Vatican

By BosNewsLife News Center with reporting by Philippa HitchenVATICAN CITY, VATICAN CITY, VATICAN (BosNewsLife)-- Pope Francis and leaders of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) group agreed Thursday, December 14, to cooperate on tackling the "worst persecution" of Christians in church history despite "major theological differences", officials said following talks in the Vatican.

By BosNewsLife News Center VATICAN CITY/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Pope Francis has called a Christian Syrian woman "a martyr" after hearing she was killed by Islamic militants for refusing to deny her faith in Jesus Christ. The leader of the world's one billion Catholics told the faithful in St. Peter's Square that he spoke with the young woman's widow during his visit Saturday, April 16, to the Greek island of Lesbos where he also visited refugees held in an overcrowded detention center.

By BosNewsLife News Center WASHINGTON/PARIS/VATICAN (BosNewsLife)-- The Catholic Church and other denominations have condemned an apparent Islamist militant attack on a satirical magazine that killed 12 people in Paris.

By Philippa Hitchen reporting from Vatican City VATICAN CITY/ROME (BosNewsLife)-- Rome's most famous landmark, the Colosseum, will be lit up in red on Saturday, February 24, as a sign of solidarity with all those facing persecution for their faith. They include a Pakistani mother of five on death row who is expected to be released soon amid international pressure, family and organizers said.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife with additional reporting from Vatican and BosNewsLife Research VATICAN CITY (BosNewsLife)-- Pope Benedict XVI, who oversaw the Catholic Church through nearly eight turbulent years, says he will resign on February 28 because of health reasons. "Before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are [no] longer suited to an adequate exercise" of his position as head of the world’s one billion Roman Catholics, he said in a statement Monday, February 11.

Listen to this BosNewsLife report via Vatican News By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BERLIN/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Germany and its allies marked the 30th...

By Sabina Castelfranco reporting from Rome ROME, ITALY (BosNewsLife)-- Pope Benedict delivered his traditional Christmas Day "blessing" Friday, December 25, just hours after being knocked to the ground by a woman at the start of Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. The Vatican said the 82-year-old Benedict XVI was unhurt and that his busy Christmas schedule would remain unchanged.

By BosNewsLife News Center VATICAN CITY/ABUDJA/TEHRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Pope Benedict XVI on Easter Sunday condemned discrimination and persecution of Christians around the world, just as news emerged that dozens of people were killed in an attack near Nigerian churches.

By BosNewsLife News Center VATICAN CITY/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)--  The Vatican's missionary news agency says more than two dozen priests, nuns and lay Catholics were killed worldwide in 2011, BosNewsLife monitored Monday, January 16.