ROME (RNS) After Pope Francis' election on March 13, "Francesco" lept into first among most popular names in Rome and has grown more popular since then.
(RNS) The survey shows that two in three adult Catholics said they agreed with Pope Francis' observation that the church has become too focused on issues such as homosexuality, abortion and contraception.
Of all the novelties that Pope Francis has brought to the Vatican, few have endeared him to the public — and unsettled his aides — as much as his penchant for picking up the phone and calling someone out of the blue.
With his open and easygoing manner, Pope Francis charmed the media as much as the faithful during his successful visit to Brazil, the first international pilgrimage of his pontificate.
But it was the pope’s remarks about gay priests, made during a free-wheeling press conference on the return trip to Rome, that drew the most headlines, raising questions about whether the pontiff was signaling a change in the church’s approach to this volatile issue.
RIO DE JANEIRO (RNS) In one of the most inclusive gestures of his visit here, Pope Francis donned a headdress offered to him from an indigenous South American Indian at a ceremony in the city´s grand municipal theater.
The gesture was greeted with shouts of surprise initially.