Pope steps up call for poor country debt cancellation

VATICAN CITY, Holy See - Pope Francis renewed a call on Tuesday for the cancellation of debt owed by poor countries in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it was time for restorative justice.

The pope is preparing for an audience with the public on Wednesday, his first since the pandemic hit Italy nearly six months ago.

"I repeat my call for the cancellation of the debt of the most vulnerable countries, in recognition of the severe impact of the medical, social and economic crises they face as a result of COVID-19," the Roman Catholic Church's highest official said.

"We also need to ensure that the recovery packages being developed and deployed at global, regional and national levels must be regeneration packages.

"It is a time for restorative justice."

In April, the Argentinian-born pontiff called for debt to be reduced or cancelled in a message from an empty Saint Peter's Basilica.

On Tuesday he said: "Policy, legislation and investment must be focused on the common good and guarantee that global social and environmental goals are met."

The World Bank warned last month that coronavirus may have driven as many as 100 million people into extreme poverty.

The situation made it "imperative" that creditors reduce the amount of debt held by poor countries, the Washington-based institution's president David Malpass warned.

Advanced economies in the Group of 20 have already committed to suspending debt payments from the poorest nations until the end of the year.

There is growing support for extending that moratorium into next year amid a pandemic that has already killed more than 840,000 people and registered 25.2 million cases globally.

Agence France-Presse

Disgruntled Pope Francis pulls himself free from woman's grasp

ROME -- A visibly indignant Pope Francis had to pull himself away from a woman in a crowd in St Peter's Square on Tuesday after she grabbed his hand and yanked him towards her.

Pope Francis was walking through the square in Vatican City and greeting pilgrims on his way to see the large Nativity scene set up in the huge, cobbled esplanade.

After reaching out to touch a child, the pope turned away from the crowd only for a nearby woman to seize his hand and pull her towards him. The abrupt gesture appeared to cause him pain and Francis swiftly wrenched his hand free.

The woman had made the sign of the cross as the pope had approached. It was not clear what she was saying as she subsequently tugged him towards her.

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Cake time for Pope Francis

Pope Francis (right), standing next to Suor Antonietta Collacchi, director of the Santa Marta dispensary (2nd right), blows candles of a birthday cake presented to him for his 83rd birthday during an audience for children and families of the Santa Marta dispensary on Sunday at Paul-VI hall in the Vatican. Pope Francis turned 83 on December 17, 2019. 

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US bishop accused of sex abuse cover-up steps down

VATICAN - A New York state bishop who had been at the center of a sex abuse crisis stepped down on Wednesday after learning the conclusions of a Vatican investigation, becoming the latest high-ranking prelate toppled by the decades-old scandal.

Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo, New York, and named Albany Bishop Edward Scharfenberger, to administer the Buffalo diocese until a new bishop can be appointed.

Malone, 73, who has been under pressure to resign for years, stepped down two years before bishops' normal retirement date.

A long line of priests and bishops have been toppled by the Roman Catholic Church's abuse crisis, which exploded onto the international stage in 2002 when the Boston Globe newspaper revealed priests had sexually abused children for decades and church leaders had covered it up.

Patterns of widespread abuse of children have since been reported across the United States and Europe, in Chile and Australia, undercutting the 1.2 billion-member Church's moral authority and taking a toll on its membership and coffers.

Malone, who met with the pope last month, has been accused of covering up or mishandling the abuse of dozens of minors by priests in his diocese in western New York.

Last year, a whistleblower in his office released documents to WKBW, a New York news channel, indicating that Malone withheld scores of priests' names from a list his office published of clergy accused of sexual abuse.

He has denied the accusations.

His diocese is facing more than 200 child sex abuse lawsuits, according to the New York Times. A new state law this year temporarily waived statutes of limitations for people who were victims of sexual abuse as children, allowing hundreds of people to sue over decades-old crimes.

Malone acknowledged "tremendous turmoil" in his diocese in a statement on Wednesday.

He said he had made mistakes in not addressing what he described as personnel issues more swiftly. He said the conclusions of the Vatican investigation, which have not been published, were a factor in his decision but that he was resigning "freely and voluntarily."

In September, a poll by the local newspaper, The Buffalo News, showed that about 85% of Roman Catholics or lapsed Roman Catholics in the area said he should resign.

Scharfenberger said he supported Malone's resignation.

"I think he made a prudent decision to withdraw as he did at the time that he did," he said in a news conference.

