UN chief hails Pope Francis as a global spiritual leader

April 9, 2013 8:19pm VATICAN CITY – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday hailed Pope Francis as “a spiritual leader of the world” and emphasized goals of social justice shared between the Vatican and the United Nations. “It is very important to meet a spiritual leader of the world,” Ban said at the start…

A Pope for All Christians

Why believers of all stripes should care about the new head of the Catholic Church. Timothy C. Morgan [ posted 3/13/2013 8:44AM ] hen the new pope is consecrated, he will inherit a troubled global church. Internal scandal and unaddressed external problems pose great risks to the vitality of Catholicism. But the consequences of success or…

Pope urges religions, those with no church to ally for justice

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis urged members of all religions and those belonging to no church on Wednesday to unite to defend justice, peace and the environment and not allow the value of a person to be reduced to “what he produces and what he consumes”. Francis, elected a week ago as the…

Creighton experts weigh in on pope’s Jesuit background

Though no one knows for sure, Jorge Bergoglio’s Jesuit background could be a telling detail about how he will serve as pope, according to interviews with several experts from Creighton University. For one thing, Jesuits are not to seek out church office, as instructed by St. Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Society of Jesus…

New pope’s choice of name will carry his first message

By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Even before he utters his first words in public, the new pope who emerges from the conclave this week will send Roman Catholics around the world a message encoded in the name he chooses. It may not be one they immediately understand. Picking an unlikely one…

Obama hails new Pope Francis, Biden to go to Rome

President Barack Obama on Wednesday acclaimed the election of Pope Francis and vowed to work with him “to advance peace, security and dignity for our fellow human beings, regardless of their faith.” Vice President Joe Biden, the top-ranking Catholic in the U.S. government, said he would travel to Rome to attend the pope’s inaugural Mass…

Lightning strikes the Vatican — literally

Doyle Rice, USA TODAY2:39p.m. EST February 12, 2013 Papal prank? Or did lightning really hit the Vatican?   I know the pope has connections, but this is extraordinary!An apparent photo of a lightning bolt striking St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican Monday night (left) — the same day that Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation,…

Lightning strikes the Vatican

Also, watch it Here: http://bcove.me/4rgj6a3g Lightning struck the St. Peter’s Basilica Monday, hours after Pope Benedict XVI announced that he will resign as leader of the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics on February 28. In this photo taken by Filippo Monteforte, the St. Peter’s iconic dome received a direct hit from lightning during stormy weather. When he became…