Crux Now

Pope meets Congo's Kabila, but Vatican displeasure evident

Pope Francis received Joseph Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in a Vatican audience on Monday, and the atmospherics suggested Francis wasn't happy -- among other things, the pontiff didn't meet Kabila in the reception room as normal, but rather waited for him in the papal library.

Pope Francis came to America not to lecture, but to inspire
- Christopher White
- Commentary
Instead of using his visit to America last year to strictly lecture politicians and the public about the moral failures of a nation that has drifted far from upholding Catholic ideals about life and family, Pope Francis offered us something to aspire to.
Ad campaign says most Americans favor abortion restrictions
- Catholic News Service
- September 25, 2016
A new pro-life ad campaign running as a lead-in to tonight’s presidential debate, sponsored by the political arm of the Washington-based March for Life organization, asserts that polling shows “an overwhelming majority of Americans [are] in favor of substantial restrictions on abortion.”
Indian cardinal says Mother Teresa was 'Pope Francis before Francis'
- Nirmala Carvalho
- September 25, 2016
Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India, a member of Pope Francis’s “C9” council of cardinal advisers from around the world, said during a thanksgiving Mass for her sainthood on Sunday, “Her life is a testimony of truth and humble service. She chose not to be the last, but the servant of the last.”
Pope says God is shared by love, not by forcing truth on people
- Hannah Brockhaus
- September 25, 2016
During as jubilee celebration for catechists as part of his Holy Year of Mercy, Pope Francis on Sunday said that God is shared with the world through love and authentic human relationships, not by forcing the truth on people.
Orthodox, Catholic commission says authority shouldn't block unity
- Cindy Wooden
- September 25, 2016
A group of Orthodox and Catholic theologians meeting in Chieti, Italy, have largely agreed to a statement on how authority should be exercised in Christianity, although a Russian Orthodox official said Eastern Catholic churches remain a “stumbling block” to unity.
Third Mexican priest killed in a week found along highway
- Associated Press
- September 25, 2016
A priest from the western Mexican Gulf coast state of Veracruz reported kidnapped and missing last week has been founded slain by the side of a highway, prosecutors said on Sunday, becoming the third Catholic priest to be killed in Mexico in the last week.
Unlike Italy, pope backs anti-gay marriage push in Mexico
- Inés San Martín
- September 25, 2016
After having sat out an Italian debate in May over the legalization of civil unions for same-sex couples, Pope Francis broke his silence on Sunday by coming out in support of Mexico’s Catholic bishops in their efforts to derail a push for gay marriage.
On Communion debate, Pope Francis opts for decentralization
- John L. Allen Jr.
- September 25, 2016
Whether Pope Francis intended it or not, by saying that the implementation of his document “Amoris Laetitia” depended on the guidelines of local bishops, he has decentralized resolution of the debate over Communion for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

On Communion debate, Pope Francis opts for decentralization

September 25, 2016

Whether Pope Francis intended it or not, by saying that the implementation of his document “Amoris Laetitia” depended on the guidelines of local bishops, he has decentralized resolution of the debate over Communion for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

Unlike Italy, pope backs anti-gay marriage push in Mexico

September 25, 2016

After having sat out an Italian debate in May over the legalization of civil unions for same-sex couples, Pope Francis broke his silence on Sunday by coming out in support of Mexico’s Catholic bishops in their efforts to derail a push for gay marriage.