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'They will leave you empty': Pope Francis warns youth of cons of technology

BANGKOK, Thailand - Pope Francis warned against the potential pitfalls of technology and the competition for young people's "attention" on Friday, dedicating the final full day of his Bangkok trip to engaging the next generation of Catholics. 

The Pontiff is on his first visit to Buddhist-majority Thailand, where just a sliver of the population is Catholic despite the religion's long history in the country.

He has called for religious harmony and peace throughout his four-day tour, a message he will likely carry on Saturday to Japan where he will visit the sites of the world's only nuclear attacks. 

But on Friday, he shifted his focus toward Thailand's youth, warning the next generation of the downsides of fast-encroaching technology. 

"Rapid technological advancements can open up immense possibilities that make life easier, but can also result in the growth of consumerism and materialism," the Pope cautioned. 

Later in the day, he led a mass for Thailand's young adherents, urging them to remain steadfast in the face of rival influences. 

"We can be swayed by the voices of this world that compete for our attention," he said, speaking at Bangkok's 109-year-old Cathedral of the Assumption. 

"At first they seem appealing and exciting, but in the long run they will leave you only empty, weary, alone and disenchanted," he said. 

The message was a clarion call to the young worshipers in Thailand, where fewer than 400,000 Catholics make up just over 0.5 percent of the population. 

The faith arrived in the country via European missionaries in the 16th century, and the community has since remained small but spirited -- coexisting peacefully with Buddhist neighbors. 

But Thai Bishop Joseph Pradhan Sridarunsil said they were facing a crisis as interest in the religion dwindled among the youth.

"The Thai Church nowadays is facing the same situation as other countries in the world, namely a crisis of decreasing vocation," he said. 

Young Christian adults are much less likely than older Christians to say religion is very important to them, and fewer than half those surveyed pray daily, according to a global Pew Research Center report from last year. 


 Tech addicted teens

Fading interest was far from evident on Friday, however, as scores of faithful gathered outside the cathedral -- many jostling for mobile phone photos -- for Francis's second mass of the trip. 

For some, the Pope's warning words for Thailand's youth were welcome.

"There are other things attracting (teenagers)... like interesting content available on YouTube and it is easy for teenagers to be addicted or targeted by these things to become more materialistic," said Siriyaphorn Phongburut, 40, standing outside the mass. 

She urged the Church to use social media to attract young adherents, in a country where mobile phone use is rampant. 

On a busy Friday Francis also visited a shrine for Catholic martyr Nicholas Boonkerd Kitbamrung and attended an interfaith meeting, where a mixed Muslim and Christian choir sang for him in a symbolic performance.

His final official duty was his youth mass at the ornate Cathedral, packed with bishops wearing brilliant red and gold robes custom-made for the occasion -- the Pope's included. 

His pointed message was not a huge departure for the Pope, who has long sought to engage the next generation of Catholics. 

"The Pope always gives importance to youth which he believes is the foundation of society, country and religion," said Puttipong Puttansri, a Thai historian of the Catholic Church.

Francis touched down in Bangkok on Wednesday and was met by adoring worshipers eager to catch a glimpse of the 82-year-old Argentine.

His first mass on Thursday night -- replete with hymns, prayers and traditional Thai performances -- drew an estimated 60,000 people, some crying as the Pontiff passed in his Popemobile. 

There he urged respect for the downtrodden, including prostitutes and trafficking victims. 

He heads to Japan on Saturday for the second and final leg of his Asia tour, which will include visits to Nagasaki and Hiroshima, both devastated by atomic bombs by the US during World War II.

The Pope, who years ago had hoped to be a missionary in Japan, is expected to chastise the use of "immoral" nuclear weapons.

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Greeting the Pope

Catholic faithful greet Pope Francis as he visits St. Peter's Parish in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday. Pope Francis met with priests, seminarians and catechists before attending the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) at the Blessed Nicholas Boonkerd Kitbamrung Shrine.

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Pope Francis meets Thailand’s Buddhist supreme patriarch

Pope Francis meets with Buddhist supreme patriarch Somdet Phra Maha Muniwong, at the Wat Ratchabophit Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand on Thursday. Pope Francis is currently in Thailand as part of his 32nd Apostolic Journey in Asia to promote interreligious dialogue in the region.

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Pope Francis begins visit to Thailand as faithful jostle for selfies

BANGKOK -- Pope Francis arrived in Thailand on Wednesday to meet with its small but devoted Catholic minority on a seven-day Asian trip that will include a family reunion in Bangkok and take his anti-nuclear message to Japan.

