Pope Francis has urged Ukraine’s Catholic bishops to focus on the social and human tragedies unfolding in their country and avoid politicising their positions. Meeting the bishops from the country’s Byzantine- and Latin-rite traditions on an ad limina visit to Rome, he urged them to work together, saying, “The sense of justice and truth is…

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has visited Rome to meet Pope Francis in advance of the upcoming G7 summit in Munich this June. Speaking after the unusually long 40-minute audience, Ms Merkel said the main purpose of her visit had been to outline the summit agenda, as its emphasis on the elimination of poverty was “of…

Cardinal Bertone ‘knew about Pope Benedict’s resignation’ seven months before event Former Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone knew Pope Benedict XVI was considering stepping down at Pope at least seven months before his resignation was announced, according to a Huffington Post interview. The cardinal says he had many doubts about Pope Benedict’s plan, and said they “debated the topic at length after it…

“The blood of our Christian brothers and sisters is a testimony which cries out to be heard,” said Pope Francis in an address to the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, expressing his sorrow at the murder of 21 Egyptian Copts in Libya by Islamic State Militants. “It makes no difference whether they be Catholics,…

The economy is a human creation, so humans have the responsibility to manage it in a way that benefits the most people, said Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, president of the Church’s aid and development agency Caritas Internationalis and co-ordinator of Pope Francis’ nine-man council of cardinal-advisers. “The economy is not a god. We have…

While a plurality of Americans support the legalisation of same-sex marriage, most believe that the religious liberty of those who object to such marriages should still be respected, a poll shows. The Associated Press poll, conducted between January 1 and February 2,  shows that 44% of Americans favour legalisation of same-sex marriage, 39% oppose it…

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has invited dioceses to prepare for the worldwide Synod of Bishops with a set of questions on marriage and family life, but does not intend to release the questionnaire’s findings. The questionnaire is based on a set of 46 questions issued by the Holy See in the aftermath of…

The federal government must provide enough funds to the Independent National Electoral Commission for it to be able to conduct the general elections across Nigeria March 28 and April 11, said Archbishop Gabriel ‘Leke Abegunrin of Ibadan. The archbishop noted that the electoral commission had been complaining of a lack of funds needed, including for…