WSJ—Even as Xi Jinping was being crowned as China’s unchallenged dictator, the Vatican said Saturday it has renewed its agreement with the Chinese Communist Party. This is the second renewal since the deal was brokered in 2018, though there’s little progress on religious freedom to show for it. Its main contribution has been to mute…
CNA—Pope Francis on Monday called on entrepreneurs to be “prophets“ and to continue to transform the economy. “We are living in an era of notorious economic and social imbalances,” the pope told members of two Spanish associations of entrepreneurs at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Oct. 17. It was “urgent to propose a suitable economy…
Crisis—This week the USCCB released a report with the bureaucratically self-important title, “National Synthesis of the People of God in the United States of America for the Diocesan Phase of the 2021-2023 Synod.” Essentially, it’s a report from the bishops summarizing the results of the past year’s synodal “listening sessions” held in dioceses throughout the…
CNA—Bishop Robert Barron, the founder of the Catholic media apostolate Word on Fire, was installed as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, at St. John the Evangelist Co-Cathedral in Rochester on Friday. Appointed by Pope Francis earlier this summer, Barron is returning to the Midwest after almost seven years as auxiliary bishop…
CNA—A Vatican policy published Tuesday says that the Holy See’s financial investments cannot contradict Catholic teaching. The policy stipulates that Vatican investments should “be aligned with the teachings of the Catholic Church, with specific exclusions for financial investments which contradict its fundamental principles, such as the sanctity of life or the dignity of the human…
CNA—The Vatican’s “trial of the century”, scheduled to continue in September, has so far offered plenty of drama and raised numerous unanswered questions. One of the most sensitive, not just for Catholics who have donated money to the Vatican, is this: Was Peter’s Pence used to finance investments like the now infamous London property deal?…
CNA—The Vatican’s financial watchdog authority reported on Monday that it received 104 suspicious activity reports in 2021, an increase from the previous year. In a 35-page annual report, released on June 13, the Supervisory and Financial Information Authority (ASIF) said that it submitted 21 reports to the Vatican’s Promoter of Justice (prosecutor), the highest number…
CNA—Cardinal Angelo Becciu said Wednesday that he is blameless in the forced resignation of a Vatican auditor, because it came at Pope Francis’ request. Becciu was said to be responsible for the sudden firing in 2017 of the Vatican’s first auditor general, Libero Milone, as well as the cancelation of an internal audit. But during…
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI delivered these words, as Pope, during a pastoral visit to the Shroud of Turin in 2010— Dear Friends: This is a moment to which I have been looking forward. I have stood before the Holy Shroud on various occasions but this time I am experiencing this Pilgrimage and this moment with…
The Consecration of Russia and the Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by the Pope and the bishops throughout the world, joined by the laity, will take place today, on the Solemnity of the Annunciation: March 25, 2022. The Holy Father has asked the Faithful of the world to join him and the bishops…
Vatican News—The Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary will be pronounced by the Pope on the afternoon of Friday 25 March in St Peter’s Basilica. The act of consecration will be performed in communion with the local Churches throughout the world. In response to questions from journalists, the director of…
Vatican News—Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Friday, 25 March, during the Celebration of Penance that he will preside over at 5pm in St Peter’s Basilica. The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, said in a statement: “The same act, on the same day,…
Vatican News (by Tiziana Campisi and Felipe Herrera)—As concerns about the war in Ukraine grow around the world, Cardinals Kurt Koch and Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot – presidents respectively of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue – joined the appeal for peace launched by the Pope…
The following is the full text of a letter by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI addressing the report on abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich-Freising. This English translation of the original German text was released by the Vatican on Feb. 8, 2022. Dear Sisters and Brothers, Following the presentation of the report on abuse in…
Vatican News, CNA, CBJ—Pope Francis spoke to a group of French entrepreneurs meeting at the Vatican on January 7. He focused on how to apply the Gospel values in their work and businesses, saying “the Church needs your witness,” and offering teachings to help “carry out your role as leaders according to the heart of…
CNA—A Catholic leader has said that his archdiocese won’t take part in the two-year global synodal process, saying that it would run “the risk of becoming ideological.” Archbishop Wolfgang Haas of Vaduz, Liechtenstein, announced his decision on Oct. 15, 2021. “I am of the opinion that in our small archdiocese it is possible for good…
CNA—Pope Francis greeted a Colombian nun on Sunday, shortly after she was freed four years after being kidnapped by Islamists in Mali. The pope blessed Sr. Gloria Cecilia Narváez Argoti before a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica launching a worldwide synodal process. The Malian presidency announced that she was released on Oct. 9 after “four…
CNA—Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has said that the legalization of same-sex marriage in many countries is “a distortion of conscience” which has also entered some Catholic circles. In an introduction to a new anthology of his writings on Europe, Benedict XVI said that “with the legalization of ‘same-sex marriage’ in 16 European countries, the issue…
Father Paul Mariani, S.J., professor at Santa Clara University, gave a fascinating talk at the Napa Institute Summer Conference on the subject of China and the Vatican. Father Mariani’s presentation centered on a 2018 “provisional accord” between China and the Vatican that was apparently designed to work toward normalizing relations and resolving issues over the…
CNA—Pope emeritus Benedict XVI is praying for Pope Francis after he underwent intestinal surgery on Sunday. Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Benedict’s personal secretary, told Italian media that the retired pope “lovingly directs his thoughts to Pope Francis and fervently prays for him,” the German section of Vatican News reported. Pope Francis is recovering at Rome’s Gemelli…
