The Vatican said the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, a man who sowed division and hatred and who caused “innumerable” deaths, should prompt serious reflection about one’s responsibility before God, not rejoicing. The Vatican statement May 2 came the day after President Barack Obama announced that U.S. forces had killed bin Laden in Read more
The Vatican’s official newspaper L’Osservatore Romano is now online. The online version was launched on April 19, marking the anniversary of Pope Benedict’s election. The full version of L’Osservatore Romano, “The Roman Observer” is available in Italian and English. Until now the full daily version was printed only in Italian. A weekly version in English Read more
The Courtyard of the Gentiles, held recently in Paris, has exposed a gaping deficit on the level of communication. No press office. No text made available to the media, neither before, nor during, nor after. Only those present and those listening to Radio Notre-Dame or viewing KTO TV to were able to hear the words of Read more
A Vatican initiative to promote dialogue between believers and atheists, ended over the weekend with the Pope urging youth to put God back in the debate and to “tear down the barriers of fear of the other, the foreigner, of those who are not like you” that mutual ignorance can create. Benedict said religions had Read more
Vatican Radio and the Vatican’s official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano mourned the passing of Elizabeth Taylor on Friday. “The curtain falls on the violet eyes of Hollywood” read the L’Osservatore headline. It is reported that L’Osservatore Romano said Taylor was the “last remaining star in the firmament of old Hollywood” and it praised her contributions on AIDS and other Read more
Starting April 1, the Vatican’s penalty for money laundering and financing terrorism is prison. Having disappeared from canon law some time back, the penalty of prison was reintroduced last December 30. It will come into effect on April 1. Along with the prison sentence, there are a raft of new regulations to govern the Vatican Bank, Read more
During his regular Angelus audience on Sunday, March 20, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of his “great apprehension” about military action in Libya and called on military and political leaders to protect civilians caught up in the conflict. “I am now following the latest events with great apprehension”, he asserted. “I pray for those who are Read more
The Vatican is running a two-month course on how to make saints. The two-month March course is bringing together 80 students from around the world to train them in the skills needed to advance the cause of their potential saint. Patience, attention to detail and being prepared to commit to what might be decades of Read more