VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Concern and frustration with delayed and failed responses to abuse scandals in Poland culminated in a desperate appeal to Pope Francis to help "rebuild our church." More than 600 Polish lay Catholics pooled together enough money to buy an ad in an Italian newspaper at the end of June in a last-ditch effort to make sure the pope would hear their plea.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Documents uncovered from the recently opened archives of the pontificate of Pope Pius XII revealed allegations of sexual abuse and abuse of power against the founder of the Schonstatt movement, Father Joseph Kentenich.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, met with the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors to the Vatican to express concern that "possible unilateral actions" on their part would further jeopardize peace in the region.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, a musician and retired Pope Benedict XVI's elder brother, died July 1 at the age of 96. According to Vatican News, Msgr. Ratzinger died in Regensburg, Germany, where he had been hospitalized. Pope Benedict, 93, flew to Regensburg June 18 to be with his ailing brother.
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OXFORD, England (CNS) -- Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who retired from the Archdiocese of Lyon, has left his see to serve as a convent chaplain and envoy for the pope. In a radio interview, he thanked Catholics for helping the church survive his conviction and acquittal on charges he ignored sexual abuse by a local priest.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis said he was praying for the hundreds of Catholics in Poland who turned to him directly, urging him to "rebuild our church" and criticizing the country's bishops for hiding cases of abuse against minors.
Read moreVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis appointed a commissioner charged with overseeing and reorganizing the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the office responsible for the physical care and maintenance of St. Peter's Basilica.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholic media outlets in the United States are called to break down barriers that prevent dialogue and honest communication between people and communities, Pope Francis said. The national motto "e pluribus unum" ("out of many, one") can serve as an inspiration of the ideal of unity amid diversity "in an age marked by conflicts and polarization from which the Catholic community itself is not immune," the pope said in a June 30 message sent to participants of the Catholic Media Conference.
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ORLEANS, France (CNS) -- This year, the church celebrates the 100th anniversary of the canonization of St. Joan of Arc, a 15th-century peasant who is one of the most enduring female symbols in Western culture.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- True love is not defined by preserving one's personal interests but by willingness to sacrifice oneself for the good of others, Pope Francis said. In order to follow Christ's call to take up the cross and follow him, Christians must take the same path he did "without looking for shortcuts," the pope said June 28 before praying the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter's Square.
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Rome Newsroom, Jun 26, 2020 CNA.- Scientists confirmed this month that a crucifix in the Italian city of Lucca is the oldest wooden statue in Europe. A radiocarbon dating study conducted by the National Institute for Nuclear Physics in Florence dated the 8-foot wooden crucifix to between 770 to 880 AD.
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ROME (CNS) -- Ignatius Press will be publishing Australian Cardinal George Pell's prison journal and it is also appealing for donations it will give the cardinal for outstanding legal expenses incurred in defending himself against allegations of the sexual abuse of minors.
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ROME (CNS) -- Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the papal vicar of Rome who spent 10 days in a hospital with COVID-19, will lead a diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, in August. The trip, Aug. 24-27, is scheduled to mark the resumption of diocesan-sponsored pilgrimages, which were halted because of the pandemic and its travel restrictions. With some exceptions and many precautions, travel among European countries resumed June 15.
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SEOUL (CNS) -- Catholics prayed for lasting peace on the divided Korean Peninsula June 25, marking the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. The two Koreas are still technically at war because the war ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- From priests donning face masks and gloves while distributing Communion to exchanging nods with socially distant parishioners during the sign of peace, the coronavirus pandemic has changed how Catholics celebrate the liturgy.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Teaching the faith is a work of evangelization meant to lead people to a deeper relationship with Jesus and not just impart information, said the updated "Directory for Catechesis."
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Everyone lives a life that is often inconsistent or a "contradiction" because people can be both a sinner and a saint, a victim and a tormentor, Pope Francis said. No matter what one's situation is, people can put themselves back in God's hands through prayer, he said June 24 during his weekly general audience.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The memes mocking the Salvadoran cardinal spread almost as fast as the virus. After calling for transparency and dialogue in the country, Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez, auxiliary bishop of San Salvador, found himself under attack, including being called a "Judas" and other names via social media. The attacks increased after he met sometime in June with members of a national private sector association and members of the country's legislative assembly to discuss the pandemic. It was not clear why Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele did not attend the meeting.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Among the many titles under which Catholics invoke Mary, Pope Francis has asked them to add "Mother of Mercy," "Mother of Hope" and "Comfort of Migrants." Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, sent a letter to the presidents of bishops' conferences around the world asking that the titles be inserted into the "Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary," more commonly known as the "Litany of Loreto."
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians have no need to fear in moments of trial and adversity because God's grace is more powerful than evil, Pope Francis said. Like Jesus' suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, Christians may sometimes feel alone and think that "God himself has abandoned them," the pope said June 21 before praying the Angelus with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- During the darkest, most deadly days of the COVID-19 pandemic in northern Italy, medical professionals and volunteers were "silent artisans of a culture of closeness and tenderness," a culture that cannot be allowed to disappear, Pope Francis said.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Retired Pope Benedict XVI returned to the Vatican June 22, five days after flying to Germany to spend time with his ailing, 96-year-old brother. During his last morning in Regensburg, the 93-year-old retired pope visited his brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, one last time before being driven to the airport in Munich. Msgr. Ratzinger was director of the renowned Regensburg boys' choir from 1964 to 1994, when he retired.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Retired Pope Benedict XVI, who is 93 years old, traveled to Germany to visit his ailing older brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, who is 96. The Vatican press office confirmed that Pope Benedict went to Germany June 18 to visit his brother.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The increased screen time and isolation due to quarantine measures or restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic have put vulnerable minors at greater risk of grooming and abuse online, a Jesuit safeguarding expert said.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- True believers do not condemn people for their sins or shortcomings but intercede on their behalf with God through prayer, Pope Francis said. Just as Moses implored God's mercy for his people when they sinned, Christians also must act as intermediaries because even "the worst sinners, the wickedest people, the most corrupt leaders -- they are children of God," the pope said June 17 during his weekly general audience.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Inquisition, the Crusades, the trial of the Knights Templar, the condemnation of Galileo Galilei and the role of Pope Pius XII during World War II are just a few "hot" historical events in the life of the church that can still today ignite controversy and fiery debate.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- An Italian broker who was arrested for his involvement in the questionable majority stake purchase of a property in London by the Vatican's Secretariat of State was granted a conditional release after 10 days in a Vatican jail cell.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Spanish Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera of Valencia made headlines when he described as a "work of the devil" attempts to find a COVID-19 vaccine using cell lines created from fetuses aborted voluntarily decades ago.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian teenager who used his computer programming skills to spread devotion to the Eucharist, will be beatified in October, the Diocese of Assisi announced.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- President Donald Trump said he was "honored" by an open letter from a former Vatican official who claimed that restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 were part of a Masonic plot to establish a new world order.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The mandate given by Pope Francis to the Vatican's coronavirus commission was to prepare a future full of hope amid chaos and uncertainty, Cardinal Peter Turkson said. In a livestreamed meeting with Vatican Media journalists June 9, Cardinal Turkson, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said the pope's words to "prepare the future" rather than "prepare for the future" are rooted in the teachings of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Institute for the Works of Religion, often referred to as the Vatican bank, made a profit of 38 million euros (about $42.9 million) in 2019, more than twice the profit reported in the previous year, according to its annual report.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Vatican authorities arrested and took into custody an Italian broker who was involved in the Vatican Secretariat of State's majority stake purchase of a property in London's posh Chelsea district.
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