Pope Francis

Pope: Church should ask forgiveness from gay people for past treatment

He also said the Church should ask forgiveness for the way it had treated women, for turning a blind eye to child labour, and for "blessing so many weapons" in the past.

He made the comments while speaking to reporters aboard a plane taking him back to Rome from Armenia.

In the hour-long freewheeling conversation that has become a trademark of his international travels, Pope Francis was asked if he agreed with recent comments by a German Roman Catholic cardinal that the Church should apologise to gay people.

'Migrants not dangerous but in danger' Pope Francis tells children

The meeting followed a surge in migrant traffic between Libya and Italy, with more than 14,000 saved from overcrowded boats in one week.

The Italian Navy said after three consecutive days of shipwrecks, hundreds may have died.

The Pope met migrant minors as well as Italian youngsters who let off dozens of white balloons inside Vatican grounds.

Pope Francis to look at opening door to female deacons in Church

In apparently off-the-cuff remarks the 79-year-old pontiff promised to examine whether women could join the clergy at the rank of deacon, 

The pledge came in a question and answer session with members of female religious orders during a meeting at the Vatican.

In the exchanges, Pope Francis said he had discussed the use of female deacons in the early centuries of the Church with experts on the subject but was not clear as to their exact role and status.

Pope Francis shocks world with these views

He's got accounts on Twitter and Instagram, rocks out on Spotify and even promotes tolerance and kindness toward same-sex romantic relationships. In short, he's not like the other popes, he's a cool pope.

Pope meets Russian Orthodox leader

"We are brothers," Francis said as he embraced Kirill in the small, wood-paneled VIP room of Havana's airport, where the three-hour encounter took place.

"Now things are easier," Kirill agreed as he and the pope exchanged three kisses on the cheek. "This is the will of God," the pope said.

Francis was having the brief talks in Cuba before heading off on a five-day visit to Mexico, where the pontiff will bring a message of solidarity with the victims of drug violence, human trafficking and discrimination to some of that country's most violent and poverty-stricken regions.

Pope contrasts Jesus' birth, excess in Christmas Eve homily

Christians around the world joyfully prepared to recall the birth of Jesus. But in his only public Christmas Mass, in the splendor of St. Peter's Basilica, the pope counter-weighted his joy with a lament for people's excesses and what he described as a "culture of indifference, which not infrequently turns ruthless."

Francis said Jesus "calls us to act soberly, in other words, in a way that is simple, balanced, consistent, capable of seeing and doing what is essential."

Pacific Climate Warriors celebrate Pope’s leadership on climate change

“We have come from the Pacific Islands to celebrate the leadership of Pope Francis on climate change and to pray for the islands and the leaders that will decide our fate at COP21 in Paris,” said Koreti Tiumalu, 350.org’s Pacific coordinator.

“We brought mats from the islands made specifically for this journey which we used to pray on over the last three days in St. Peter’s Square. We wanted to offer these mats from the Pacific as a symbol of our gratitude for the Pope’s leadership and his encyclical—Laudato Si,” she added.

Gay former student of Pope Francis speaks out

The clerk gained attention for refusing to issue same-sex couples marriage licenses.

The pope's meeting with Washington resident Yayo Grassi, his boyfriend and a few others came to light Friday as the Vatican was distancing itself from claims the pope's meeting with the clerk, Kim Davis, was an endorsement of her stance on same-sex marriage.

Clerk jailed over gay marriage says pope encouraged her

"He held out his hand to her and she grasped his hand," her attorney, Mat Staver, told The Associated Press. "He asked her to pray for him and she said she would; she asked the pope to pray for her, and he said he would."

The Vatican essentially confirmed the meeting: The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, given the opportunity to deny it took place, declined to do so and said merely that he would have no comment.

Pope meets with family who drove 13,000 miles to see him

Francis spent time with fellow Argentinians Catire Walker and Noel Zemborain and their four children, talking about their visit and praying.

Zemborain told the Associated Press that Francis told her that they were crazy to drive so far with their children. She said it was like meeting an old friend and Francis hugged the children.