Pope Francis - The African Mirror

Jul

10

2023

Will the next Pope come from Africa or Asia?

POPE Francis announced that he would elevate 21 churchmen to the high rank of cardinal, again putting his mark on the group that will one day choose his successor after his death or resignation. The ceremony to install them, known as a consistory, will be held on September 30, the 86-year-old Francis announced during his noon prayer to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square. It will be the ninth consistory called by the pope since his election 10 years ago as the first pontiff from Latin America. The new cardinals come from countries including the United States, Italy, Argentina,…

Jun

20

2023

By PHILIP PULLELLA

Kerry meets Pope Francis privately, says he’s in great form and spirits

WORLD

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry met Pope Francis, the first official to have a private audience with him since his discharge from hospital, and told Reuters that he found the pontiff "in great spirits and in great form". Francis, 86, left Rome's Gemelli hospital on Friday, nine days after surgery to repair an abdominal hernia. "He was in great spirits and great form ... I was really amazed. He embraced a lot of our conversation. It was a nice meeting," said Kerry, who was the first person on the pope's public schedule. "I found the pope to be very much the pope…

Jun

17

2023

By PHILIP PULLELLA

Pope Francis orders ex-aide of Pope Benedict to leave Vatican

WORLD

POPE Francis has ordered Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, the private secretary and long-time aide of the late Pope Benedict, to return to his native Germany by the end of the month without any new assignment, the Vatican said. A Vatican statement put an end to speculation about what role Gaenswein, a powerful figure in the Vatican for more than a decade before Francis sidelined him after a personal falling out, would have in the Church. Former Pope Benedict died on December 31, nearly a decade after he resigned in 2013, the first pontiff to do so in 600 years. Gaenswein is…

May

11

2023

By PHILIP PULLELLA

Rare day at Vatican as two popes share stage

RELIGION

IT was a rare day at the Vatican as two popes shared the limelight in St Peter's Square - Pope Francis and His Holiness Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Tawadros, dressed in black robes, was the guest of honour at Francis' general audience in a rainy St. Peter's Square. The two sat near each other and delivered a joint blessing at the end. Tawadros, 70, is at the Vatican to mark the 50th anniversary of the first meeting between a Roman pope and a Coptic pope which took place between their respective predecessors, Shenouda III and Paul…

Apr

29

2023

By PHILIP PULLELLA, KRISZTINA THAN and BOLDIZSAR GYORI

Pope, in Hungary, warns of rising nationalism in Europe, appeals for accepting migrants

WORLD

POPE Francis, starting a trip to Hungary, pointedly warned of the dangers of rising nationalism in Europe and told the Budapest government that accepting migrants along with the rest of the continent would be a true sign of Christianity. In a hard-hitting speech to government leaders including Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has had a series of run-ins with the European Union, Francis also urged a rejection of "self-referential forms of populism" and strictly nationalist interests. Francis called for a return to the "European soul" envisioned by those who laid the groundwork for modern Europe after World War Two, saying…

Apr

17

2023

By PHILIP PULLELLA

Pope Francis calls ‘insinuations’ against John Paul II unfounded

RELIGION

POPE Francis rejected as offensive and unfounded what he called insinuations by the brother of a Vatican schoolgirl who went missing 40 years ago about one of his predecessors as pontiff, Saint John Paul II. Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of a Vatican usher, failed to return home on June 22, 1983, following a music lesson in Rome. She was 15 at the time and lived with her family inside the Vatican. Her disappearance is one of Italy's most enduring mysteries. The case entered a new chapter on Tuesday when her brother Pietro met with Vatican chief prosecutor Alessandro Diddi, whom Francis has…

Apr

13

2023

By PHILIP PULLELLA

Pope wants light shed on 40-year-old mystery of missing Vatican girl

RELIGION

ONE of Italy's most enduring mysteries, the disappearance of a Vatican schoolgirl 40 years ago, entered a new chapter when her brother met with a Vatican investigator whom Pope Francis has given free rein to get to the bottom of the case. Over the past four decades tombs have been opened, bones have been exhumed from forgotten grave sites and conspiracy theories have abounded in attempts to determine just what became of Emanuela Orlandi. The daughter of a Vatican usher whose family lived in the Vatican, Orlandi, then 15, failed to return home on June 22, 1983, following a music…

Mar

31

2023

By The African Mirror

Pope Francis ‘gradually improving’ in hospital after infection

RELIGION

CRISPIAN BALMER and ALVISE ARMELLINI POPE Francis's health is improving after he was hospitalised with a respiratory infection and he has resumed working while treatment continues, the Vatican said on Thursday. The pope was taken to hospital on Wednesday after complaining of breathing difficulties, raising fresh concerns over the health of the 86-year-old pontiff, who is suffering from a number of ailments. "His Holiness Pope Francis rested well during the night. His clinical picture is gradually improving and he is continuing his planned treatment," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement. "This morning after breakfast, he read some newspapers and…

Mar

14

2023

By The African Mirror

Pope Francis: the first post-colonial papacy to deliver messages that resonate with Africans

RELIGION

WHEN he was presented to a cheering crowd at St Peter’s Square, Vatican City, on 13 March 2013, few people outside Latin America knew much about Jorge Bergoglio. But a decade later, based on my work as a scholar of Catholicism, I would argue that most Catholics know and love Pope Francis. They also see a deep connection between his message and priorities, and their dreams and hopes for a better church and a world that is reconciled. Author STAN CHU ILO, Research Professor, World Christianity and African Studies, DePaul University When Pope Francis was introduced in 2013, I was…

Mar

14

2023

By The African Mirror

Pope Francis: the first post-colonial papacy to deliver messages that resonate with Africans

RELIGION

WHEN he was presented to a cheering crowd at St Peter’s Square, Vatican City, on 13 March 2013, few people outside Latin America knew much about Jorge Bergoglio. But a decade later, based on my work as a scholar of Catholicism, I would argue that most Catholics know and love Pope Francis. They also see a deep connection between his message and priorities, and their dreams and hopes for a better church and a world that is reconciled. Author STAN CHU ILO, Research Professor, World Christianity and African Studies, DePaul University When Pope Francis was introduced in 2013, I was…