Christopher White

Pope Francis marked his 85th birthday on Dec. 17 by meeting with 10 refugees who arrived in Italy from Cyprus on Dec. 16.

German Cardinal Gerhard Müller is under fire for recent comments regarding the COVID-19 pandemic that have been labeled as antisemitic, with Jewish leaders calling on the Vatican to distance themselves from the remarks.

An official from the Vatican's Synod of Bishops' office has apologized for removing a link to a video by the Catholic LGBTQ outreach organization New Ways Ministries and reversed course by re-publishing the original video in question.

'Tis the season for truth telling, according to an Italian bishop who is doubling down on his controversial remarks that "Santa Claus doesn't exist."

For two years running, the Vatican has canceled Pope Francis' public ceremony to mark the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. And for two years in a row, Francis has still shown up.

Less than a week after accepting the resignation of Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit following reports of an "ambiguous" relationship with a woman, Pope Francis on Dec. 6 defended the recently ousted prelate, saying "we cannot condemn."

Pope Francis on Dec. 5 chided world leaders for their "cynical disregard" of the plight of migrants.

Pope Francis asked forgiveness for the historical "mistakes committed by many Catholics" against Orthodox Christians.

 As Pope Francis arrived in the birthplace of democracy, he immediately sounded the alarm that democracy is under threat across the globe.

Daniel Ejuba, a refugee from Cameroon, may be the only person from northern Nicosia who is excited for Pope Francis' visit to Cyprus. Most of its non-practicing Muslim-majority residents are blissfully unaware (or, apathetic and amused) that Francis is in town.

Pope Francis pleaded for an end to "walls of fear" and "vetoes dictated by nationalist interests" on Dec. 2, as he arrived in the splintered eastern Mediterranean capital city of Nicosia.

In an email interview with NCR, Cyprus' ambassador to the Holy See, George Poulides, described Pope Francis' "solidarity" with the island nation as "politically, diplomatically, religiously and morally important."

Pope Francis' Dec. 2-6 trip to Cyprus and Greece will serve as an opportunity to boost some of the signature themes of his papacy: migration, synodality and ecumenical outreach.

Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris has sent a letter to Pope Francis effectively offering to resign.

Pope Francis on Nov. 23 offered his prayers and condolences to the grief-stricken community of Waukesha, Wisconsin.

The new documentary "Amen-Amen-Amen" chronicles the first time a Torah scroll was created and gifted to a Muslim leader. For filmmaker Tom Gallagher, this gesture gives a lived expression to Pope Francis' call for religious pluralism.

In an interview and in leaked correspondence, Archbishop Arthur Roche of the Congregation for Divine Worship has doubled down in defending Pope Francis' liturgical reforms as necessary to strengthen the church's unity.

Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin called for a "total elimination of nuclear weapons."

Pope Francis, in a new letter, praised the work of Catholic priests, nuns and lay people who ministered to HIV and AIDS victims at a time when much of the church hierarchy was at odds with the LGBTQ community during the height of the AIDS epidemic. 

One year after the release of Pope Francis' encyclical Fratelli Tutti, two cardinals discussed the pope's call for greater human fraternity during a Nov. 8-9 conference. One lamented that "solidarity is a word that is not always well received."