromise offer shocked Argentine bishops

(Newser) - Pope Francis has made some uncompromising statements on issues like gay marriage but he also has a strong pragmatic streak that could hint at changes to come for the Catholic church, the New York Times finds. As the church in Argentina fought to prevent the legalization of gay marriage in...

At Inaugural, Francis Calls for Protection of Planet, Poor

New pope tours St. Peter's Square in open-top Jeep

(Newser) - Pope Francis officially kicked off his papacy today with a call to protect the planet and its poor, in a "low-key" yet dignitary-stuffed inaugural Mass that installed him as the Catholic Church's 266th pontiff. “Let us never forget that authentic power is service and that the pope,...

Pope Francis Hangs Out With Pilgrims, Gives 1st Angelus

Makes surprise appearance at Vatican side gate

(Newser) - Those looking for pomp and circumstance from Pope Francis' first Sunday as pontiff got instead an eyeful of his humble, man-of-the-people charm offensive. Ahead of his first Angelus blessing, Francis slipped out a side gate of the Vatican and mingled with startled pilgrims, even kissing babies and asking one, "...

Pope: Advice From Cardinal Led to Name 'Francis'

'Don't forget the poor,' friend told him

(Newser) - Pope Francis met with the international media today and shed more light on why he picked the name Francis. As the votes were being counted and it became clear that Jorge Bergoglio would be the next pope, a fellow cardinal from Brazil turned to him and said, "Don't...

Vatican: There's No Evidence Pope Helped Junta

Allegations from Argentina dog Pope Francis

(Newser) - The Vatican today addressed the whispers that the new pope seemed to get along with Argentina's military dictatorship in the '70s. "There has never been a credible, concrete accusation against him," nor was he ever charged with anything, a Vatican spokesman said today, according to the...

Pope to Church: Cheer Up
 Pope to Church: Cheer Up 
Mar 15, 2013 10:08 AM CDT

Pope to Church: Cheer Up

Francis praises Benedict, warns against pessimism in address to cardinals

(Newser) - Pope Francis praised his predecessor in a meeting with his cardinals today, and told them, essentially, to keep their happy faces on. "Let us not give in to pessimism, to that bitterness that the devil offers us every day," he said, perhaps a veiled reference to the Church'...

Pope's Young Sweetheart Recalls His Love Letter

Amalia Damonte says 12-year-old Bergoglio wanted to marry her

(Newser) - Apparently you can credit Amalia Damonte for Jorge Bergoglio becoming Pope Francis—or perhaps her father, reports the Week . When Bergoglio was just 12, he had a young "romance" with Damonte, writing a letter saying they would be married and drawing a picture of the house they would live...

How It Ended Up Being Bergoglio

A front-runner, Scola, got a mistaken email of congratulations

(Newser) - Insiders are beginning to open up about how they chose Jorge Bergoglio as the new pope . For one thing, he wasn't part of the Vatican's troubled Curia hierarchy, but it was believed he could help heal it, the New York Times reports. It also helped that he didn'...

Don't Expect Gay Rights to Advance Under Francis

Richard Socarides: New pope's previous statements are pretty clear

(Newser) - Humble, yes . A champion of social justice and the underprivileged, sure. But Pope Francis is also a strict conservative on church doctrine, which means that even though polls show most Catholics favor gay marriage, the Vatican isn't about to soften its views on homosexuality, writes Richard Socarides at the...

One Reason Cardinals May Have Picked a 76-Year-Old

Nate Silver: Benedict's resignation eased fears of an infirm pontiff

(Newser) - Jorge Bergoglio wasn't on many short lists to be the next pope partly because he's 76, which puts him among the 10 oldest pontiffs upon election, writes Nate Silver in the New York Times . Veering away from politics, Silver pokes around papal history and notes that the others...

Pope Starts First Day by ... Paying Hotel Bill

Even though he now kinda runs the hotel

(Newser) - Never let it be said that Pope Francis is a deadbeat. He began his first day as pontiff by returning to the hotel where he'd been staying way back when he was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, picking up his own bags, and insisting on paying his bill—even though he...

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