Tag Archives: VATICAN

  Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis said Sunday he was late to his weekly Angelus prayer because he had been stuck in a Vatican elevator and had to be freed by firemen. He followed the tale of his rescue with a surprise announcement about the creation …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Vatican has finally elevated Uganda Martyrs Church, Munyonyo into a minor Basilica for its unique connection with the Uganda Martyrs. The minor Basilica status is granted by a special decree signed by the Pope following a series of processes. Although the processes ended …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | The Vatican will dig up two graves Thursday after an anonymous tip-off that they may contain the remains of an Italian teenager who went missing 36 years ago. Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of Vatican employee, was last seen leaving a music class aged 15, …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Thursday passed a measure to oblige those who know about sex abuse in the Catholic Church to report it to their superiors, following a global clerical paedophilia scandal. Every diocese in the world will now be obliged to have a system …

Pope hopes for S.Sudan peace as leaders end Vatican retreat Vatican City, Holy See | AFP |  Pope Francis called Thursday for warring South Sudanese factions to respect the latest armistice after a two-day Vatican retreat aimed at shoring up the fragile peace. “I express my heartfelt hope that hostilities …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Chilean Cardinal Riccardo Ezzati, who had agreed to step down along with his country’s bishops over sexual abuse cases and their cover-up, the Vatican said Saturday. Ezzati, archbishop of Santiago, is the seventh senior Chilean church official …

Rome, Italy | AFP |  Pope Francis denounced the deceptiveness of “the culture of appearance” in a ceremony marking Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, the 40-day period before Easter when Catholics traditionally fast. “Earthly realities fade away like dust in the wind,” said the pope at the Basilica …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis announced Monday that the Vatican will open the secret archives of the era of Pius XII in March next year, which could shed light on the Catholic Church’s actions during World War II. Researchers have long sought to examine the archives …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | A top Catholic cardinal admitted Saturday that Church files on priests who sexually abused children were destroyed or never even drawn up, a move which allowed paedophiles to prey on others. “Files that could have documented the terrible deeds and named those responsible …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Thursday handed the world’s top Catholic bishops guidelines to shape the debate at a landmark Vatican summit on tackling clerical sex abuse. “As a help, I would share with you some important criteria formulated by the various episcopal commissions and …