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Vatican News

Pope Francis declares St. Irenaeus ‘Doctor of Unity’

January 21, 2022

Pope Francis on Friday officially declared St. Irenaeus of Lyon as the 37th Doctor of the Church, with the title “Doctor Unitatis” (“Doctor of Unity”). “May the doctrine of such a great Master encourage more and more the path of all the Lord’s disciples towards full communion,” the pope wrote in a decree signed on Jan. 21.

Vatican liturgy office issues guidelines for catechist ministry

December 13, 2021

The Vatican’s liturgy office on Monday issued a rite and guidelines for the institution of lay catechists in the dioceses of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis created the lay ministry of catechist in May with the release of the motu proprio Antiquum ministerium (“Ancient ministry”), which emphasized the importance of the role of the catechist in history and today

Pope Francis accepts resignation of Catholic archbishop of Paris

December 02, 2021

Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Archbishop Michel Aupetit on Thursday amid a controversy surrounding an alleged prior relationship with a woman before he was archbishop of Paris. A statement from the Holy See press office on Dec. 2 said that Pope Francis accepted the resignation submitted by Aupetit and had appointed Archbishop Georges Pontier, archbishop emeritus

Pope Francis recognizes miracle attributed to WWII martyr Bl. Titus Brandsma’s intercession

November 25, 2021

Pope Francis has recognized a miracle attributed to Titus Brandsma, an outspoken opponent of Nazism martyred at Dachau concentration camp in 1942. The pope authorized Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints, to issue a decree on Nov. 25 approving the miracle. The decision paves the way for the Dutch Carmelite

Ethics committee authorizes first assisted suicide in Italy

November 25, 2021

The Catholic Church in Italy said that life must be “protected and defended” after local health authorities in Italy gave the green light to the country’s first legally obtained assisted suicide. The ethics committee of the health service of the Italian city of Ancona ruled on Nov. 23 that a 43-year-old Italian man met the

Croatian president raises plight of Bosnian Catholics during Vatican visit

November 16, 2021

Croatia’s President Zoran Milanović highlighted the situation of the Catholic minority in Bosnia and Herzegovina during a visit to the Vatican on Monday. The Holy See press office said on Nov. 15 that after meeting with Pope Francis, Milanović held discussions with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and “foreign minister” Archbishop Paul Gallagher. “During the

Pope Francis: Care for creation is one of the ‘great moral issues of our time’

November 11, 2021

Vatican City, Nov 11, 2021 / 05:00 am Pope Francis has called care for God’s creation one of “the great moral issues of our time” in a letter expressing his regret that he could not attend the COP26 meeting in Glasgow. “Time is running out; this occasion must not be wasted, lest we have to

Pope Francis prays for Iraqi PM after assassination attempt

November 10, 2021

Vatican City, Nov 9, 2021 / 06:00 am Pope Francis is praying for Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi after an attempted assassination attack on his home with armed drones. The pope expressed his “prayerful closeness” in a telegram released by the Vatican on Nov. 9 in which the attack in Baghdad was condemned as a “vile act