Vatican closes embassy in Nicaragua after Ortega’s crackdown
March 18, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican said Saturday it had closed its embassy in Nicaragua after the country's government proposed suspending diplomatic relations, the latest episode in a yearslong crackdown on the Catholic Church by the administration of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.
2nd Vatican official says pope OK’d ransom payments for nun
March 17, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — A second high-ranking Holy See official told a Vatican court on Friday that Pope Francis had authorized spending hundreds of thousands of euros in ransom payments to try to free a nun who was kidnapped by al-Qaida-linked militants in Mali.
Vatican unveils new ethnographic display of Rwanda screens
March 16, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican Museums officially reopened its African and American ethnographic collections Thursday by showcasing intricately restored Rwandan raffia screens that were sent by Catholic missionaries to the Vatican for a 1925 exhibit.
Pope sought to lose ‘as little as possible’ in London deal
March 16, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis gave clear indications to get out of a disastrous London real estate deal by saying the Vatican must “start over and lose as little money as possible," an exit strategy that eventually involved paying off a broker 15 million euros, the Holy See’s No.
Pope bolsters women at Vatican but resistance remains
March 8, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has significantly increased the Vatican's female workforce, including in high-ranking positions, but women face continued resistance from the all-male Catholic hierarchy to access leadership positions in the church, according to Vatican statistics and independent surveys released Wednesday.
Vatican ‘donating’ its own 3 Parthenon sculptures to Greece
March 7, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — The Vatican and Greece finalized a deal Tuesday for the return of three sculpture fragments from the Parthenon that have been in the collection of the Vatican Museums for two centuries, the latest case of a Western museum bowing to demands for restitution.
Pope renews cabinet of cardinal advisers, adds new members
March 7, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis has renewed his cabinet of cardinal advisers from around the world, naming a handful of new members Tuesday and reconfirming others to help him run the Catholic Church.
Francis instituted the Council of Cardinals one month into his papacy, on April 13, 2013, with a primary goal of advising him on the reform of the Vatican bureaucracy.
Pope doubles down on need for financial trials in Vatican
February 25, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis said Saturday that financial misconduct by Vatican personnel harms the church’s mission and scandalizes the faithful, doubling down on the need for trials in the tiny city state to find justice.
Pope nationalizes Vatican assets, property in new reform
February 23, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis has essentially nationalized all assets and property owned by Vatican departments and affiliated institutions, declaring them to be sovereign patrimony owned by the Holy See and not any individual or office.
Journalist deflates accusation at Vatican financial trial
February 22, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — An Italian journalist on Wednesday deflated an accusation in the Vatican’s sprawling financial trial, as he disputed prosecutors’ claims about the source of a document concerning the Vatican’s 350 million euro investment in a London property.
Pope intervenes again to restrict celebration of Latin Mass
February 21, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis has intervened for the third time to crack down on the celebration of the old Latin Mass, a sign of continued friction with Catholic traditionalists.
French religious orders demand change over L’Arche abuses
February 9, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — The umbrella group of Catholic religious orders in France is demanding church authorities assume responsibility for horrific evidence of sexual, spiritual and psychological abuse in L’Arche, once a preeminent lay community dedicated to people with developmental disabilities.
Vatican touts new memoir by Benedict XVI’s 2nd secretary
February 9, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Retired Pope Benedict XVI’s second secretary came out with a new memoir Thursday, a light, photo-filled daily journal that sharply contrasts with the bombshell tell-all book published last month by the late German pope’s main assistant.
5 priests sentenced to 10 years for conspiracy in Nicaragua
February 7, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — A Nicaraguan court has sentenced four Roman Catholic priests to 10 years in prison on conspiracy charges stemming from long-standing government allegations that the church backed illegal pro-democracy protests.
Mourners call Australian Cardinal Pell victim of injustice
February 2, 2023 GMTSYDNEY (AP) — Mourners at the Sydney funeral for Australian Cardinal George Pell, who was once the most senior Catholic convicted of sex abuse, remembered him Thursday as a victim of a campaign to punish him regardless of his guilt.
Pope taps Chicago native in Peru to lead bishops’ office
January 30, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) —
Pope Francis on Monday named an American-born missionary in Peru, Bishop Robert Francis Prevost, to take over the Vatican’s powerful bishops’ office from the retiring Canadian who has recently been accused of sexual misconduct.
