Tag Archives: Vatican

Reuters reports: Vatican City released its first real estate holding information on Saturday, revealing that it owns more than 5,000 real estate as part of its most detailed financial disclosure to date. This information was included in two documents from the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy Land (APSA), the 2020 consolidated financial statements and the first ever public …

Reuters reports: Pope Francis greeted well-wishers on Sunday from the 10th floor balcony of his hospital room where he is recovering from major intestinal surgery. The pope, 84, stood for 10 minutes on the balcony of his special suite at Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, and thanked the crowd of at least 200 supporters for their prayers. Pope Francis said good …

The Associated Press reports: The Vatican said Monday that Pope Francis is “in good condition, alert” and breathing on his own, a day after he underwent a three-hour operation that involved removing half his colon. Francis, 84, is expected to stay in Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic, a Catholic hospital, for about seven days “barring complications,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. “His …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis went Sunday to a Rome hospital for scheduled surgery for a stenosis, or restriction, of the large intestine, the Vatican said. The brief announcement from the Holy See’s press office didn’t say exactly when the surgery would be performed but said there would be an announcement when the surgery is complete. Last week, Francis, …

Reuters reports: A Vatican judge on Saturday ordered 10 people, including an Italian cardinal, to stand trial for alleged financial crimes including embezzlement, money laundering, fraud, extortion and abuse of office. Those indicted include Cardinal Angelo Becciu as well as the former heads of the Vatican’s financial intelligence unit and two Italian brokers involved in the Vatican’s purchase of a …

The Hill reports: The Vatican on Friday called on stakeholders to “exhaust all efforts” to fight vaccine hesitancy and inequity. The Vatican’s bioethics academy, the Pontifical Academy for Life, has been working with the World Medical Association and the German Medical Association to address vaccine equity and hesitancy, the groups said in a joint statement. The statement calls on stakeholders …

Via press release from the Catholic League: The Holy See is fighting an LGBTQ-inspired bill in Italy that would encroach on the free speech rights of the Catholic Church. The bill, which is the work of Alessandro Zen, a homosexual lawmaker, is being promoted by his followers as a necessary step to combat violence and hate speech. It is the …

The Christian Post reports: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked Pope Francis to visit Canada and apologize after 751 more unmarked graves were found at the site of what was once that country’s residential school under the administration of the Roman Catholic Church to assimilate indigenous people. “I have spoken personally directly with His Holiness Pope Francis to press …

The Associated Press reports: The Vatican’s Secretary of State attempted to tamp down controversy Thursday over a Vatican diplomatic communication to Italy, saying the Holy See was not trying to block passage of a law that would extend additional protections from discrimination to the LGBT community. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s No. 2, told Vatican News that he personally approved …

The Washington Post reports: The Vatican has taken a highly unusual step against its neighbor, sending a diplomatic note to the Italian government that protests a draft law aimed at preventing hate and violence against LGBT people. The complaint marks a formal effort by the Vatican to influence Italian lawmaking and could provide a test for how forcefully the church …

Catholic News Services reports: President Joe Biden’s attendance at early morning Mass with Pope Francis was nixed from an early plan for the first meeting of both leaders, a reliable Vatican source told CNA. President Biden is currently in Europe for several high level meetings, offering a potential opportunity to meet with Pope Francis. According to Vatican sources June 15, …

The New York Times reports: The Vatican has warned conservative American bishops to hit the brakes on their push to deny communion to politicians supportive of abortion rights — including President Biden, a faithful churchgoer and the first Roman Catholic to occupy the Oval Office in 60 years. But despite the remarkably public stop sign from Rome, the American bishops …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis has changed church law to explicitly criminalize the sexual abuse of adults by priests who abuse their authority and to say that laypeople who hold church office can be sanctioned for similar sex crimes. The new provisions, released Tuesday after 14 years of study, were contained in the revised criminal law section of the …

Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports: The Holy See has accepted the resignation of the bishop of the Polish city of Bydgoszcz, Jan Tyrawa, over alleged negligence in the face of sex abuse accusations against priests subordinate to him, a Vatican diplomat said on Wednesday. Tyrawa tendered his resignation after the end of a Vatican investigation, which looked into accusations of the sexual …

The Associated Press reports: The head of the Vatican’s doctrine office is warning U.S. bishops to deliberate carefully and minimize divisions before proceeding with a possible plan to rebuke Roman Catholic politicians such as President Joe Biden for receiving Communion even though they support abortion rights. The strong words of caution came in a letter from Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect …

The Associated Press reports: Germany’s powerful Catholic progressives are openly defying a recent Holy See pronouncement that priests cannot bless same-sex unions by offering such blessings at services in about 100 different churches all over the country this week. The blessings at open worship services are the latest pushback from German Catholics against a document released in March by the …

From the Vatican’s official news outlet: Catholics across the globe are encouraged to dedicate the Marian month of May to praying for an end to the pandemic. The initiative, behind which the Pope has thrown his support, involves 30 Marian Shrines from various parts of the world. The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization announced the news with a …

Via press release from Minnesota’s Diocese of Crookston: It has been announced today that, after an extensive investigation, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, asked for, and has now accepted the resignation of Bishop Michael Hoeppner from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Crookston. The investigation which led to the acceptance of Bishop Hoeppner’s resignation arose from reports that he …

Reuters reports: Pope Francis urged countries in his Easter message on Sunday to quicken distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly to the world’s poor, and called armed conflict and military spending during a pandemic “scandalous”. “The pandemic is still spreading, while the social and economic crisis remains severe, especially for the poor. Nonetheless – and this is scandalous – armed conflicts …

Via press release from Christian Newswire: From his residence in Rome, American Cardinal Raymond Burke responded pastorally to questions posed by Thomas McKenna, Founder of Catholic Action for Faith and Family and host of the monthly broadcast “Conversations with Cardinal Burke.” In the 25-minute interview, Cardinal Burke articulates in clear and unwavering terms a set of prudent steps of pastoral …