Tag Archives: pope francis

Foreign

Pope Francis tells EU to tear down migrant walls

MIGRANT CRISIS. Pope Francis gives a speech during the awarding ceremony of Germany’s famed Charlemagne Prize, given to public figures in recognition of contribution to European unity, on May 6, 2016, at the Vatican. Photo by Angelo Carconi/AFP

‘I dream of a Europe where being a migrant is not a crime but a summons to greater commitment on behalf of the dignity of every human being,’ says the pontiff

VATICAN CITY, Holy See (May 6, 2016) — Pope Francis said Friday, May 6, he dreamed of a Europe in which “being a migrant is not a crime”, as he urged EU leaders to “tear down the walls” and build a fairer society. Continue reading Pope Francis tells EU to tear down migrant walls →

Foreign

‘There was such suffering’, Pope Francis on meeting with migrants

EMOTIONAL VISIT. Pope Francis hugs a child at the Moria detention center in Mytilene on April 16, 2016. File photo by Aris Messinis/AFP
‘There were so many children. Some of these children witnessed their parents and friends dying, drowned at sea,’ says the pontiff

VATICAN CITY, Holy See (Apr. 18, 2016) – Pope Francis spoke emotionally Sunday, April 17, of his meeting a day earlier with migrants on the Greek island of Lesbos, which culminated with him taking 3 Syrian families back to the Vatican.

Continue reading ‘There was such suffering’, Pope Francis on meeting with migrants →

Foreign

Pope brings 12 Syrian refugees to Rome after visit to migrant hotspot

HIS HOLINESS. Pope Francis arrives at the camp for refugees in Moria, Lesbos island, Greece, 16 April 2016, in a trip aimed at supporting refugees and drawing attention to the frontline of Europe’s migration crisis. Photo by Orestis Panagiotou / EPA
The pope tells reporters that his gesture is ‘a drop in the ocean’ but hopes that afterwards, ‘the ocean will never be the same again’

ROME, Italy (UPDATED) – Declaring “we are all migrants,” Pope Francis visited the Greek island of Lesbos on Saturday, April 16, with a message of hope for those seeking asylum in Europe, 12 of whom he took home with him to the Vatican.

Continue reading Pope brings 12 Syrian refugees to Rome after visit to migrant hotspot →

Foreign

Pope slams ‘blind violence’ in Brussels, prays for victims

POPE FRANCIS ON BRUSSELS. Pope Francis is silhouetted during a private audience of Pope Francis and Luxembourg’s Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa at the Vatican, March 21, 2016. Photo by Gabriel Bouys/EPA
Francis expresses his ‘deepest sympathy to the injured and their families, and all those who contribute to relief’

VATICAN CITY (Mar. 23, 2016) — Pope Francis on Tuesday, March 22, slammed the ‘blind violence’ of a series of coordinated explosions in Brussels that killed at least 26 people, offering his prayers for the victims.

Continue reading Pope slams ‘blind violence’ in Brussels, prays for victims →

Foreign

World condemns Brussels bombings as strike on European democracy

CRISIS MEETING. French president Francois Hollande (C) speaks with Prime Minister Manuel Valls (R) and minister of defence Jean-Yves Le Drian (L) after they held a crisis defense meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, March 22, 2016. Photo by Ian Langsdon/EPA
World leaders unite in condemning the carnage in Brussels and vowed to combat terrorism

BRUSSELS, Belgium (Mar. 23, 2016) — World leaders united Tuesday, March 22, in condemning the carnage in Brussels and vowed to combat terrorism, after Islamic State (ISIS) bombers killed around 35 people in a strike at the symbolic heart of the EU.

Continue reading World condemns Brussels bombings as strike on European democracy →

Foreign

Pope urges Europe to share migrant burden fairly

Migrants wait in the refugee camp at the buffer zone of the Greek-Macedonia border, near the border village of Idomeni, northern Greece, February 26, 2016. Nikos Arvanitidis/EPA
Pope Francis: ‘My prayer, and also certainly yours, does not forget the crisis of the refugees fleeing wars and other inhuman situations’

VATICAN CITY (Feb. 29, 2016) — Pope Francis on Sunday, February 28, urged European countries struggling with the migrant crisis to “share the burden fairly”, amid growing divisions on how to handle the flow of people fleeing poverty and war.

Continue reading Pope urges Europe to share migrant burden fairly →

Foreign

Pope Francis on Zika, Contraception a lesser evil

BABY AFFECTED. Leticia de Araujo holds her daughter, one-month-old Manuelly Araujo da Cruz, who was born with microcephaly after being exposed to the Zika virus during her mother’s pregnancy, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, February 11, 2016. File photo by Antonio Lacerda/EPA
The pontiff says abortion is a crime, but adds that ‘avoiding a pregnancy is not an absolute evil’

VATICAN CITY, Holy See (Feb. 19, 2016) — Pope Francis insisted Thursday, February 18, that abortion was always a crime but hinted that the Church could exceptionally relax its ban on contraception for women at risk of contracting the Zika virus.

Continue reading Pope Francis on Zika, Contraception a lesser evil →

Foreign

Forced migration a global ‘human tragedy,’ says Pope

TRANS-BOUNDARY GREETING. Pope Francis waves next to the US border before celebrating mass at the Ciudad Juarez fairgrounds in Chihuahua state, Mexico on February 17, 2016. Yuri Cortez/AFP
Pope Francis decries the human tragedy of migrants fleeing violence as he celebrated a huge mass on Mexico’s border with the United States

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (Feb. 18, 2016) — Pope Francis on Wednesday, February 17, decried the “human tragedy” of migrants fleeing violence worldwide during a huge mass on Mexico’s border Continue reading Forced migration a global ‘human tragedy,’ says Pope →

Foreign

Pope welcomes 5,000 migrants in Rome prayers

pope francis
MASS. In this file photo, Pope Francis holds aloft the Eucharist before giving Holy Communion during a mass held to celebrate the newly created cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, 15 February 2015. EPA/MASSIMO PERCOSSI
Pope Francis urges the migrants to treasure their ‘culture and previous values’

VATICAN CITY (Jan. 17, 2016) — Pope Francis on Sunday, January 17, welcomed 5,000 migrant worshipers at a special mass at St Peter’s to mark the world day of migrants and refugees, urging them to treasure their “culture and precious values”.

Continue reading Pope welcomes 5,000 migrants in Rome prayers →

Climate Change, Foreign

The ethics of climate change

A coal-fired power plant in Colstrip, Mont. (James Woodcock/Billings Gazette via Associated Press)

January 10, 2016 — With a ratcheting up of awareness culminating in the Paris climate change conference, 2015 may have been the year that the threat of climate change was finally taken seriously. Continue reading The ethics of climate change →