Vatican News — “I encourage you to continue your efforts to contribute to a revival of faith in, and love for, the Holy Eucharist, the “source and summit of the Christian life.” With these words, Pope Francis expressed his gratitude to the members of the Committee preparing for the forthcoming National Eucharistic Congress in the…
CNA—The head of the Coptic Church is scheduled to offer the Orthodox Divine Liturgy in the Catholic Archbasilica of St. John Lateran in Rome on May 14. According to Father Martin Browne, an official at the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, this liturgy will take place in the context of an official visit of…
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…
Vatican News/CNA—Two Catholic priests killed by Nazis while ministering to the dying amid the Boves massacre were beatified as martyrs on Sunday in northern Italy. See two very short videos at the end of this article featuring actual footage of these inspiring priests. In the face of grave danger, Father Giuseppe Bernardi and Father Mario…
(CNA)—Queen Elizabeth II passed away today, on the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Royal Family already had gathered in Balmoral Castle Thursday amid concerns for Queen Elizabeth II’s health, Catholic bishops in England and Wales have offered their prayers for her and her family. Queen Elizabeth, who turned 96 in…
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…
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…
CNA—Did you know that you can get a plenary indulgence any day this November? It’s true. The Vatican has decided to grant Catholics who visit a cemetery to pray for the dead on any day in the month of November a plenary indulgence. Usually, the Catholic Church only grants this plenary indulgence for the souls…
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 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…
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…
CNA—When Cardinal Gabriel Zubeir Wako turns 80 on Feb. 27, the cardinals eligible to vote in a conclave will drop to 127, seven more than the limit of 120 set by Paul VI and confirmed by John Paul II. In 2021, five more cardinals will turn 80, and thus age out of voting in the…
Quick Observations: Reason, Faith and Common Sense — contrary to media hype and distortion — enables us humans to make clear distinctions such as “Love the sinner, Hate the sin.” It is against Truth and reality to call something against nature, “natural.” It is against the most fundamental tenants of our Faith to treat any…
CNS—In a move apparently related to Vatican financial scandals, Pope Francis accepted Cardinal Angelo Becciu’s resignation as prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes and his renunciation of the rights associated with being a cardinal, the Vatican announced late Sept. 24. The cardinal, 72, told reporters Sept. 25 that Pope Francis told him he was…
CNA—The Holy See press office announced Friday that Italian businessman Gianluigi Torzi has been arrested after he was interrogated as part of a Vatican financial investigation. Torzi played a crucial role in the controversial purchase of a London property development by the Secretariat of State. “Today the Office of the Promoter of Justice of the…
CNA—The Vatican Museums are preparing to reopen by reservation only with new health measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to the general secretary of Vatican City State. “For the incoming public, we are completing the installation of some thermal scanners for detecting temperature,” Bishop Fernando Vérgez Alzaga said in an interview published…
Breitbart, Crux—Both China and Taiwan have donated masks and medical supplies to the Vatican in recent days but while the Vatican thanked China publicly it has kept silent over Taiwan’s generosity. As Breitbart News reported, on April 9 the Vatican issued a glowing public statement thanking the People’s Republic of China for donations of medical…
Vatican News, CNA, CBJ—Catholics around the world are invited to pray virtually before the Shroud of Turin on Holy Saturday, as the world struggles to contain the coronavirus pandemic. This rare public showing begins at 5pm local time (Turin, Italy) on April 11, 2020. It will be broadcast live on television and live-streamed on social…
In case you missed it live, it seems that they are repeating the Rosary on the VATICAN NEWS YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV3WlGr0nTw Useful resources: Rosary Mysteries of the Light: https://www.marian.org/mary/rosary/luminous.php Rosary in Italian: https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=3297 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH JOIN POPE FRANCIS AND OTHERS WORLDWIDE TO PRAY ROSARY FOR END TO CORONAVIRUS,…
