Tag Archives: Vatican

The Daily Beast reports: The 15th annual exorcism conference, held in Rome this week after a one-year hiatus due to COVID, has turned up all sorts of new pandemic problems facing the world’s exorcists. Those in attendance at the five-day conference, hosted in a Vatican-owned pontifical university, shared stories about the increase in calls they’d received over the last year. …

Reuters reports: President Joe Biden will meet with Pope Francis on Oct. 29 before attending a two-day summit of G20 leaders in Rome where he hopes to reach agreement on a Global Minimum Tax of 15%, a White House official told Reuters. On the second foreign trip of his presidency, Biden will then attend the U.N. climate conference known as …

Reuters reports: The Vatican City State said Tuesday that it would soon begin requiring all employees — including the highest members of the Catholic Church — to show proof of vaccination or of a recent negative coronavirus test. Those without the proper certificates, the Vatican said, will be considered “unjustly absent” — and will be paid no salary. Though the …

Euronews reports: The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cologne will take a “spiritual time-out” from his duties after committing grave errors in a crisis over clerical sexual abuse, but will retain his post, the Vatican said on Friday. Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki, 65, had faced criticism for his handling of allegations of past child sex abuse, in particular for shelving a …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis urged European bishops on Saturday to listen to survivors of clergy sexual abuse and consider them partners in reform, warning that their failure to do so risks the very future of the Catholic Church. Francis issued a video message to Central and Eastern European bishops who are gathering in Poland starting on Sunday for …

NPR reports: Pope Francis is encouraging countries to welcome Afghan refugees who are seeking a new life. During his appearance to the public in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, Francis also prayed that displaced persons inside Afghanistan receive assistance and protection. “In these tumultuous moments, in which Afghans are seeking refuge, I pray for the most vulnerable among them, I …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis is adding his voice to a campaign to overcome vaccine skepticism, issuing a public service announcement insisting that vaccines are safe, effective and an “act of love.” The video message released Wednesday is aimed at a global audience but directed particularly at the Americas. It features six cardinals and archbishops from North, Central and …

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 …