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    Pope Names 21 New Cardinals, Reaching Far Beyond Europe

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    The appointments cement Francis’ imprint on the group that will choose his successor, and reflect his vision of a more truly global Roman Catholic Church.In announcing on Sunday that he would appoint 21 new cardinals, Pope Francis once again elevated clerics from far beyond Catholicism’s traditional centers of power, in line with his vision of a more global, less Eurocentric church. It also further cemented his imprint on the men who will one day choose his successor.Four of those he selected were from South American countries: Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru. Also on the list were archbishops and bishops from Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia Iran, and two from Africa: the archbishop of Algiers, Jean-Paul Vesco and Archbishop Ignace Bessi Dogbo of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Only one North American was selected, Archbishop Francis Leo of Toronto.Francis read the list of cardinals during his Sunday Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square.The new cardinals will be installed at a ceremony known as a consistory on Dec. 8, a feast day on the Catholic calendar.It will be the 10th such ceremony since Francis was elected in 2013. Before Sunday, he had already named 92 of the 122 cardinals under 80, the age cutoff for voting in the conclave to elect his successor. Of the others, 24 were named by Pope Benedict XVI and six by St. John Paul II.Francis, the first pope from South America, has diversified the College of Cardinals more than any of his predecessors, installing cardinals from more than 20 countries that had never been represented before. He has shifted membership away from Europe, acknowledging the growth of the Roman Catholic church in Africa, Asia and Latin America, even as church attendance has gradually declined in parts of Europe.The shift was perceptible in two almost back-to-back trips last month: a tour in the Asia-Pacific region where adoring crowds greeted Francis, in some cases after walking through jungle for days to see him, and a trip to Luxembourg and Belgium, where the reception was more fraught.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Justice Alito Reported $900 Concert Tickets From a German Princess

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      Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, a former 1980s party girl and art collector who is now known for her connections to far-right conservatives, told a German news organization the Alitos were “private friends.”On his most recent financial disclosure form, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. reported a single gift: $900 concert tickets from a German princess known for her links to conservative activists.The disclosure does not list the event’s details, including the concert’s name, location or how many tickets the princess provided. But in an interview with a German news organization, the gift provider, Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, described Justice Alito and his wife as “private friends” and said the tickets were for the Regensburg Castle Festival, an annual summer celebration she hosts at her 500-room Bavarian castle.The princess, known in earlier decades as a party-loving, art-collecting aristocrat and who was once christened Princess TNT for her explosive personality, has become known in recent years for her close relationships with several high-profile people who oppose the current pope, as well as with Stephen K. Bannon, the longtime ally of former President Donald J. Trump.The disclosure only heightened the scrutiny around ethics at the Supreme Court, which has been in the spotlight after revelations that some of its members, most notably Justice Clarence Thomas, accepted luxury gifts and travel from wealthy benefactors without disclosing the largess on their mandatory annual financial forms.“No matter the identity of the patron — whether it be a German princess, Queen Bey or the king of Dallas real estate — the justices should not be accepting expensive gifts,” Gabe Roth, who leads Fix the Court, an organization that has been critical of transparency on the court, said in response to Justice Alito’s disclosure. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. in 2023.Haiyun Jiang for The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Italians Respond to Pope’s Slur by Taking Francis to Pride

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      At Saturday’s celebration in Rome, Pope Francis’ image was on cardboard cutouts adorned with flower necklaces. People came dressed as the pope, wore papal hats and said that there was never too much “gayness.”At Rome’s Pride celebration, bare-chested men in pink angel wings danced to Abba songs, women wrapped in rainbow flags kissed, and shimmering drag queens waved from parade floats. And then there was Pope Francis.The pontiff’s image was everywhere. On cardboard cutouts adorned with flower necklaces, on glittery banners, on stickers. Romans came to the Pride parade on Saturday dressed like Francis, wearing papal hats and T-shirts that read, “There is never too much frociaggine,” a reference to an offensive slur against gay men that the pope has been accused of using twice in recent weeks.The slur “is the slogan of the 2024 Pride,” said Martina Lorina, 28, an actress who was holding up a banner bearing the word.After Italian media reported that Pope Francis used the slur at a meeting with priests to complain that there was too much “gayness” in the church, the Vatican apologized.But Rome’s Pride attendees took a different tack to respond to the insult: They made it their own. Pride participants symbolically invited the pope and his slur to the party, using a longtime tactic of the L.G.B.T.Q. community to turn insults into words of pride.“Let’s make him feel how beautiful this frociaggine is,” a participant shouted in the crowd as men dressed as unicorns sang a Britney Spears song and children held hands with their two mothers, their faces covered in glittery rainbows.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Pope Francis Is Accused of Using a Homophobic Slur Again

