Mar 19 Pope Francis no longer needs mechanical ventilation mask to breathe as his health improves, Vatican says By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Francis has been at Rome's Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14 for a complex lung infection that turned into pneumonia in both lungs. Continue reading
Feb 25 Pope Francis was well enough to hold meetings at the hospital, the Vatican says By Nicole Winfield, Trisha Thomas, Associated Press The Vatican's Tuesday noon bulletin announced that Francis had approved decrees for two new saints and five people for beatification. Continue reading
Jan 01 Pope doubles down on abortion in New Year's Day message, calls for commitment to protect life By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Pope Francis ushered in the New Year with an appeal for the faithful to reject abortion, calling for a "firm commitment" to protect and respect life from conception to natural death. Continue reading
May 28 Pope Francis apologizes after using offensive slur in meeting about ban on gay priests By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Italian is not Francis’ mother tongue language, and the Argentine pope has made linguistic gaffes in the past that raised eyebrows. Continue reading
Apr 08 Watch 4:34 News Wrap: Judge rejects Trump's bid to delay criminal trial In our news wrap Tuesday, an appeals judge in New York denied former President Trump's bid to delay his hush money criminal trial, the Vatican restates its opposition to gender-affirming surgery and surrogate parenting, dozens of people were killed near… Continue watching
Apr 08 Vatican characterizes gender-affirming surgery, surrogacy as violations of human dignity By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Advocates for LGBTQ+ Catholics immediately criticized the document as outdated, harmful and contrary to the stated goal of recognizing the “infinite dignity” of all of God's children. Continue reading
Dec 25 Amid Israel-Hamas war, Pope Francis calls for worldwide peace on Christmas By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Speaking from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to the throngs of people below, Francis said he grieved the “abominable attack” of Hamas against southern Israel on Oct. 7 and called for the release of hostages. Continue reading
Dec 22 Vatican prosecutor seeks new trial after cardinal's embezzlement conviction By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press The main focus of the trial involved the Holy See’s 350 million-euro ($386 million) investment in converting a former Harrod’s warehouse into luxury apartments. Continue reading
Dec 18 Pope formally allows priests to bless same-sex couples By Associated Press The Vatican issued a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it. Continue reading
Nov 29 At his weekly audience, Pope Francis says he's 'not well,' has aide read his speech By Frances D'Emilio, Associated Press Francis did speak at the end of the audience, voicing his contentment over the truce in fighting between Israel and Hamas, and saying he hopes it continues. Continue reading