Waiting for a glimpse of the pontiff, excited Catholics thronged around the Vatican's Bangkok embassy and St. Louis Hospital to take selfies.

"Once in a lifetime, I want to see him and be able receive prayer from him," said 60-year-old Orawan Thongjamroon outside the Vatican embassy, where she had been waiting since early morning for the papal motorcade.

Catholics are a tiny minority in mostly Buddhist Thailand, accounting for less than 2 percent of the population.

The pope's plane touched down outside Bangkok around midday and he descended to a red-carpet airport welcome from church leaders for a visit that coincides with the 350th anniversary of the first papal mission in Siam, the former name of Thailand.

Among those welcoming him was his cousin and childhood friend from Argentina, 77-year-old nun Sister Ana Rosa Sivori, who has worked in Thai schools for more than 50 years and will be the pope's personal translator in Thailand.

The pair, whose grandfathers were brothers, beamed as they made their way over the tarmac through crowds of clergy, children and government officials to a waiting motorcade.

"Dear friends in Thailand and Japan, before we meet, let us pray together that these days may be rich in grace and joy," read a message on the pontiff's official Twitter account before he left the Vatican.

At Bangkok's St. Louis Church, a Thai Catholic woman proudly showed photographs of her and Pope Francis from a visit she made to the Vatican with her husband.

"I never thought that I would have another chance to see him again," said Nuchnaree Praresri, 49.

But when she was invited to be a cleaner at St. Louis Church for the papal visit, she seized the opportunity.

"This might not be an important role for others, but I'm very proud," she said.

Catholicism first arrived in Thailand in the mid-1500s with Portuguese missionaries and traders, and Catholics have over the years built respected schools and hospitals.

Pope Francis begins his official program on Thursday when he is scheduled to meet King Maha Vajiralongkorn as well as the supreme Buddhist patriarch before offering mass at the National Stadium.

He will hold another mass at Bangkok's Assumption Cathedral before leaving on Saturday for Japan, where he will visit the nuclear ground zeros of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

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Small in numbers, Thai Catholics preserve centuries-old traditions

BANGKOK - The last time Vararunee Khonchanath was in the presence of a Pope was before she was born just over 35 years ago, but when Pope Francis visits Bangkok later this week to bless Thailand's tiny Catholic minority, she will be singing in the choir.

A sixth-generation Catholic of Portuguese-Thai ancestry, Vararunee lives in a 250-year-old community that is as old as the Thai capital itself. During the previous papal visit, back in 1984, Vararunee's pregnant mother was among the congregation.

"I was in my mum's tummy as she attended the mass when His Holiness John Paul II visited Thailand the last time," Vararunee said, adding how honored she felt to be in the choir this time, when Pope Francis offers mass at the National Stadium.

During his visit from Nov. 20 to 23, Pope Francis will also celebrate mass at Assumption Cathedral in central Bangkok.

In overwhelmingly Buddhist Thailand, Catholics number just a little more than 380,000 in a country of more than 65 million.

MISSIONARIES, TRADERS

Historians say more than 70 percent of Catholics in Thailand, like Vararunee, have foreign ancestry.

Catholicism first arrived in Siam, the old name for Thailand, in the mid-1500s with Portuguese missionaries and traders.

The Vatican formally established its "Mission de Siam" 350 years ago during the reign of King Narai, an anniversary that coincides with the visit of Pope Francis that begins on Wednesday.

While missionaries failed to achieve mass conversions, they were largely tolerated by the Buddhist majority and particularly the royal court.

"In the past, many Catholics from places like Japan and Vietnam, migrated to this land to escape religious persecution," said Puttipong Puttansri, a historian at the Archdiocese of Bangkok Historical Archive.

Catholics have over the years built schools and hospitals, some of which are still well known and respected today.

"For many Thais, Catholicism is synonymous with schools," Puttipong said.

MARTYRDOM

There were also spells of religious persecutions. In the late 1600s, Catholic priests were arrested and some killed out of suspicion they were working with France to colonize the country.

Similar hostility stirred in the 1940s when a nationalistic Thai government was at war with France in Indochina.

The tension resulted in the closing down of schools, confiscation of properties and the arrest of some clergy.

In 1940, seven Catholics, including three teenage girls, were killed by Thai police in the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom. Pope John Paul II later declared them martyrs.

PEACE AND PASTRIES

In the modern era, Thailand remains largely tolerant to Catholics.

Catholics in Bangkok's historic Kudi Chin community along the Chao Praya River have mostly lived peacefully while maintaining their unique traditions and beliefs.