The AP Interview takeaways: Pope decries expanding gun use
January 25, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis lamented that the use of guns by civilians to defend themselves is becoming a “habit.”
The AP Interview: Pope says homosexuality not a crime
January 25, 2023 GMTPope discusses his health, his critics and future of papacy
January 25, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis says he hasn’t considered issuing norms to regulate future papal resignations and plans to continue for as long as he can as bishop of Rome, despite a wave of criticism from some top-ranking conservative cardinals and bishops about his papal priorities.
Pope warns German church reform process elitist, ideological
January 25, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has warned there’s a risk that a reform process in the German Catholic Church over calls for married priests and other possible liberalizing reforms might become harmfully “ideological.”
Pope opens up on sex abuse cases, says church must do more
January 25, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has shed light on the Catholic Church’s handling of sex abuse allegations against East Timor’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning independence hero, suggesting that he indeed was allowed to retire early rather than face prosecution or punishment.
Taiwan’s president says war with China ‘not an option’
January 24, 2023 GMTTAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen told Pope Francis in a letter that war with China is “not an option” and said constructive interaction with Beijing, which claims the island as part of its territory, depends on respecting self-ruled Taiwan's democracy.
French priest restricted, not defrocked, after abuse claims
January 18, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — The Vatican has ordered a prominent French priest who advised the Holy See for years on matters of sex and homosexuality to cease his psychotherapy practice following allegations he sexually abused men in his therapeutic care.
Pope invites all Christians to event in St. Peter’s Square
January 15, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday invited Christians of all dominations to gather in prayer in St. Peter’s Square in September to help further the cause of Christian unity.
Speaking during his weekly window appearance to people gathered in the Vatican City square, Francis announced that an ecumenical prayer would take place Sept.
Vatican holds funeral for cardinal who decried Francis’ rule
January 14, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — The Australian cardinal who decried the papacy of Pope Francis as a “catastrophe” was given a funeral Saturday and hailed by some fellow churchmen at St.
Pope’s role in Vatican financial probe again center stage
January 13, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis’ own role in the investigation into financial wrongdoing at the Holy See took center stage Friday in the Vatican tribunal, with witnesses saying he encouraged a key suspect to cooperate with prosecutors and a key defendant accusing him of interfering in the trial.
‘Catastrophe’: Cardinal Pell’s secret memo blasts Francis
January 12, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis will deliver a final send-off for Cardinal George Pell during a funeral Mass on Saturday, the Vatican said, as revelations emerge of the Australian prelate’s growing concern about what he considered the “disaster” and “catastrophe” of the papacy under Francis.
Cardinal Pell, whose convictions were overturned, dies at 81
January 11, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Cardinal George Pell, a onetime financial adviser to Pope Francis who spent 404 days in solitary confinement in his native Australia on child sex abuse charges before his convictions were overturned, died Tuesday in Rome.
Italy’s Meloni makes first state visit to meet with Francis
January 10, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who came to power on a campaign motto of “God, Family, Fatherland” made her first official visit to see Pope Francis on Tuesday, fulfilling what she said was a hoped-for opportunity to better understand the Argentine pontiff.
Today in History: JAN 10, Florida secedes from the Union
January 10, 2023 GMTToday in History
Today is Tuesday, Jan. 10, the 10th day of 2023. There are 355 days left in the year.
Pope denounces Iran death penalty following protests
January 9, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Monday broke his silence on the nationwide protests convulsing Iran, denouncing the recourse to the death penalty there and seemingly legitimizing the rallies as demonstrations “demanding greater respect for the dignity of women.”
Vatican reopens investigation into teen’s 1983 disappearance
January 9, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — The Vatican said Monday it has reopened the investigation into the 1983 disappearance of the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican employee, months after a new Netflix documentary purported to shed new light on the case and weeks after her family asked the Italian Parliament to take up the cause.
Pope meets with Benedict’s aide amid revelations in new book
January 9, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis met on Monday with Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, the longtime secretary of Pope Benedict XVI who was a key figure in his recent funeral but who has raised eyebrows with an extraordinary memoir in which he settles old scores, reveals palace intrigues and casts Francis in a deeply unfavorable light.
Public now can see Benedict’s tomb at St. Peter’s Basilica
January 8, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — The public can now visit the tomb of Pope Benedict XVI in the grottoes under St. Peter’s Basilica.
