The closing ceremony of the Second Vatican Council in St. Peter Square on Dec. 9, 1965. Forty bishops pledged to forsake worldly goods, but the agreement was largely ignored. Pope Francis' emphasis on helping the poor has revived talk about the Pact of the Catacombs.
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Fifty years ago, 40 bishops signed a pledge to make Catholicism a church for the poor. It was soon set aside, but with Pope Francis focused on the downtrodden, that notion could be revived.
Rick and Letha Heitman, of Centennial, Colo., bought their health plan in 2015 through Colorado HealthOP, an insurance cooperative that will close at the end of the year. HealthOp's CEO says the co-op was "blindsided" when some promised federal subsidies failed to materialize.
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The closing ceremony of the Second Vatican Council in St. Peter Square on Dec. 9, 1965. Forty bishops pledged to forsake worldly goods, but the agreement was largely ignored. Pope Francis' emphasis on helping the poor has revived talk about the Pact of the Catacombs.
Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
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