Vatican News

Vatican justice branch sets anti-corruption goals for 2018

Vatican City, Aug 2, 2017 / 09:32 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After hosting a discussion earlier this summer, the Vatican office for justice has outlined several goals and action points in their plan to fight corruption, which will be a central focus for the upcoming year.

On June 15 the International Consultation Group for justice, corruption, organized crime and mafias, part of the Vatican dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, organized an “International Debate on Corruption.”

To be a Christian means to have hope even in darkness, Pope Francis says

Vatican City, Aug 2, 2017 / 04:58 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday Pope Francis said that to be a Christian means to have hope in the light of Christ, which we are filled with at our Baptism, even in the midst of difficulties or darkness.

“What does it mean to be Christian? It means to look to the light, to continue to practice the profession of faith in the light, even when the world is wrapped in night and darkness,” Pope Francis said Aug. 2.

Vatican insists on peaceful, democratic resolution in Venezuela

Vatican City, Aug 1, 2017 / 05:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After violence followed a controversial vote in Venezuela this weekend, the Vatican Secretary of State has encouraged the country's citizens to find a "peaceful and democratic" way out of the crisis.

The violence comes on the heels of a vote for an assembly charged by the country's socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, with writing a new constitution.

Vatican urges vacation-goers to be responsible tourists

Vatican City, Aug 1, 2017 / 10:25 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As Rome and other parts of the world gear up for their August holidays, the Vatican has urged tourists to remember the human person and the environment in their travels, treating people and things with respect.

“Holiday time cannot be a pretext either for irresponsibility or for exploitation: in fact, it is a noble time in which everyone can add value to one’s own life and that of others,” Cardinal Peter Turkson wrote Aug. 1.

Russia, West must put peace before partisan interests – Cardinal Parolin

Vatican City, Aug 1, 2017 / 12:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- If problems between Russia and Western countries are going to be resolved, the two must overcome differences and concern for personal interests in order to achieve peace, Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Thursday.

“The question of peace and search for a solution to the various crises underway should be placed above any national or in any case partisan interest,” the Vatican Secretary of State said ahead of a planned trip to Moscow in August.

When we seek Christ, we gain much more than we lose, Francis says

Vatican City, Jul 30, 2017 / 05:26 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Sunday, Pope Francis said that when we seek out Christ, sacrificing everything in the process, in the end we find a joy that is worth far more than anything we may have lost.  

“The disciple of Christ is not one who is deprived of something essential; He is one who has found much more: he has found the fullness of joy that only the Lord can give,” the Pope said July 30.

Cardinal Pell will plead not guilty to abuse charges in Australia

Vatican City, Jul 26, 2017 / 03:57 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a brief hearing in a court in Melbourne Wednesday morning, Cardinal George Pell said he will be pleading not guilty to charges of multiple counts of sexual abuse.

Cardinal Pell did not address the court, but his lawyer, Robert Richter, QC, told the Melbourne Magistrates Court July 26 that "for the avoidance of doubt..Cardinal Pell will plead not guilty to all charges, and will maintain the presumed innocence that he has."

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