Pope John XXIII used to make secret unscheduled trips out of the Vatican, driving around Rome and the surrounding area, a former papal aide has revealed. “Good Pope John” would occasionally say he needed to “escape”. Continue reading
Posts Tagged ‘Vatican’
Silenced priests: A question of conscience
Tuesday, March 25th, 2014
Let us talk about Catholic priests. Consider especially those who are now in their 60s, after a life of service to their church. They were seminarians in the heady days of Vatican II when everything seemed possible. They managed to survive the aftermath of was Humanae Vitae and continued to preach and counsel, to lead the sacred Read more
Pope appoints sex abuse victim to child safeguarding commission
Tuesday, March 25th, 2014
A victim of clergy sex abuse, Marie Collins from Ireland, is one of eight appointments by Pope Francis to a new Vatican commission to safeguard children. Among the members are Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, four laywomen, one Italian professor, and two priests. The Vatican said the eight would be responsible for determining the commission’s structure, Read more
Francis shows his human side
Friday, March 21st, 2014
When the head of an international religious order visited Japan many years ago, I was asked to be his translator. One evening at a convent of the order, the superior greeted a large group of nuns, saying what a pleasure it was to be with them for the visitation (shisatsu). I thought I had turned Read more
Pope: One year at the Vatican
Friday, March 14th, 2014
As Pope Francis completes his first year in office, David Willey reports from Rome on the changes that have taken place in the Vatican and the Catholic Church. Back in 1978 – which went down in history as the “year of the three Popes” – I remember meeting a gregarious American priest and journalist who Read more
Jury still out on Pope Francis
Friday, March 14th, 2014
March is a wet month in Rome. It was raining when Pope Francis was elected on 13 March 2013, and it was pouring raining again when I was back there last week in preparation for his first anniversary. But nothing seems to dampen media enthusiasm for Francis and his approach to what he calls his Read more
Diverse membership for Vatican’s Council for Economy
Tuesday, March 11th, 2014
Pope Francis has appointed eight cardinals and seven lay people as members of the new Vatican Council for the Economy. The members of the council are from throughout the world, reflecting the universality of the Church. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising in Germany, is the council’s coordinator. The other cardinal members come Read more
Cardinal Pell demands plain English in new Vatican role
Friday, March 7th, 2014
The Pope’s finance chief says the working languages of the Vatican’s new Secretariat for the Economy will be English as well as Italian. Cardinal George Pell said this will mean that the new Vatican department will be able to access the best people from around the world. In late February, Pope Francis announced the secretariat Read more
Vatican explores future Facebook page for Pope Francis
Tuesday, March 4th, 2014The Vatican is looking at the possibility of Pope Francis having a Facebook page. Technical experts are exploring ways to prevent offensive or inappropriate messages and other such material from being posted by users on the Pope’s page. According to La Stampa, this is the biggest obstacle that needs to be overcome. Continue reading
Coming out of Cardinal Pell’s shadow
Friday, February 28th, 2014
When it was announced in 2001 that Melbourne Archbishop George Pell was to be made Archbishop of Sydney, the incumbent, Cardinal Edward Clancy, said Pell was ‘a controversial figure, and controversial figures generally create a few enemies as well as friends along the way’. Pell’s latest promotion, to head an important new office in Rome Read more