May 12, 2022 Arrested cardinal repeatedly warned Holy See of Chinese persecution, condemned Vatican's secretary of state Zen has repeatedly warned the Vatican of increasing government persecution of religious minorities and anti-communist public figures but has historically received next to no response.
May 9, 2022 Pope's trip to Lebanon in June postponed for health reasons: sources Pope Francis has postponed a trip to Lebanon next month as a result of walking difficulties.
May 8, 2022 Pope Francis blames the victim in Russia-Ukraine war Pope Francis recently shocked many by positing parity between Vladimir Putin and Russia on one hand, and Ukraine and NATO on the other. The Holy Father insisted both are to blame for the raging war.
May 5, 2022 Russian Orthodox Church says Pope Francis 'chose the wrong tone' over 'Putin's altar boy' comment The Russian Orthodox Church hit back at the Vatican this week after Pope Francis told an Italian newspaper that Patriarch Kirill should not “transform himself into Putin's altar boy” amid the invasion of Ukraine.
May 5, 2022 Pope Francis seen publicly in wheelchair for first time, citing knee pain Pope Francis appeared before his general audience in a wheelchair for the first time since his colon surgery.
May 4, 2022 Pope Francis suggests the 'barking of NATO at Russia's door' may have forced Putin to invade Ukraine Pope Francis appeared to partly blame the West for Russia's invasion of Ukraine in an interview published this week, suggesting that the “barking of NATO at Russia's door” may have forced Putin's hand.
May 4, 2022 Pope, Japanese PM discuss nuclear weapons after North Korea missile fires into Sea of Japan Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with Pope Francis for a private conversation Wednesday, the same day a ballistic missile was fired into the Sea of Japan.
May 3, 2022 Pope Francis says he asked to meet Putin in March over Ukraine war, but hasn't heard back: report Pope Francis has revealed that he told the Kremlin in March that he was “willing to go to Moscow” to discuss the war in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin – but the Vatican has “not yet received a response,” according to an interview published Tuesday.
May 1, 2022 Pope says Mariupol 'barbarously bombarded,' implicitly criticizes Russia Pope Francis called the war on Ukraine a "macabre regression of humanity" as he spoke to thousands in St. Peter's Square Sunday.
April 22, 2022 Pope says he's willing to do 'everything' to help end war; postpones 2nd meeting with Russian Orthodox leader Pope Francis said this week he is willing to do "everything" to help end the war in Ukraine, adding that the Vatican "never sleeps" in its diplomacy efforts to try to reach a peaceful solution.