A society that fails to pay a just wage, to offer employment, or that only seeks personal profit, is unjust and goes against God, Pope Francis said today.

Addressing pilgrims during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square, the Holy Father said work is fundamental for dignity – it gives man “a special dignity, a personal dignity” and men and women who work “are dignified.”

But he noted many who want to work and cannot, and those who work but are exploited. “Not paying fairly, not giving a job because you are only looking at balance sheets, only looking at how to make a profit – that goes against God!,” he said.

“This is a burden on our conscience, because when society is...READ MORE

Israeli President Shimon Peres warned Pope Francis Tuesday that the Middle East is “disintegrating” and said the pontiff “has an important role” to play in bringing peace to the region and the world.

During their half-hour conversation, Peres said the Middle East is in “real existential danger” and cited the severe lack of employment, of food and water. He warned that if these problems are not resolved, “violence and terror will gain a central place, as dangerous weapons fall into the hands of extremists.”

In a statement, the Israeli government said the Pope suggested creating “a global meeting of hope” made up of heads of all the world's faiths who would speak out “against violence...READ MORE

A new book revealing Pope Francis’ thoughts as a cardinal on a variety of "hot button" issues appears in English language bookstores on Friday.

Published by Image Books, the book is called “On Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family and the Church in the 21st Century” and contains the text of a conversation between the Pope – then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio – and Argentine Rabbi Abraham Skorka.

Originally published in Spanish in 2010, this English translation is divided into 29 chapters according to topic, and includes frank discussions on same-sex marriage, globalization, euthanasia, fundamentalism, and many other topical subjects.

Image Books have released these two...READ MORE

For the third time in as many weeks, Pope Francis has warned not to speak ill of others, and again mentioned the devil in another striking homily this morning in the chapel of the Vatican's Santa Martha residence.

Calumny, he said, is worse than sin and is the direct expression of Satan. "We are all sinners; all of us. We all commit sins. But calumny is something else. It is of course a sin, too, but it is something more,” he said, according to a Vatican Radio report.

“Calumny aims to destroy the work of God, and calumny comes from a very evil thing: it is born of hatred. And hate is the work of Satan. Calumny destroys the work of God in people, in their souls. Calumny uses lies to...READ MORE

Pope Francis today appointed a group of cardinals to advise him on Church government and to study a plan for revising the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia, 'Pastor Bonus', the Vatican announced today.

Vatican City, 13 April 2013 (VIS) – Following is the full text of a communique issued today by the Secretariat of State.

“The Holy Father Francis, taking up a suggestion that emerged during the General Congregations preceding the Conclave, has established a group of cardinals to advise him in the government of the universal Church and to study a plan for revising the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia, 'Pastor Bonus'.

The group consists of:

Cardinal Giuseppe...READ MORE

The Vatican reiterated Wednesday that Benedict XVI does not have any specific illness apart from the problems associated with old age after a Spanish author claimed the Pope Emeritus must have a grave illness after suffering a “dramatic” deterioration in his health.

Paloma Gomez Borrero, a correspondent at the Vatican, said Benedict XVI’s health had “dramatically diminished over the past 15 days,“ adding that one can only conclude “he must have something very serious.”

“We won't have him with us for very much longer,” she said in a report in the Spanish newspaper ABC. “It is unlikely that the Pope Emeritus will appear again in public,” she said. Gomez made the comments on Tuesday, at...READ MORE

What are the cultural implications of medical advances that are allowing many of us to live longer?

To help analyze this question in detail, the Vatican is co-hosting a Rome conference on regenerative medicine, with an emphasis on advances in adult stem cell research.  The meeting, titled “Regenerative Medicine: A Fundamental Shift in Science & Culture”, will take place in the new Synod Hall of the Paul VI building in the Vatican from 11–13 April.

Msgr. Tomasz Trafny, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture’s Science and Faith Foundation, told a Vatican press conference yesterday that as well as analysing the consequences of “regenerative medicine in general and adult stem cells in...READ MORE

Former British Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher, who died today, was not a Catholic, and, according to those closest to her, never had any wish to cross the Tiber.

But she was well known for having friendly relations with Blessed John Paul II, whom she greatly admired. She laid flowers at his tomb on a visit to the Vatican in 2009 and was overheard remarking that if weren’t for the great Polish Pope, Soviet Communism wouldn’t have fallen.

Moreover, Baroness Thatcher's political principles were largely formed by her Christian faith, and in particular her Methodist upbringing.

In an interview with the Register a couple of years ago, John O’Sullivan, a close Catholic friend and former...READ MORE