December 8, 2015 Pope Francis prays for peace in Ukraine, Syria in Easter greeting Marking Christianity's most hopeful day, Pope Francis made an Easter Sunday plea for peace and dialogue in Ukraine and Syria, for an end to terrorist attacks against Christians in Nigeria and for more attention to the hungry and neediest close to home.
December 8, 2015 Defying pope, Italian church parade makes detour to stop by Mafioso's house in tribute In apparent defiance of Pope Francis, a church procession detoured from its route through a southern Italian town to honor a convicted mobster under house arrest.
December 8, 2015 Vatican estimates 100,000 attend Syria peace vigil Tens of thousands of people filled St. Peter's Square for a four-hour Syria peace vigil late Saturday, answering Pope Francis' call for a grassroots cry for peace that was echoed by Christians and non-Christians alike in Syria and in vigils around the world.
December 8, 2015 John Paul II gunman lays flowers at Vatican tomb The Turkish gunman who shot and wounded John Paul II in 1981 laid white flowers Saturday on the saint's tomb in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican officials said.
December 8, 2015 Vatican to display remains of St. Peter to public for first time The Vatican is planning to display the bones believed to be those of St. Peter, the leader of Christ's 12 apostles and the first bishop and Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, according to reports.
December 7, 2015 UN committee on torture brings Vatican delegation back for second round of questioning In its second grilling at the United Nations this year, the Vatican on Monday sought to limit its responsibility for the global priest sex abuse scandal by undercutting arguments it has violated an international treaty against torture and inhuman treatment.
December 7, 2015 Pope Francis reveals he used to work as a bar bouncer It’s common knowledge that St. Peter guards the pearly gates. But what many people might not know is Pope Francis used to guard the door at a bar in Argentina.
December 7, 2015 Pope criticizes abortion as evidence of 'throwaway culture' Pope Francis on Monday criticized abortion as evidence of a "throwaway culture" that wastes people as well as food, saying such a mentality is a threat to world peace.
December 7, 2015 Vatican coins recalled for misspelling 'Jesus' The Vatican recalled more than 6,000 commemorative medals this week after discovering the word ”Jesus” was misspelled as “Lesus” on the coins, according to a report in the German news site Spiegel International.
December 5, 2015 Benedict takes up Francis' invite for lunch Retired Pope Benedict XVI has shared a holiday meal with his successor, Francis, at the Vatican.