A Vatican delegation had talks with Chinese officials during a recent visit to China last month, the Holy See has disclosed. The six-member delegation visited for 11 days, during which time they visited Beijing Cathedral, the National Seminary and Bishop Giuseppe Li Shan. Bishop Li-Shan is recognised by both the Holy See and the Chinese Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Vatican’
Priest loses Vatican credentials after challenging prelate
Friday, October 16th, 2015
The Vatican has reportedly revoked the press credentials of a priest doing media reports on the synod on the family. This came after Fr Nicholas Gregoris challenged Canadian Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher after a press conference on October 6. Fr Gregoris, who had been covering Vatican news for 15 years, was told to leave the Sala Read more
No gay lobby at Vatican says gay former CDF official
Friday, October 16th, 2015A former official at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith who publicly came out as gay has insisted there is no gay lobby at the Vatican. Msgr Krzysztof Charamsa told a private Italian television channel that he has never met such a lobby in the Vatican. “I met homosexual priests, often isolated like Read more
Kiwi prelates’ synod speeches see daylight briefly
Friday, October 16th, 2015Summaries of family synod interventions by Bishop Charles Drennan and Cardinal John Dew were posted to the Polish bishops’ conference website last week, but were subsequently removed. Summaries of interventions by several dozen synod fathers were posted. This appeared to be in violation of rules at the synod. The Vatican is only releasing short summaries Read more
Actor Meryl Streep slams Catholic Church for sexism
Tuesday, October 13th, 2015Actor Meryl Streep has said that the Catholic Church is contributing to “infuriating” levels of sexism in the world. Speaking at the London Film Festival last week, Streep said “the Church is a body that excludes people”. “There are two places you [women] can’t vote in the world – in Saudi Arabia, although they are Read more
What diplomatic power does Pope Francis have?
Friday, September 25th, 2015
Pope Francis is part of the way through his much-anticipated visit to Cuba and the US, which he is visiting for the first time. He is following in the footsteps of his immediate predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who visited Cuba in 2012 and expressed his opposition to the US trade embargo. Now Cuba and the Read more
Pope puts up refugee family at Vatican
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2015Pope Francis is putting up a Syrian refugee family from Damascus in a Vatican apartment, aides revealed last week. The Christian family is the first of two that the Catholic leader has promised to find space for in the Vatican’s two parishes. This is part of a broader Church effort to help shape Europe’s response Read more
New public train between Vatican and Castel Gandolfo
Friday, September 18th, 2015A new weekly train service for the public has been launched between the Vatican and the traditional papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo. The public can now visit the Vatican Museums in Rome and the gardens and a new papal portrait gallery in the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo — thanks to the Saturday service Read more
LEGO Vatican on display
Tuesday, September 15th, 2015For more than 10 painstaking months, Father Bob Simon of St. Catherine of Siena in Moscow created a replica of the Vatican out of roughly 500,000 Lego pieces. The work is now on display at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, which happens to be running two overlapping exhibits on Lego art and Vatican art and Read more