Fifty years ago, 40 bishops signed a pledge to make Catholicism a church for the poor. It was soon set aside, but with Pope Francis focused on the downtrodden, that notion could be revived.
Catholic bishops wrapped up a three-week gathering at the Vatican this weekend that focused on family issues, but was overshadowed by doctrinal differences.
Intrigue over Vatican finances is gaining steam with this week's publication of two books alleging multi-million dollar waste and theft. It follows the weekend arrest of a priest and a Vatican layperson accused of leaking confidential documents.
A report published by an Italian newspaper that said the pope had a treatable brain tumor fueled suspicion about Francis’ health, which the Vatican denied.
"The pope looks at the world in a different way. He looks at the world, he looks at economics, he looks at the environment, politics from the bottom up, from the outside in, and those aren't Washington's priorities or Washington's ways. So we've had an alternative vision and a great example, and my hope is we listened, we learned, and we maybe even might follow his example," says John Carr, director of Georgetown University's Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life. More →
Sunday is the first day of a three-week meeting of Catholic bishops to tackle questions of marriage, divorce and homosexuality — issues that go to the heart of what it means to be a Catholic.
Marianne Duddy-Burke, head of Dignity USA, a group of LGBT Catholics, says she was inspired by Pope Francis' visit. That turned to disappointment with news the pontiff met secretly with Kim Davis.
American Catholics, says Rev. Thomas Reese of National Catholic Reporter, live out their faith in the local parish, and "they want to meet somebody like Pope Francis. And if the clergy and the bishops and the people aren’t like Pope Francis, or namely like Jesus, more welcoming, compassionate, loving, they’re going to turn around and never come back." More →