Pope Francis – Acton Institute PowerBlog

May 29, 2019

Pope Francis on ‘fake charity’

At the recent Vatican meeting of Catholic Charities Pope Francis praised the participants for their concern for the poor and marginalized, but warned them of the danger of “fake charity.” Carol Glatz writes in Catholic Herald: Charity is not a sterile service or a simple donation to hand over to put our conscience at ease,” he said. Continue Reading...

May 16, 2019

Humanity 2.0: The human progress accelerator that ‘should’

Matthew Harvey Sanders, a former seminarian turned successful technology and communications entrepreneur, has sought to fuse deep theological and moral convictions with his natural talent and contagious pioneering spirit. His brain child: Humanity 2.0, a self-described “human progress accelerator” showcased last May 9 at a forum held inside Vatican walls. Continue Reading...

May 16, 2019

Yet another example of how the Vatican misunderstands America…and economics

After almost twenty years in Rome, I’ve learned not to insist too much on the Vatican reading the USA with any kind of accuracy, so I usually don’t feel the need to comment on every little misunderstanding coming from the Roman Curia. Continue Reading...

March 21, 2019

Tenderness: a spiritual ‘currency’?

On March 18, in a meeting with representatives from the Camillan Charismatic Family of healthcare operators, Pope Francis said that Christianity simply “does not work” without practicing tenderness. He said tenderness is a virtue so little exercised in our charitable “encounters” with the sick, poor and suffering that it “risks being dropped from the dictionary” of our everyday language. Continue Reading...

March 01, 2019

Pope Francis: Pray before giving

In a private audience Francis had yesterday with St. Peter’s Circle, a social action group serving Rome’s poor since 1869, the pope gave some excellent advice. He said that it is best for them to pray hard prior to administering charity to those in need. Continue Reading...

February 22, 2019

Nicaraguan Jesuit, ex-Sadinista gets last chance at exercising priestly ministry

In a recent move that garnered little public attention amidst the tense media coverage enveloping this week’s Vatican summit on clerical sexual abuse and the protection of minors, Pope Francis restored priestly faculties to a Nicaraguan Jesuit and poet, Ernesto Cardenal, a liberation theologian and former militant Marxist. Continue Reading...

February 09, 2019

Venezuelan Cardinal stands down Maduro’s Vatican mediation request

The Venezuelan bishop of Merida and current apostolic administrator of Caracas, Cardinal Baltazar Porras Cardozo, stood tall and firm while rejecting the validity of President Nicolas Maduro’s recent appeal for Vatican diplomacy. Continue Reading...

June 29, 2018

Is Pope Francis’ economic critique holding back the poor?

Earlier this month, Pope Francis addressed a roomful of top oil executives from companies such as BP and Norwegian Oil, imploring them to solve the energy deficit in developing nations, while issuing a challenge to keep that energy clean and renewable. Continue Reading...

June 29, 2018

Pope affirms freedom of press while Myanmar journalists remain jailed

Freedom of the press is a crucial component to a virtuous, flourishing society, as Pope Francis affirmed on June 20 when he called for greater liberty for the press. The pope’s comments come six months into the detention of two Reuters reporters by the Myanmar government. Continue Reading...

May 23, 2018

Audio: Sam Gregg on the Vatican’s new statement on economics

Acton Institute Director of Research Samuel Gregg made an appearance yesterday on the Happy Hour with Mike & Vince show on WLCR in Louisville, Kentucky to discuss the Vatican’s recently released statement on “ethical discernment regarding some aspects of the present economic-financial system.” You can listen to the full discussion via the audio player below. Continue Reading...

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