The district is known locally not only for Santa Cruz Church, which is the focal point for its Catholic community, but for the traditional Portuguese-influenced cupcake that is still baked there.

For the faithful such as Vararunee, the papal visit casts a light on their community and faith.

"I am very proud that we manage to hold on to our roots," Vararunee said. 

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Pope Francis, Greta Thunberg blast world’s ‘weak’ climate action

NEW YORK, United States—An angry and emotional Greta Thunberg berated older generations as she spoke before the United Nations Climate Action Summit Monday.

Her speech was punctuated by her frustration over the inaction to address climate change. 

“How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones,” the 16-year-old climate activist said before delegates from different countries. 

“People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. And all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!”

Thunberg’s speech set the tone of the climate action summit, which is meant to boost climate commitments of countries in time for the 2020 deadline of the Paris agreement. 

The agreement aims to curb global heating to at least 2 degrees Celsius in order to combat climate change.

Thunberg, who was the face of the global youth climate strikes last Friday, called the goal of cutting carbon emissions in half in 10 years as unacceptable, especially since young people like her will have to live with its consequences.

“How dare you pretend that this can be solved with business-as-usual and some technical solutions?” she said.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis said in a video message that country pledges were still inadequate.

“Four years after that historic agreement (Paris 2015), we can see that the commitments made by states are still very weak,” he said. “Indeed they are far from achieving the objectives set.”

Pope Francis said it was “necessary to ask whether there is a real political will to allocate greater human, financial and technological resources to mitigate the negative effects of climate change and to help the poorest and most vulnerable populations, who suffer the most.”

"While the situation is not good and the planet is suffering, the window of opportunity is still open," the pope added. 

ACTION SUMMIT

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the Climate Action Summit is not for talking or negotiations but action. 

He acknowledged the failure of his generation “in its responsibility to protect our planet.”

“That must change,” he said.

Guterres, who spoke before Thunberg and the other youth activists, repeatedly referred to the calls of young people.

“I believe it's the duty of all decision makers in the world, not only to listen to the voice of young people and to do what they ask us to do, but also to support them in their own action for climate action around the world."

He also did not mince words when it came to countries that receive money from fossil fuel companies or those that construct more coal plants.

“Is it common sense to build ever more coal plants that are choking our future?Is it common sense to reward pollution that kills millions with dirty air and makes it dangerous for people in cities around the world to sometimes even venture out of their homes?” he said.

The main point of the summit was the commitments announced by various world leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel who pledged that her country will become carbon neutral by 2050 and Indian Prime Minister Narendran Modi’s target to further increase their renewable energy goals.

“In 2030 we want to get two-thirds of our energy from renewables,” Merkel said. “In 2022 we will phase out the last of our nuclear power plants, and at latest, in 2038 we will phase out coal.”

According to the World Resources Institute, there are now 65 nations that committed to enhancing their climate goals for 2020. This does not include the Philippines.

During the climate finance session, French President Emmanuel Macron asked other countries to increase their contributions to the Green Climate Fund after the United States withdrew from it. 

Incidentally, US President Donald Trump, who was expected to skip the event as he did with other previous climate meetings, managed to drop by the opening session.

He listened to Modi and stayed for 14 minutes. 

The rest of the one-day summit will be filled with speeches from other world leaders and side events like press conferences from country coalitions.

As for the Philippines, the government did not send any of its cabinet members to what the Climate Change Commission (CCC) calls a historic summit.

Instead, attending the event are one official each from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the National Economic and Development Authority and three advisors from the CCC.

Civil society groups have expressed concern over the seeming lack of interest of interest of the Philippine government in actually participating in negotiations. It has also yet to update its climate commitments, which is due by 2020.

While CCC Secretary Emmanuel de Guzman did not attend the summit, he sent a statement asking for climate actions that are inclusive, fair and equitable.

“Now, more than ever, developed countries must ensure the flow of climate finance towards developing countries. We hope that the summit will provide clarity and direction for achieving the climate finance goal enshrined in the Paris Agreement,” De Guzman said.

President Rodrigo Duterte has acknowledged the effects of climate change but has focused on the need for accountability of developed countries.

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Pope goes to Africa

Pope Francis waves as he boards an aircraft on his way to Maputo, Mozambique, in Rome's Fiumicino International airport on Wednesday. Pope Francis heads this week to the southern African nations of Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius, visiting some of the world's poorest countries in a region hit hard by some of his biggest concerns: conflict, corruption and climate change. 