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      Two prominent Italian news agencies said the pontiff used the term on Tuesday during a meeting with priests, after he was accused of uttering the same word last month while speaking with Italian bishops.Pope Francis repeated an anti-gay slur during a meeting with priests in Rome on Tuesday, Italian news outlets reported, the same offensive term he was accused of using two weeks ago. The Vatican, in summarizing the gathering, said only that the pontiff had cautioned about admitting gay men into Roman Catholic seminaries.The Vatican did not address the reports by two of the most prominent news agencies in Italy, ANSA and Adnkronos, that he had again used the word “frociaggine,” an offensive Italian slang term referring to gay men. The reports cited anonymous sources they said had been present at the meeting.The New York Times could not independently verify the pope’s use of the term. A spokesperson for the Vatican declined to comment late on Tuesday night.The pope was accused of using the same term last month at a private meeting with Italian bishops, according to several people present at the meeting who spoke anonymously to the Italian news media.Those reports ignited widespread backlash and drew an apology from the pope, issued through the director of the Holy See’s press office, who said: “The pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who were offended by the use of a term, reported by others.”According to Vatican News, the Holy See’s online news site, Tuesday’s meeting took place at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome. There, it said in its summary, the pope “spoke about the danger of ideologies in the church” and reiterated that while the church should welcome people “with homosexual tendencies,” it should exercise “prudence” in admitting them into seminaries.The Vatican said the closed-door meeting also addressed “pastoral” and “current” themes, like substance abuse, low voter turnout in elections and the wars in the Middle East, Ukraine and elsewhere.Francis has been widely credited with making moves to welcome the L.G.B.T.Q. community in the Roman Catholic Church, delivering a mostly inclusive message and deciding to allow priests to bless same-sex couples.But the previous reports about the pope’s use of the homophobic slur upset and alienated some members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community, within and outside the church.After the reports in May, a gay priest wrote in America magazine, a Jesuit publication, that he was “shocked and saddened” by the remarks and that “we need more than an apology for Pope Francis’ homophobic slur.”The Italian politician Alessandro Zan, who is gay and a prominent champion for the L.G.B.T.Q. community, wrote on social media then: “There is not too much ‘frociaggine’. There are too many homophobes.” More

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      Pope Apologizes After Reports That He Used Offensive Word Referring to Gay Men

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      Francis’ remark, referring to gay men, came during what was supposed to be a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops last week.The Vatican said on Tuesday that Pope Francis “extends his apologies” after reports that he had used an offensive slang word referring to gay men at what was intended to be a private meeting with 250 Italian bishops last week.Francis had been taking questions from Italian bishops meeting for their annual assembly on a number of issues when the question of whether or not to admit openly gay men into seminaries, or priesthood colleges, came up.According to several people present at the meeting, who spoke anonymously to Italian media, Francis stated a firm no, saying that seminaries were already too full of “frociaggine,” an offensive slang term referring to gay men.“Pope Francis is aware of articles that recently came out about a conversation, behind closed doors,” said Matteo Bruni, the press office director for the Holy See, in response to questions from reporters. “The pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who were offended by the use of a term, reported by others.”Francis has been widely credited with urging the church to take a more welcoming approach to the L.G.B.T.Q. community, and he has delivered a mostly inclusive message.At the start of his papacy, he said, “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?” He also met often with gay-rights activists, and made a decision last year allowing priests to bless same-sex couples.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Pope Francis Clears Way for Carlo Acutis to Become First Millennial Saint

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      Pope Francis attributed a second miracle to Carlo Acutis, one of the last steps toward canonization.Pope Francis cleared the way for an Italian teenager to become the first millennial saint by attributing a second miracle to him, the Vatican announced Thursday.The teenager, Carlo Acutis, is often called the patron saint of the internet among Roman Catholics because of his computer skills, which he used to share his faith. He died of leukemia in 2006 when he was just 15.Carlo was born in London to Italian parents and moved with his family to Milan when he was a child. His passion for Catholicism bloomed early, his mother, Antonia Acutis, told The New York Times in an interview in 2020. At 7, he began attending daily mass. His faith inspired his mother to rejoin the church, she said.He was called to serve, finding ways to help those less fortunate and donating to the unhoused, she said. In the months before his death, Carlo used his self-taught digital skills to create a website archiving miracles. He also enjoyed playing soccer and video games.After he died, Ms. Acutis told The Times that people from all over the world had told her about medical miracles, including cures for infertility and cancer, that happened after they prayed to her son.“Carlo was the light answer to the dark side of the web,” his mother said, adding that some admirers had called him an “influencer for God.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      NYC Mayor Adams Meets Pope Francis at the Vatican