The pontiff was buried on Jan. 5 immediately following a funeral in St. Peter’s Square.
AP-Week in Pictures: Global / Dec. 31, 2022 to Jan. 6. 2023
January 6, 2023 GMTDec. 31, 2022 to Jan. 6. 2023
From New Year’s Eve celebrations in New York's Times Square, to Palestinians inspecting the site of a house demolished by the Israeli army in the West Bank village of Kafr Dan, to the body of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI lying out in state inside St.
Faithful mourn Benedict XVI at funeral presided over by pope
January 5, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis joined tens of thousands of faithful in bidding farewell to Benedict XVI at a rare requiem Mass Thursday for a dead pope presided over by a living one, ending an unprecedented decade for the Catholic Church that was triggered by the German theologian’s decision to retire.
Live Updates | The funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
January 5, 2023 GMTThe latest on the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI:
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI’s coffin has been put in its resting place in the grottoes beneath St. Peter’s Basilica.
The wooden lid on the outermost coffin is decorated with a simple metal cross, the emblem of his nearly eight-year-long papacy and an inscription in Latin noting that he had lived 95 years, eight months and 15 days when he died on Dec.
Hong Kong cardinal, Taiwan at papal funeral, but not China
January 5, 2023 GMTBEIJING (AP) — The attendance of both the former bishop of Hong Kong and an adviser to Taiwan's leader at this week's funeral for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI highlights the Vatican's uneasy relationship with communist-ruled China.
EXPLAINER: Benedict’s funeral to be simple, but with pomp
January 5, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI held one of the world's highest-profile positions but in his final years expressed a desire to be “hidden to the world.” While his body had been on display this week for three days, his funeral Thursday will at least in part respect his wishes for simplicity but also feature some of the pomp reserved for a leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
At Benedict’s summer home, a town mourns its beloved visitor
January 4, 2023 GMTCASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (AP) — The shopkeeper named her daughter after him. The parish priest wears his old vestments. The former mayor dedicated a plaque to him on City Hall, and residents up and down this picturesque hilltop town reminisce about hearing him play the piano behind the palace walls on cool summer evenings.
German cardinal guards Benedict’s intellectual legacy
January 4, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — If ever there was an heir to the intellectual legacy of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, it's Cardinal Gerhard Mueller.
Benedict gave his fellow German theologian his old job — prefect of the Vatican’s doctrine office.
Some 200,000 turn out over 3 days to view Benedict’s body
January 4, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis praised Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s “acute and gentle thought” during a Wednesday general audience in the Vatican, as tens of thousands of admirers of the retired pontiff filed by his body lying in state in Peter’s Basilica on the final day of viewing.
Hong Kong allows Cardinal Zen to attend Benedict’s funeral
January 4, 2023 GMTHONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s outspoken Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen was allowed to leave the southern Chinese city to pay his respects to the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in Vatican City, his secretary said Tuesday.
An account of Benedict’s papacy to be sealed in his coffin
January 3, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — A written account of the history-making papacy of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will be placed alongside his body in his coffin for burial, the Vatican said Tuesday in revealing plans for the first funeral of a pontiff to resign in six centuries.
Recalling Benedict’s grace but also the storms of his papacy
January 3, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Flying back to Rome from Beirut in September 2012, I was escorted down the aisle to the first-class section of the papal plane and seated beside Pope Benedict XVI.
65,000 view Benedict XVI’s body lying in state at Vatican
January 3, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI 's body, his head resting on a pair of crimson pillows, lay in state in St. Peter's Basilica on Monday as tens of thousands queued to pay tribute to the pontiff who shocked the world by retiring a decade ago.
Benedict aide’s tell-all book will expose ‘dark maneuvers’
January 2, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s longtime personal secretary has written a tell-all book that his publisher on Monday promised would tell the truth about the “blatant calumnies,” “dark maneuvers,” mysteries and scandals that sullied the reputation of a pontiff best known for his historic resignation.
‘Lord, I love you’: Aide recounts Benedict’s last words
January 1, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s last words were “Lord, I love you,” his longtime secretary said Sunday, quoting a nurse who helped care for the 95-year-old former pontiff in his final hours.
