Right before Mass began, two Indigenous women unfurled a banner at the altar of the National Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré that read: “Rescind the Doctrine” in bright red and black letters.
In this issue of A Public Witness, we look at what led to a historic apology by Pope Francis before reflecting on what it means to offer a corporate apology and what steps must come afterward.
With attention focusing on the former school in the prairie town of Maskwacis as Pope Francis visits Monday to apologize for abuses in a system designed to sever Native children from their tribal, family, and religious bonds, Indigenous Canadians are voicing a range of skepticism,
In defiance of some U.S. bishops, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi reportedly received communion during a mass presided over by Pope Francis on Wednesday for the celebration of the feast of St. Peter and Paul. The Catholic congresswoman is banned from receiving the sacrament
Pope Francis has taken another step to reign in new religious groups in the Catholic Church after their unregulated proliferation in recent decades led to abuses in governance that allowed spiritual and sexual misconduct to go unchecked.
Pope Francis on Friday made a historic apology to Indigenous peoples for the “deplorable” abuses they suffered in Canada’s Catholic-run residential schools and said he hoped to visit Canada in late July to deliver the apology in person to survivors of the church's misguided missionary
Pope Francis denounced fake news about COVID-19 and vaccines Friday, blasting the “distortion of reality based on fear” but also urging that people who believe such lies are helped to understand true scientific facts.
In a recent speech the pope revived his criticism of rich countries that force their values on poorer nations, erasing their local cultures and traditions. Francis’s thinking, experts say, can be traced back to his days in Argentina, where, as Jorge Bergoglio, he led the
President Joe Biden said Pope Francis told him he should continue to receive Communion, as the world’s two most prominent Roman Catholics ran overtime in highly personal discussions on climate change, poverty, and the coronavirus pandemic.
Pope Francis and dozens of religious leaders on Monday (Oct. 4) signed a joint appeal to governments to commit to ambitious targets at the upcoming U.N. climate conference, while promising to do their own part to lead their faithful into more sustainable behavior.