Tag: pope

Pope Francis on Wednesday (May 8) told leaders of women’s orders from around the world to be “fertile” spiritual mothers in the Catholic Church, not “spinsters.”

The Argentine pontiff addressed some 800 leaders of female religious orders who are in Rome for the meeting of the International Union of Superiors General.

I am not a Catholic. Truth be told, I know very little about the process for picking the next pope. As a Protestant pastor I probably know more than most about Catholicism, but when it comes to all things papal I confess ignorance, (confession is good for Protestants too).

The next pope will undoubtedly have to wade through a good deal of advice from official advisors as well as commentators across the global Roman Catholic community. He will be chosen on part as well because of his own ideas and his style. As a lay person from a local parish I offer him my own three suggestions and hope that somehow they get to him, not because I am special, but because I am ordinary — the regular lay person in the pew on Sunday mornings.

“Twitter is a secular reality … but we prefer to be present rather than stay away from something just to avoid a risk,” said Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, head of the Vatican’s department for social communications, during the launch of the annual papal message for World Communications Day.

Pope Benedict XVI opened his Twitter handle @Pontifex on Dec. 3. It has since gathered more than 2.5 million followers in nine languages, including Latin.