VATICAN CITY (RNS) While some church observers worry that Benedict XVI could overshadow Pope Francis and his course of reforms, one veteran commentator said the side-by-side popes shouldn’t cause a “crisis in the church.”
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Benedict XVI’s return to Vatican City will present church leaders with the unprecedented situation of a reigning pope and a retired pope living a short distance from each other, both sharing the same top aide.
(RNS) It would be a mistake to conclude from his first unprecedented actions that Pope Francis is disdainful of Catholic tradition. On the contrary, the new pope seems attuned to very specific Catholic traditions of church reform that claim his attention and color his vision of genuine Christianity.
WASHINGTON (RNS) Pope Francis is known now for his keep-it-simple style and focus on the poor. But once he starts making appointments and taking action, his favorable ratings may change.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) With his move to a Vatican guesthouse, Pope Francis becomes the first pope since 1903 not to live in the regal papal apartment that overlooks St. Peter’s Square.
(RNS) Since the moment of his election on March 13, Pope Francis has been warmly embraced by his own flock and even the media. But some constituencies in the church are decidedly cautious or even unhappy with Francis, and their grumbling may portend future troubles for the pope.
(RNS) Now that Pope Francis has been duly installed, his next order of business is doing something no other pope has had to do in centuries: pay homage to the guy he replaced.
(RNS) Pope Francis was once “dazzled” by a young woman he met as a seminarian and even considered abandoning his vocation, he reveals in a newly uncovered interview.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis’ installation Mass was striking for its repeated references to environmental protection, highlighting what is likely to be a central theme of his papacy and setting up the 76-year-old pope as a leading activist against climate change.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Just minutes after Pope Francis finished introducing himself to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square on March 13, a woman perusing the shelves of a tourist shop just outside the squared asked the storekeeper, “When will you have souvenirs of the new pope?”