Benedict death paves way for protocols to guide future popes
January 1, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — There was no tolling of the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica, no solemn announcement by a Vatican monsignor to the faithful in the square. A fisherman’s ring did not get smashed and the diplomatic corps were not mobilized to send official delegations to Rome.
While blamed, Benedict fought sex abuse more than past popes
January 1, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is rightly credited with having been one of the 20th century’s most prolific Catholic theologians, a teacher-pope who preached the faith via volumes of books, sermons and speeches.
Benedict leaves German homeland with complicated legacy
January 1, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI leaves his homeland with a complicated legacy: pride in a German pontiff but a church deeply divided over the need for reforms in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal in which his own actions of decades ago were faulted.
Benedict’s 2013 resignation shook a routine Vatican ceremony
January 1, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Veteran reporter Giovanna Chirri was starting to doze off in the Vatican press room on a slow holiday when all of a sudden the Latin she learned in high school made her perk up — and gave her the scoop of a lifetime.
Highlights from the life of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
December 31, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the first pope in 600 years to resign, has died. Here are highlights from his life.
April 16, 1927: Born Joseph Alois Ratzinger in Marktl am Inn, Germany, youngest of three children to Joseph and Maria Ratzinger.
Benedict’s lasting mark on papacy will be his resignation
December 31, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had a long and illustrious career as one of the Roman Catholic Church’s pre-eminent theologians. For all his accomplishments and accolades, however, Benedict will forever be known as the first pope in 600 years to resign.
Live Updates | Reactions to Pope Benedict XVI’s death
December 31, 2022 GMTThe latest on the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI:
OTTAWA — The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has remembered Pope Benedict XVI for his work in dealing with abuse by members of the clergy and for reaching out to Indigenous people affected by residential schools.
Pope Francis grateful for ‘noble’ Benedict and his prayers
December 31, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Hours after the death Saturday of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Pope Francis praised his “noble” predecessor and expressed gratitude for his life of faith and prayers, especially those offered in the nearly 10 years since the shy churchman dramatically became the first pontiff in centuries to retire from the papacy.
Benedict XVI, first pope to resign in 600 years, dies at 95
December 31, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the shy German theologian who tried to reawaken Christianity in a secularized Europe but will forever be remembered as the first pontiff in 600 years to resign from the job, died Saturday.
Benedict XVI, reluctant pope who chose to retire, dies at 95
December 31, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — He was the reluctant pope, a shy bookworm who preferred solitary walks in the Alps and Mozart piano concertos to the public glare and majesty of Vatican pageantry. When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI and was thrust into the footsteps of his beloved and charismatic predecessor, he said he felt a guillotine had come down on him.
In US, sharply contrasting views on Benedict XVI’s legacy
December 31, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — In the United States, admirers of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI remembered him warmly for his theological prowess and devotion to traditional doctrine. However, some U.S. Catholics, on learning of his death Saturday, recalled him as an obstacle to progress in combating clergy sex abuse and expanding the role of women in the church.
Benedict XVI, first pope to retire in 600 years, dies at 95
December 31, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the shy German theologian who tried to reawaken Christianity in a secularized Europe but will forever be remembered as the first pontiff in 600 years to resign from the job, died Saturday.
Benedict’s resignation sparked calls for retirement protocol
December 31, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — If ever there was a moment that embodied the surreal novelty created by the first papal resignation in 600 years, it came on the morning of March 23, 2013: Newly elected Pope Francis had traveled to the papal summer retreat south of Rome and was greeted on the helipad by the previous pope, Benedict XVI, who had moved there three weeks earlier.
Vatican: Benedict in stable condition, participated in Mass
December 30, 2022 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was in stable condition Friday after suffering a decline in his health and participated in a private Mass in his room, the Vatican said, as the faithful in Rome honored “this last stretch of his pilgrimage.”
Vatican: Benedict XVI lucid, stable, but condition ‘serious’
December 29, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is lucid, alert and stable but his condition remains serious, the Vatican said Thursday, a day after it revealed that the 95-year-old's health had deteriorated recently.
Prayers for ailing Benedict in retired pope’s native Bavaria
December 29, 2022 GMTMARKTL AM INN, Germany (AP) — People in Pope Benedict XVI’s Bavarian homeland prayed Thursday for the retired pontiff, a favorite son of the region even 40 years after he left Germany for the Vatican and nearly a decade after his resignation stunned the world.
