By Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis’ Christmas greeting to the Vatican bureaucracy this year was an extended warning against a host of spiritual ills to which he said Vatican officials are prone, including “spiritual Alzheimer’s,” “existential schizophrenia,” publicity-seeking, the “terrorism of gossip” and even a poor sense of humor. The pope […]
Vatican
Brooklyn Hosts New Vatican Envoy to UN
Accepting Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio’s invitation, the recently named Apostolic Nuncio to the U.N. visited the Brooklyn Diocese and celebrated Mass Dec. 17 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, Prospect Heights. Bishop DiMarzio said he and the diocese can learn much from Archbishop Bernardito Cleopas Auza, who was assigned as Pope Francis’ representative to the U.N. […]
Vatican Thanks U.S. Nuns, Calls for a New Dialogue
By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – A massive, detailed Vatican-ordered investigation of U.S. communities of women religious ended with a call to the women themselves to continue discerning how best to live the Gospel in fidelity to their orders’ founding ideals while facing steeply declining numbers and a rapidly aging membership. Although initially seen […]
Clash of Straw Men
Two recent speeches by senior Vatican officials whose responsibilities involve wrestling with world politics suggest that some default positions need a reset in the Holy See.
Obama Will Meet Pope at the Vatican
by Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis will meet with U.S. President Barack Obama at the Vatican March 27, the White House announced and the Vatican confirmed. The spring meeting would be Obama’s second visit to the Vatican as president, but his first with Pope Francis, who was elected March 13, 2013. The […]
Outgoing Vatican Secretary Stresses Continuity
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who as Vatican secretary of state drew rising criticism for failures of the Vatican bureaucracy he oversaw, stepped down Oct. 15 with a speech praising the pontificate of retired Pope Benedict XVI and stressing its continuity with that of Pope Francis. The cardinal made his remarks at a […]
Will Francis Offer Hope To Liberation Theology?
by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis’ Sept. 11 meeting with Dominican Father Gustavo Gutierrez was an informal one, held in the pope’s residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae, and not listed on his official schedule. Yet the news that Pope Francis had received the 85-year old Peruvian priest, who is widely considered […]
Pope Writes Letter to Secular Italian Paper
by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Writing in one of Italy’s major secular newspapers, Pope Francis called for a “sincere and rigorous dialogue” between the Church and nonbelievers as an “intimate and indispensable expression” of Christian love. The pope’s words appeared in a 2,600-word letter published in the Sept. 11 edition of the […]
Pope Hears Concerns About Curial Reform
by Francis X. Rocca VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis met with Vatican officials Sept. 10 to hear their questions and suggestions about his ongoing reform of the Vatican bureaucracy. The Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, said the meeting lasted nearly three hours and, except for a brief greeting by the pope, was devoted […]
Pope Asks Pols to Protect All Humanity
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The goal of politics and economics is to serve all of humanity, starting with the poorest, the most vulnerable and the unborn, Pope Francis told British Prime Minister David Cameron, president of the Group of Eight industrialized nations. “Money and other political and economic means must serve, not rule,” the pope […]