Frances D'emilio

Read the latest stories and analysis from Frances D'emilio.

Pope Francis hoists the Gospel book as he celebrates a mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2014 to open the extraordinary Synod on the family. Pope Francis on Sunday opened a two-week meeting of bishops and cardinals from around the world aimed at making the church's teaching on family life â marriage, sex, contraception, divorce and homosexuality â relevant to today's Catholic families. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope to bishops: Be creative about families’ needs

Frances D'emilio · October 5, 2014 12:48 pm

Claudio Fava speaks during a news conference, in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014. An Italian lawmaker has decried a secret arrangement in which intelligence agents paid imprisoned top Mafiosi for information during several of the years when Silvio Berlusconi was premier. Claudio Fava, vice president of Parliament's anti-Mafia commission, told reporters Tuesday that magistrates investigating Italy's organized crime syndicates were kept in the dark about the practice, described in a written protocol between the now-defunct intelligence agency Sisde and the national prison administration agency. The practice came to light when Premier Matteo Renzi declassified the document in July. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Lawmaker: Italian spy agency paid Mafia bosses

Frances D'emilio · September 30, 2014 7:56 pm

In this June 26, 2014 photo, Riccardo Cordi' stands on a terrace in Reggio Calabria, Sicily, Italy with the Strait of Messina in the background. Cordi' was exiled to Messina during a pioneering anti-mafia program for juveniles, a kind of rehab away from the mob. (AP Photo/Adriana Sapone)

Italy fights mafia with new strategy: banish sons

Frances D'emilio · September 28, 2014 1:27 pm

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, center, is helped to walk down the steps by Bishops Vincenzo Paglia, left, and Georg Gaenswein prior to the start of a meeting of Pope Francis with elderly in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope hails Benedict, other elderly at Vatican fest

Frances D'emilio · September 28, 2014 12:21 pm

Maestro Muti skipping strike-plagued Rome theater

Frances D'emilio · September 22, 2014 4:34 pm

Sara Pisano, left, and Danilo Spagnoli, just married by Pope Francis, smile during the wedding ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2014. Pope Francis married 20 couples Sunday, including some who already live together and those with children, technically a sin in the eyes of the church. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

40 ‘I’do’s’ at Vatican as Pope marries 20 couples

Frances D'emilio · September 14, 2014 11:24 am

Pope Francis wears skullcaps given by faithful at the end of his weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

Pope: Thanks for prayers for my family’s grief

Frances D'emilio · August 20, 2014 3:58 pm

French financier to head Vatican bank

Frances D'emilio · July 9, 2014 11:48 am

Vatican bank’s profit takes big dip amid reform

Frances D'emilio · July 8, 2014 12:54 pm

Pope Francis celebrates the Angelus noon prayer from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's square, at the Vatican, Sunday, July 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope: Bishops must be held accountable for abuse

Frances D'emilio · July 7, 2014 8:43 pm

Church parade past Mafia home a challenge to pope

Frances D'emilio · July 6, 2014 7:51 pm

Raffaele Sollecito, second from left, and his father Francesco, second from right, listen to lawyers Luca Mauri, center with gray suit, and Giulia Bongiorno, right, before giving a press conference in Rome, Tuesday, July 1, 2014. Amanda Knox's ex-boyfriend says the American student provided alibis for him he hopes will persuade Italy's top criminal court to overturn his conviction for the 2007 murder of her British roommate. Sollecito told reporters in Rome Tuesday the Florence appeals court that convicted both of them in January, in explaining its verdict, cited a memo Knox wrote saying he wasn't involved in Meredith Kercher's murder. The 30-year-old Italian also cited a Knox text message he contended would bolster his claim of innocence. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

Knox’s ex-beau: Evidence points to my innocence

Frances D'emilio · July 1, 2014 2:13 pm