Vatican says health of retired pope Benedict XVI ‘worsening’
December 28, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI 's health has worsened over the past hours due to advanced age and doctors are constantly monitoring his condition, the Vatican said Wednesday, as Pope Francis appealed to the faithful to pray for his “very ill” predecessor “until the end.”
Retired pope’s ailing health raises questions of what’s next
December 28, 2022 GMTROME (AP) — The Vatican has detailed rituals and procedures to follow when a pope dies, but it has not published such rules for a pope emeritus. As a result, official word Wednesday that the health of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had worsened prompted questions about what happens if and when he dies.
Pope on Christmas: Jesus was poor, so don’t be power-hungry
December 24, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Recalling Jesus’ birth in a stable, Pope Francis rebuked those “ravenous” for wealth and power at the expense of the vulnerable, including children, in a Christmas Eve homily decrying war, poverty and greedy consumerism.
Pope’s vicar for Rome seeks full truth about Jesuit abuse
December 23, 2022 GMTROME (AP) — The pope’s vicar for Rome called Friday for the full truth to come out about a famous Jesuit priest accused of sexual and spiritual abuses against adult women, and said he was evaluating what to do with the priest’s Rome-based community and diocesan positions.
‘Despicable’: Slovene bishops condemn Jesuit artist’s abuse
December 22, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Slovenia’s Catholic bishops on Thursday condemned as “despicable” the emotional, sexual, and spiritual violence committed against women by a famous Slovenian priest at the heart of an abuse and cover-up scandal roiling the Vatican and the Jesuit order of Pope Francis.
Pope warns Vatican staff an ‘elegant demon’ lurks among them
December 22, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis warned Vatican bureaucrats on Thursday to beware the devil that lurks among them, saying it is an “elegant demon” that works in people who have a rigid, holier-than-thou way of living the Catholic faith.
Italy: Parliamentary inquest eyed for missing ‘Vatican Girl’
December 20, 2022 GMTROME (AP) — Opposition lawmakers in Italy are seeking a parliamentary commission of inquiry into three cold cases that have consumed the Italian public's imagination for decades, including the 1983 disappearance of a 15-year-old that was highlighted in the Netflix documentary, “Vatican Girl.”
Vatican investigator says claims of Jesuit abuse true
December 19, 2022 GMTROME (AP) — A Vatican-appointed investigator who helped bring to light decades-old allegations of sexual and spiritual abuse against a famous Jesuit priest is calling for the hierarchs who hid his crimes to “humbly ask the world to forgive the scandal.”
Anti-abortion priest Pavone defrocked for blasphemous posts
December 18, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican has defrocked an anti-abortion U.S. priest, Frank Pavone, for what it said were “blasphemous communications on social media” as well as “persistent disobedience” of his bishop who repeatedly told him to stop his partisan activism for Donald Trump.
Jesuits ask victims to come forward in artist abuse case
December 18, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis' Jesuit order on Sunday asked any more victims to come forward with complaints against a famous Jesuit artist who was essentially let off the hook by the Vatican twice despite devastating testimony by women who said he sexually and spiritually abused them.
Pope wrote resignation note in case of health impediment
December 18, 2022 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis has revealed in an interview published Sunday that shortly after being elected pontiff in 2013 he wrote a resignation letter in case medical problems impede him from carrying out his duties.
Pope returns Greece’s Parthenon Sculptures in ecumenical nod
December 16, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis will send back to Greece the three fragments of the Parthenon Sculptures that the Vatican Museums have held for two centuries, in the latest case of a Western museum bowing to demands for restitution of artifacts to their countries of origin.
Jesuits admit artist excommunicated before new abuse claims
December 14, 2022 GMTROME (AP) — The head of Pope Francis’ Jesuit religious order admitted Wednesday that a famous Jesuit priest had been convicted of one of the most serious crimes in the Catholic Church some two years before the Vatican decided to shelve another case against him for allegedly abusing other adult women under his spiritual care.
Pope urges ‘humble’ Christmas, with savings sent to Ukraine
December 14, 2022 GMTROME (AP) —
Pope Francis called Wednesday for a “humble” Christmas this year, with savings from reduced spending on gifts donated to help the “suffering people of Ukraine.”
Francis called for “concrete gestures” of charity for Ukrainians this holiday season during his weekly general audience.