Pope Francis says priests can bless same-sex unions but marriage is between a man and a woman
CBSN
Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God's love and mercy shouldn't be subject to "an exhaustive moral analysis" to receive it.
The document from the Vatican's doctrine office, released Monday, elaborates on a letter Francis sent to two conservative cardinals that was published in October. In that preliminary response, Francis suggested such blessings could be offered under some circumstances if they didn't confuse the ritual with the sacrament of marriage.
The new document repeats that rationale and elaborates on it, reaffirming that marriage is a lifelong sacrament between a man and a woman. And it stresses that blessings should not be conferred at the same time as a civil union or even with the clothing and gestures that belong in a wedding.
Another car bomb exploded on the outskirts of a city in northern Syria on Monday, killing at least 20 people and leaving over a dozen wounded, officials and emergency responders said.
A former British soldier convicted of spying for Iran after an audacious three-day escape from a London prison was sentenced Monday to more than 14 years behind bars for betraying his country.
Sydney, Australia — A shark bit and killed a 17-year-old girl swimming off an eastern Australian island on Monday, officials said, in the country's third reported fatal attack in just over five weeks. Paramedics rushed to Woorim Beach in Queensland to treat the teenager, who had sustained serious injuries to her upper body, an ambulance service spokesperson said.
Two top security officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development have been placed on administrative leave, the latest in a series of suspensions and layoffs at the American government's primary humanitarian aid agency.
A series of earthquakes near the Greek island of Santorini have led authorities to shut down schools, dispatch rescue teams with sniffer dogs and send instructions to residents including a request to drain their swimming pools.
Powerful Arab nations rejected President Trump's suggestion to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring Egypt and Jordan.
Tel Aviv — American-Israeli dual national Keith Siegel was among three hostages released by militants in the war-torn Gaza Strip on Saturday, more than 15 months after they were taken captive by Hamas. Siegel was freed in Gaza City about two hours after Israelis Yarden Bibas and Ofer Calderon were released in the southern city of Khan Younis. The Israeli military confirmed Siegel's transfer from militants to Red Cross personnel.
Six Americans who had been detained in Venezuela in recent months were freed by the government of President Nicolás Maduro after he met Friday with a Trump administration official tasked with urging the authoritarian leader to take back deported migrants who have committed crimes in the United States.
Mexico's government, under mounting pressure from President Trump to curb drug trafficking, announced Friday that it had seized 18 kilos of fentanyl hidden in a bus.