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Pope fears for Amazon, the planet's 'vital lung'

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on Sunday voiced concern for the Amazon rainforest, a "vital" lung for the planet, as the worst blazes in years have sparked a global outcry.

"We are concerned about the vast fires that have developed in the Amazon," the pope told the faithful at the Vatican.

"That forest lung is vital for our planet."

He urged the world's 1.3 billion Catholics to pray for the fires to be extinguished as quickly as possible.

Official figures show 78,383 forest fires have been recorded in Brazil this year, the highest number of any year since 2013.

The Argentine pope, who will gather bishops for a conference on the Amazon in October, met Brazilian indigenous leader Raoni in 2013 when he toured Europe warning of the dangers of deforestation.

The pope denounced the exploitation of the Amazon by "huge international economic interests" in a 2015 encyclical.

In January 2018 he visited Puerto Maldonado village in the Amazonian jungle of southeastern Peru where thousands of tribespeople had gathered, including from neighboring Brazil and Bolivia.

The Catholic Church acknowledges the bloody history of the spread of Christianity through South America and that it has not always respected Amazon tribes. Today it is committed to numerous projects to support indigenous populations.

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Pained Pope pays tribute to Notre-Dame firefighters

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on Wednesday thanked rescuers who put their lives at risk to salvage the medieval Catholic cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris from a devastating blaze and said he was eager to see it restored.

"The gratitude of the entire Church goes to those who did everything in their power to save the basilica, even risking their lives," he told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square for his general audience.

Notre-Dame's spire was destroyed and its roof gutted but the bell towers were still standing and many valuable art works were saved after more than 400 firemen contained Monday's blaze.

Addressing French pilgrims and visitors in Rome, the pontiff told them he felt their pain.

"May the Virgin Mary bless and support the work of reconstruction. May it be a harmonious work of praise and glory to God," he added.

The Vatican has said it is willing to offer restoration know-how to help rebuild the fire-damaged landmark.

"We have many relationships with the Louvre, other museums and other institutions of French Christianity. Clearly, we are willing to do anything we can to help," Barbara Jatta, the head of the Vatican Museums, told Reuters.

Jatta and her staff of art historians and restorers have worked on such stone masterpieces as Michelangelo's Pieta and his Sistine Chapel frescoes.

Father Enzo Fortunato, a Franciscan at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi who was inside that church when the roof collapsed in a 1997 earthquake, also offered words of encouragement to the French.

"Notre Dame is like Assisi. It will rise again. Our experience showed that through pain and hard work, but above all with solidarity, life can come from destruction," he told Reuters. "Prayer was the weapon that allowed us to never lose hope."

Fortunato and other survivors emerged covered in white dust from the collapse, which killed two monks and two city workers.

The Assisi basilica reopened after two years of painstaking restoration that included piecing together thousands of pieces of ceiling frescoes.

"Assisi and Notre-Dame are both symbols of Christian identity and national identity. Precisely because of this, they offer the strength and courage to be reborn," he said.

France hopes Notre-Dame can be restored in five years. 

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Palm Sunday at the Vatican

Pope Francis walks along Cardinals holding palm fronds across St. Peter's square as he celebrates the Palm Sunday Mass in the Vatican. The pope marked the moveable feast by blessing the palm fronds of Catholic faithful before celebrating Mass.

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Pope kneels, kisses feet of South Sudan leaders

In this photo taken and released on April 11, 2019 by the Vatican Press Office, Vatican Media, Pope Francis (bottom) kneels to kiss the feet of South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit (center) and South Sudan opposition leader Riek Machar (right) at the Pope's Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. Pope Francis on April 11 knelt and kissed the feet of leaders of South Sudan at the end of a two-day retreat to help them solidify a peace agreement. 

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A kiss for peace

Pope Francis and Grand Imam of al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb kiss each other after signing a document on fighting extremism, during an inter-religious meeting at the Founder's Memorial in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Monday. The Pope is on a three-day historic visit to the gulf state, the first by a pontiff.

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Pope gives Rome homeless Christmas gift of new clinic in Vatican

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has given the homeless a Christmas gift of a new clinic in St. Peter's Square where they can get free medical help, the Vatican said on Saturday, announcing his latest move to help Rome's destitute.

The Rome Catholic charity Caritas estimated late last year that there are more than 16,000 homeless in Rome and their number congregating near the Vatican has grown visibly in recent years, especially at night when they cluster under arcades to sleep.

The new clinic with 3 visiting rooms will be open 3 days a week and will be staffed by volunteer doctors from the Vatican medical services and Rome hospitals.

