Tag Archives: Vatican

Religion News Service reports: The Vatican has tightened its COVID-19 regulations by requiring the use of FFP2 masks (similar to N95 masks) inside and making vaccinations and booster shots mandatory for employees and visitors wishing to enter the Vatican Museums and gardens. In an attached document, the Vatican also issued fines for people who do not respect the new regulations. …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Pope Francis on Monday warned that antivaccine misinformation was undermining recovery from the pandemic and denounced a “cancel culture” intolerant of traditional values that he said was impeding cooperation among the world’s societies. The pope’s remarks came in his annual speech to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, in which he typically highlights urgent international …

Agence France-Presse reports: Pope Francis risked the ire of the world’s childless dog and cat owners by suggesting people who substitute pets for children exhibit “a certain selfishness”. Speaking on parenthood during a general audience at the Vatican, the pontiff lamented that pets “sometimes take the place of children” in society. “Today … we see a form of selfishness. We …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis canceled his New Year’s Eve tradition of visiting the life-sized Nativity scene set up in St. Peter’s Square to discourage large crowds from forming. Meanwhile, major Italian cities scrapped their traditional Dec. 31 open-air concerts as Italy battles a record-setting surge in coronavirus cases. The Vatican has largely followed Italy’s lead in imposing restrictions …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis prayed Saturday for an end to the coronavirus pandemic, using his Christmas Day address to urge health care for all, vaccines for the poor and for dialogue to prevail in resolving the world’s conflicts. Amid a record-setting rise in COVID-19 cases in Italy this week, only a few thousand people flocked to a rain-soaked …

The Associated Press reports: A Vatican official has apologized to a leading Catholic LGBTQ advocacy group for having yanked a reference to it from the Vatican website, saying he realized the move caused pain and that the Catholic Church does indeed want to include gays and hear from them. The Vatican’s General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops, which is …

The Associated Press reports: President Joe Biden received Communion at St. Patrick’s Church during Vigil Mass, a day after saying Pope Francis told him he should continue to partake in the sacrament, despite the opposition of some conservatives in the U.S. upset with his position on abortion. Biden and his wife, Jill, visited the church that is the main place …

The New York Times reports: President Biden told reporters on Friday that Pope Francis had called him a “good Catholic” and said he should keep receiving communion, an unexpected development that appeared to put a papal finger on the scale in a debate raging in the United States’ Roman Catholic Church over whether the president and other Catholic politicians who …

The Guardian reports: Pope Francis has urged world leaders to take “radical decisions” at next week’s global environmental summit in a special message recorded for BBC Radio 4’s Thought for the Day. Leaders attending the Cop26 conference in Glasgow must offer “concrete hope to future generations”, the pontiff said. Francis is not attending the summit, despite earlier suggestions that he …

The Daily Beast reports: The 15th annual exorcism conference, held in Rome this week after a one-year hiatus due to COVID, has turned up all sorts of new pandemic problems facing the world’s exorcists. Those in attendance at the five-day conference, hosted in a Vatican-owned pontifical university, shared stories about the increase in calls they’d received over the last year. …

Reuters reports: President Joe Biden will meet with Pope Francis on Oct. 29 before attending a two-day summit of G20 leaders in Rome where he hopes to reach agreement on a Global Minimum Tax of 15%, a White House official told Reuters. On the second foreign trip of his presidency, Biden will then attend the U.N. climate conference known as …

Reuters reports: The Vatican City State said Tuesday that it would soon begin requiring all employees — including the highest members of the Catholic Church — to show proof of vaccination or of a recent negative coronavirus test. Those without the proper certificates, the Vatican said, will be considered “unjustly absent” — and will be paid no salary. Though the …

Euronews reports: The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cologne will take a “spiritual time-out” from his duties after committing grave errors in a crisis over clerical sexual abuse, but will retain his post, the Vatican said on Friday. Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki, 65, had faced criticism for his handling of allegations of past child sex abuse, in particular for shelving a …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis urged European bishops on Saturday to listen to survivors of clergy sexual abuse and consider them partners in reform, warning that their failure to do so risks the very future of the Catholic Church. Francis issued a video message to Central and Eastern European bishops who are gathering in Poland starting on Sunday for …

NPR reports: Pope Francis is encouraging countries to welcome Afghan refugees who are seeking a new life. During his appearance to the public in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, Francis also prayed that displaced persons inside Afghanistan receive assistance and protection. “In these tumultuous moments, in which Afghans are seeking refuge, I pray for the most vulnerable among them, I …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis is adding his voice to a campaign to overcome vaccine skepticism, issuing a public service announcement insisting that vaccines are safe, effective and an “act of love.” The video message released Wednesday is aimed at a global audience but directed particularly at the Americas. It features six cardinals and archbishops from North, Central and …

Reuters reports: Vatican City released its first real estate holding information on Saturday, revealing that it owns more than 5,000 real estate as part of its most detailed financial disclosure to date. This information was included in two documents from the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy Land (APSA), the 2020 consolidated financial statements and the first ever public …

Reuters reports: Pope Francis greeted well-wishers on Sunday from the 10th floor balcony of his hospital room where he is recovering from major intestinal surgery. The pope, 84, stood for 10 minutes on the balcony of his special suite at Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, and thanked the crowd of at least 200 supporters for their prayers. Pope Francis said good …

The Associated Press reports: The Vatican said Monday that Pope Francis is “in good condition, alert” and breathing on his own, a day after he underwent a three-hour operation that involved removing half his colon. Francis, 84, is expected to stay in Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic, a Catholic hospital, for about seven days “barring complications,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. “His …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis went Sunday to a Rome hospital for scheduled surgery for a stenosis, or restriction, of the large intestine, the Vatican said. The brief announcement from the Holy See’s press office didn’t say exactly when the surgery would be performed but said there would be an announcement when the surgery is complete. Last week, Francis, …