Pope says June meeting with Russian Orthodox leader is off
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis has said he has dropped plans to meet in June with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who has backed Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Francis, who has several times implicitly criticised Russia and Putin over the war, told Argentine newspaper La Nacion in an interview that […]
World Council of Churches faces calls to expel Russian Orthodox Church; Vatican mulls meeting between Pope, Patriarch
RNS The World Council of Churches is under pressure to oust the Russian Orthodox Church from its ranks, with detractors arguing the church’s leader, Patriarch Kirill, invalidated its membership by backing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and involving the church in the global political machinations of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The debate garnered a response on […]
Historic conclave: Chinese bishops, priests brief Hong Kong clerics on Xi’s view of religion
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Chinese bishops and religious leaders briefed senior Hong Kong Catholic clergymen on President Xi Jinping’s vision of religion with “Chinese characteristics” in an unprecedented meeting organised by the mainland’s representative office in the city, according to four clerics. The clerics who attended or had knowledge of the 31st October meeting described it […]
Emotional Biden praises Pope Francis’ style of Catholicism
Rome, ItalyReuters An emotional US President Joe Biden, who has come away from his visit with papal backing in his conflict with conservative US bishops, on Sunday praised Pope Francis for being “everything I admire about Catholicism”. Biden, the second Catholic president in US history, choked up as he spoke about his late son Beau […]
It’s official: Rumoured October meeting between Biden and Pope Francis is confirmed
Washington DC, USRNS The White House announced on Thursday that President Joe Biden will meet with Pope Francis at the end of the month, confirming a long-rumoured summit between the pontiff and the second Catholic US president. In a statement, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the President and first lady Jill Biden have […]
ESSAY: TRUMP AND FRANCIS – DETENTE, NOT ARMISTICE
MASSIMO FAGGIOLI, professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University, in article first published on Religion News Service, reflects on last week’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and Pope Francis…
Pope Francis gives President Trump some homework at their first meeting
RNS US President Donald Trump is known as a climate change skeptic with a short attention span who has said he doesn’t have time to read books. But Pope Francis is a man of faith who lives in hope, and during the first, highly anticipated meeting between these two world leaders with sharply contrasting visions […]
Trump team exploring possible Pope Francis meeting
RNS/USA Today The White House said on Tuesday it is reaching out to the Vatican to set up a possible meeting President Trump and Pope Francis, little more than a year after they clashed over Mr Trump’s proposed anti-immigration wall between the United States and Mexico. “We will be reaching out to the Vatican to see […]