The Vatican has officially declared its intention to defeat the Church of England – not in a theological re-match nearly 500 years after they split, but on the cricket pitch The challenge was launched at the baptism of the St. Peter’s Cricket Club. Vatican officials said the league will be composed of teams of priests Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Vatican’
Vatican seeks ban on chemical and nuclear weapons
Friday, October 25th, 2013In an address to a United Nations committee, the Vatican’s representative has called for a total ban on chemical and nuclear weapons. “It is sadly ironic that states vociferous in their condemnation of chemical weapons are silent on the continued possession of nuclear weapons,” said Archbishop Francis Chullikatt. “The international community must appeal and act Read more
Spiritual values of sport in spotlight at Vatican
Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013
Sprinters took over the main avenue leading to St Peter’s Square on October 20 in a relay race hailed by Pope Francis as a reminder of the spiritual values of sport. The race came at the end of a week in which the Vatican announced the formation of its own cricket club and an Argentinian Read more
Vatican secures .catholic Internet extension
Friday, October 18th, 2013As top-level Internet domain names are being rolled out and up for grabs, the Vatican has scored control of .catholic. The Vatican plans to allow “institutions and communities that have canonical recognition” to use the extension, “so people online — Catholics and non-Catholics — will know a site is authentically Catholic”. But there are many Read more
Vatican property office submits to outside audit
Friday, October 18th, 2013Four months after one of its accountants was arrested for alleged involvement in a multi-million cash smuggling scheme, the Vatican property office has said it will submit its operations to outside financial review. The move by the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, an office of the Vatican’s central bureaucracy, may represent the Read more
German diocese to lift ban on remarried divorcees
Friday, October 11th, 2013
The German archdiocese of Freiburg has indicated its willingness to allow some remarried divorcees to receive Communion — but the Vatican has signalled the move should be halted until next year’s Synod on the Family is held. Freiburg’s pastoral care office has published a 14-page guidebook for priests and deacons in the archdiocese with detailed Read more
It’s time for real authority for women in the church
Friday, October 11th, 2013
In preparing to publish their historic 12,000-word interview with Pope Francis, the editors at America magazine cut an important sentence from his answer about the role of women in the church: “It is necessary to broaden the opportunities for a stronger presence of women in the church.” America editor in chief Jesuit Fr. Matt Malone Read more
Author seeks to exorcise Georgetown University
Tuesday, October 8th, 2013
Novelist William Peter Blatty, author of The Exorcist, has sent a canon-law petition to the Vatican, asking it to require Georgetown University in Washington, DC, to live up to its Catholic identity. The Jesuit university is Blatty’s alma mater, and his best-selling book and the 1973 blockbuster film The Exorcist were set in Georgetown. His Read more
Four suggestions for the pope’s ‘to-do’ list
Tuesday, October 1st, 2013
When addressing the cardinal conclave, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Buenos Aires warned of “self-preferentiality” and “theological narcissism,” which he said would lead to a “sick” Church. He particularly criticized the “mundane Church that lives within itself, of itself and for itself.” Six months into his papacy, it is crystal clear that this Argentine cardinal, Read more
Improved communications would help the Vatican
Friday, September 27th, 2013
The resignations of two bishops on child sex abuse allegations in the past six weeks and the Vatican’s handling of these latest cases has again prompted questions on how the world’s oldest monarchy handles controversy: It ignores it. In both cases – a nuncio to the Dominican Republic and, most recently, an auxiliary bishop in Read more