Vatican

The Basilica of St John Lateran is commonly considered “the mother of all churches”.

It was a palace belonging to the Emperor Constantine who gifted it to Pope St. Miltiades in 313.

Part of the palace became a church and it was dedicated to our Most Holy Saviour. The other part became the papal residence and continued as such for the next thousand years. Read more »

God's laws are meant to lead all people to Christ and his glory, and if they do not, then they are obsolete, Pope Francis said in a morning homily.

In fact, the scholars of the law in Jesus' day were so wrapped up in doctrine as an end in itself, they were unable to see that Jesus was leading people down a new and surprising path toward his glory, the pope said Oct. 13 during his morning Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where he lives. Read more »

The declaration of Malaysia, on Sept 16 1963, ushered in the start of the two most tumultuous years for Asia’s newest nation.

From late 1963, Indonesia ramped up its confrontation, viewing this “neocolonial” creation as an affront to the non-aligned movement; to the peoples of a region emerging from colonial rule and to Indonesian leadership of the region, particularly of the Indonesian diaspora (known here as “the Malay world”). Read more »

Pope Francis supports international intervention in Iraq and is willing to go to there personally if it will help end the violence against Christians and other religious minorities.

“In these cases where there is an unjust aggression, I can only say that it is licit to stop the unjust aggressor,” Pope Francis told reporters.

“I underscore the verb 'stop.' I don't say 'to bomb' or 'make war,' (but) 'stop it,'” he said in response to the question posed by CNA and EWTN News Rome bureau chief Alan Holdren. Read more »

Pope Francis has met with the young Sudanese who was imprisoned and sentenced to death for marrying a Christian.

The Holy Father met with Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, 27, at 1 p.m. in Casa Santa Marta at the Vatican, reported the Sismografo.

Ibrahim arrived in Rome this morning on an Italian government plane. Meriam was accompanied by her husband, Daniel Wani, and their two young children, Martin, 18 months old, and Maya, born in prison two months ago. Read more »

“We need more than words now, we need concrete actions; we need the solidarity of Christians worldwide not to be afraid to talk about this tragedy”, says Archbishop Amel Nona of Mosul speaking to Vatican Radio over the phone from Nineveh province, Northern Iraq.

As if in response to this plea, over the past 24 hours, a campaign has been mounting in the global twitter sphere to stand with Iraqi Christians under the hashtag #WeAreN: This refers to the Arabic letter ن, or "n", which Islamic State militants have left on some doorways in areas under their control to indicate that the inhabitants are "Nazarene" or Christian. Read more »

Pope Francis embarks on a much-anticipated tour of the Holy Land this weekend, visiting a host of biblical sites, political leaders and clergy from an array of faiths in three jam-packed days.

Like most things that take place in this part of the world, the trip has stirred controversy. Ahead of the pope's arrival, some Jewish extremists scrawled offensive graffiti on Christian churches and monasteries. Read more »

The two banners of the two soon-to-be saints now hang on the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica, and the final countdown toward the highly anticipated canonizations has begun.

With just one day to go before the canonizations of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II, the stream of pilgrims into Rome continues.

Civil security forces are in position, city roads have been closed to traffic and the subway system will run nonstop this weekend to accommodate the influx of pilgrims. Read more »

The feast of the Chair of St Peter does not commemorate the veneration of a piece of furniture but celebrates the office of pastor – the supreme pastor of the Church, the Pope in Rome.

Matthew’s Gospel describes the most complete account of Simon, son of John, receiving a mandate from Jesus to care for the community he founded.

With this command, Simon receives a new name as well - ‘Peter’ or ‘Rock’, implying that this office would be as enduring as rock, impervious to the assaults of evil. Read more »

Addressing the Vatican court primarily responsible for hearing requests for marriage annulments, Pope Francis said judges on church tribunals should show "imperturbable and impartial balance" as well as the "delicacy and humanity proper to a pastor of souls."

The pope made his remarks Jan. 24 to officials of the Roman Rota, at a meeting to inaugurate the tribunal's judicial year. Read more »