The Jesuit General Curia in Rome announced that its former superior general, Father Adolfo Nicolas, died May 20 in Tokyo. He was 84.
International News
Masses in Italy Are a Go, But Other Sacraments Still Suffer Restrictions
While Catholics in Italy are enthusiastic about finally being able to attend Mass after a two months hiatus due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, there are several other areas of ecclesial life that are still on hold.
Vatican Launches Year-Long Celebration of Laudato Si’
This week Pope Francis inaugurated “Laudato Si’ Week” at the Vatican commemorating the five-year anniversary of the publication of his eco-encyclical with the same title, opening a wider year-long commemoration of the document aimed at spurring global citizens to adopt more sustainable practices.
Analysis: Sights and Sounds of ‘New Normal’ as Italy and the Vatican Go Back to Mass
Yesterday, my wife and I did something we, along with most people in Rome, haven’t been able to do since March 8: We went to Mass. (We also went out to lunch for the first time in two months and 10 days, enjoying a gorgeous Roman spring day and a fine meal, but that’s a story for another time.)
Analysis: New Edition of Jesuit Journal Proves Vatican’s ‘All In’ on Chinese Courtship
China, in a sense, has become the third rail of geopolitics, in the sense that anything it touches automatically becomes controversial, from cell phones (“are they spying?”) to the coronavirus (“are they lying?”)
Pope Benedict: St. John Paul’s Life Marked by Mercy, Not Moral Rigidity
The continuity between St. Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis is rooted in the message of God’s divine mercy for all men and women, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said in a letter commemorating his predecessor’s birth.
Pope Joins Interreligious Prayer, Begging God to End Pandemic
During his early morning Mass, Pope Francis joined leaders of every religion marking May 14 as a day of prayer, fasting and acts of charity to ask God to stop the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite Controversy, Italian Prelate Embraces Kidnapped Woman as ‘Our Daughter’
As Silvia Romano, a young Italian woman recently released from captivity after spending 18 months in the hands of Islamic extremists in Eastern Africa, faces mounting national criticism for her apparent conversion to Islam, Italy’s top prelate has stressed the need to embrace her as a “daughter.”
Vatican Official at Georgetown Conference: ‘Pandemics Do Not Have to Break Us Up’
A Vatican cardinal is warning that the tendency to be egotistical or nationalistic in the face of a global pandemic must be countered by a renewed understanding of human fraternity.
Analysis: Down the Barrel of $158 Million Gun, Vatican Reform Is Coming … But What Kind?
According to an internal Vatican analysis recently presented to Pope Francis for a meeting with his department heads, declines in revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic will cause the Vatican’s annual deficit to balloon somewhere between 30 and 175 percent, depending on which of three scenarios, ranging from best to worst case, is realized.