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      The meeting was a highlight for the mayor, who is in Rome to speak at a conference about world peace and often talks about how his Christian faith informs his leadership.Mayor Eric Adams, who talks often about his faith, acknowledged on Saturday that he had felt some uncertainty — if not anxiety — about meeting Pope Francis.But at the Vatican, as Mr. Adams stooped before the pope, he felt any disquiet he had wash away. Pope Francis placed his hand on the mayor’s right arm. Then, the two shook hands.“I think that some people have a level of aura and energy and the ability to just calm people,” said Mr. Adams, who is Christian but not Catholic. “I think that’s what he possessed. In my prayers, I thank God for having the opportunity this morning.”The meeting came on the second day of a three-day trip to Italy for Mr. Adams, who said he is trying to better understand the global conflicts that touch New York. The visit came as the mayor, who is up for re-election next year, faces difficulties in New York City, including lagging poll numbers and a federal investigation into his campaign fund-raising.There was no specific agenda for the meeting between the mayor and the pope, which came as the pope met with participants of a conference about peace. But after the meeting, Mr. Adams said the two spoke about conflicts in Haiti, Africa and the Middle East. They talked about the Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism, a nonprofit created by Robert Kraft, the owner of the N.F.L.’s New England Patriots.“He responded affirmatively and said: ‘Eric, please pray for me as well,’” the mayor said.After their meeting at the Vatican, Mr. Adams said that Pope Francis asked the mayor to pray for him.Vatican MediaWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Pope Francis, in Easter Message, Calls for Gaza Cease-Fire

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      Pope Francis’ decisions to reduce his participation in two major Holy Week events had raised fears about his health.Amid renewed concerns about his health, Pope Francis presided over Easter Sunday Mass, and with a hoarse but strong voice, he delivered a major annual message that touched on conflicts across the globe, with explicit appeals for peace in Israel, Gaza and Ukraine.The appearance came after the pope decided to reduce his participation in two major Holy Week events, seemingly at the last minute.Those decisions seemed to represent a new phase in a more than 11-year papacy throughout which Francis has made the acceptance of the limits that challenge and shape humanity a constant theme. Now, he seems to have entered a period in which he is himself scaling back to observe, and highlight, the limits imposed by his own health constraints, and to conserve strength for the most critical moments.On Sunday after the Mass, Francis took a prolonged spin in his popemobile around St. Peter’s Square before ascending to a balcony overlooking it to deliver his traditional Easter message.“Let us not allow the strengthening winds of war to blow on Europe and the Mediterranean,” he said to the tens of thousands of faithful, dignitaries, Swiss Guards and clergy filling the square.Priests attending the Easter Mass.Tiziana Fabi/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Pope Francis Skips Palm Sunday Homily

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      Pope Francis’ choice to skip the strenuous speech at the outset of Easter week immediately raised concerns about his health, but he spoke in a clear voice before and after it.As tens of thousands of faithful holding palm fronds in St. Peter’s Square looked on, the moment arrived in the Palm Sunday Mass for Pope Francis to deliver his homily in a service marking the beginning of Holy Week, one of the most demanding and significant on the Christian calendar.“And now we hear the words of the Holy Father,” said the commentator on the Vatican’s media channel.Instead, the crowd outside and all of those tuning in heard Francis breathing and the wind blowing over the square, as the pope, 87, decided at the last moment to forgo the homily, the sermon that is central to the service, and remain silent.Francis’ choice to skip the strenuous speech at the outset of a week that culminates in the Easter celebration of the resurrection of Christ amounted to a highly unusual move that immediately raised concerns about the pope’s health, which is increasingly frail. In recent years, he has undergone an intestinal surgery, moved to a wheelchair and often has respiratory problems.In recent weeks, Francis has often turned his speeches and teachings over to an aide to read aloud.But Francis spoke in a clear voice before and after the skipped homily, celebrating the liturgy and delivering prayers, including his closeness to the victims of Friday’s terrorist attack in a Moscow suburb, and to the entire country of Ukraine, which he again called “martyred.” But given the pope’s health woes, most recently a seemingly emergency visit to a Rome hospital to check out his lungs, his silence spoke volumes.Francis, who rarely walks now because of his bad knees, did not participate in the Macbethian procession of cardinals around the obelisk in St. Peter’s Square, and instead blessed them from the altar.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More