Pope Francis has called on Catholic parishes, convents and monasteries across Europe to shelter at least one refugee family each. The Pope said the two small parishes at the Vatican “will welcome in these days two families of refugees”. The plight of refugees from war-torn Syria has sparked calls for action worldwide, notably after a Read more
The Vatican has stated that people with transsexual behaviours cannot be godparents. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued this directive in the case of a Spanish transsexual person who sought to be godfather to a nephew. Alex Salinas, 21, was born female, but holds an ID card identifying her as a male. Read more
People working at the Vatican are reportedly among the 37 million users of infidelity website Ashley Madison. Websites of at least two dozen people with the .va address are among those who had signed up to meet married people for liaisons. Hackers from the “Impact Team” posted to the Internet a huge file including names, Read more
Timor-Leste will sign a concordat with the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on Aug. 15 when it celebrates 500 years of evangelization to mark the arrival of the Portuguese in 1615. The treaty has been under negotiation since 2006 but was not finalized until two months ago, Timor-Leste Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo Read more
Vatican clerics are adopting a new sobriety in dress, transport and manners in an attempt to be in step with Pope Francis. Breitbart reported priest-journalist Fr Filippo Di Giacomo saying that these days fewer cardinals show up willingly at fancy restaurants where they might get spotted by paparazzi. “Even the relatives of religious are now Read more
The Vatican will release a document on consecrated widowhood later this year. This was reported by Avvenire, a newspaper owned by the Italian episcopal conference. The paper noted that there are 200 consecrated widows in Italy and that another 100 are in formation. Consecrated widowhood was noted by St John Paul II in a 1996 apostolic Read more
An archbishop and an auxiliary bishop of the same US archdiocese have both resigned after the archdiocese became mired in sex abuse controversy. The resignations of Archbishop John Nienstedt, 68, and Bishop Lee Piché, 57, of St Paul-Minneapolis were announced by the Vatican on Monday. The move came 10 days after prosecutors brought criminal charges Read more
Pope Francis has urged Russian president Vladimir Putin to make a “sincere and great effort” to achieve peace in the Ukraine. When Mr Putin met the Pope at the Vatican on Wednesday, he was received with full honours and regalia, including a ceremonial Swiss Guard welcome. Pope Francis seemed stiff and exceptionally formal when he Read more
Pope Francis’s much anticipated encyclical on the environment will be released on June 18, the Vatican has confirmed. Earlier unconfirmed reports had put the release date two days earlier. “To avoid confusion on the diffusion of non-confirmed information, it is communicated that the foreseen date of the Pope’s encyclical is the next June 18, Thursday,” Read more
They’re an experienced team, the three of them. The driver has barely stopped, and already the security guard has grabbed a child from the crowd on the left and is holding it up for the pope. The pontiff bends over, kisses the child — and then it’s over. The whole thing takes mere seconds and Read more