Foot specialists will be available once a week. Charities say homeless people suffer particularly from foot ailments because they rarely remove their socks and shoes, and also wear ill-fitting shoes, causing ailments such as fungal infections, blisters and calluses.

The new clinic replaces an older temporary one nearby, also set up by the 82-year-old Francis. He has also opened facilities where the homeless can bathe and get haircuts.

When it is not serving the homeless, the new clinic, built on the premises of the old Vatican post office, will serve as a first aid station for pilgrims and tourists.

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Gay man says pope told him: 'God made you this way' - paper

MADRID - A Chilean man who suffered clerical sexual abuse has said Pope Francis told him in a private conversation that God had made him gay and loved him that way, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

The Vatican declined to comment on the report but, if confirmed, it would be a striking statement of tolerance towards homosexuality, which the Church has condemned as an immoral disorder if it is actively practiced.

In an interview published on Sunday, abuse victim Juan Carlos Cruz told El Pais that Pope Francis had told him during a meeting this month: "The fact that you are gay does not matter."

Cruz said Francis had also told him: "God made you this way and loves you this way, and it doesn't matter to me. The pope loves you this way, you must be happy the way you are."

Cruz was one of 3 Chilean victims who were invited by the pope to Rome this month in the wake of a scandal in Chile over priestly sexual abuse and efforts by the Church hierarchy there to hush it up.

After attending a crisis meeting with Francis about the cover-up last week, all of Chile's bishops offered to resign.

Since his election in 2013, the pope has dramatically shifted the language the Church has used about homosexuality, which was once seen as a taboo subject.

"If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?" he said on his first overseas trip in 2013. In 2016, he said had ministered to people with unfulfilled homosexual tendencies as well as homosexuals who were not able to remain chaste, as the Church asks them to.

"When a person arrives before Jesus, Jesus certainly will not say: 'Go away because you are homosexual'," he said.

Francis's predecessor, Pope Benedict, wrote in 2005 that homosexuality was "a strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil". 

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'Superpope' Francis T-shirts to help poor, needy

A work of street art that turned Pope Francis into "superpope" will now support Vatican charitable projects through the sale of t-shirts bearing the flying pontiff, artist MauPal said Friday.

In 2014, graffiti artist MauPal -- whose real name is Mauro Pallotta -- depicted Francis as a superman on a wall in the Eternal City, flying through the air with his right fist outstretched and white cassock billowing behind him.

The pope clutched his trademark black bag in his left hand, from which a blue-and-red striped scarf peeked out.



When it appeared in Rome in January 2014, it captured the imagination of tourists and locals alike.

Two years later, MauPal drew Francis in a school-boy spirit, playing a cheeky wall game of noughts and crosses while a Swiss Guard kept watch.

"With the economic and social crisis that hit Italy and the world, I saw Francis as a symbol of hope for all," the artist said.

"I graphically summed up a widely-shared opinion of the pope as someone with a lot of power who is also humane and humble at the same time".

The images, put up near Saint Peter's Basilica, were quickly scrubbed off by city workers.

But the sketches remained and reappear on T-shirts. Part of the proceeds from their sale go towards works of charity supported by the Vatican.

Not everyone loved the drawings at first, with some earnest Francis supporters bristling at the tongue-in-cheek portrayal of a superman pope.

But it seems Francis himself has given MauPal's works his blessing.

"I offered him the drawing I had painted on a simple piece of wood, a medium I thought fit his (anti-luxury) philosophy. He looked at me, he smiled at me, then he affectionately pinched my cheek," MauPal said.

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Pope Francis says may consider making married men priests

BERLIN - Pope Francis said in an interview published Thursday that the church may consider ordaining married men who could potentially then work in remote areas faced with a shortage of priests.

"We must think about whether viri probati are a possibility," Francis said referring to older, married men who are already involved in church business.

"Then we have to decide what tasks they can take on, for example in remote communities," he added in the interview with German weekly Die Zeit.

Many in the church believe, given the lack of priests in many places, that a new path to ordination should be opened.

They think that in addition to priests who take a vow of celibacy, older, married men with a long commitment to the church could also be considered.

Pope Francis said in May 2014 that "there are married priests in the Church" citing married Anglican ministers who joined the Catholic Church, Coptic Catholics and the priests of some Eastern churches.

The church, and notably the current pope's predecessor Benedict XVI, had previously said that celibacy was not a matter of inflexible church dogma unlike, for example, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

However, Francis said allowing priests in training to choose whether or not to be celibate was "not the solution".

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