Vatican News

Pope Francis on Ash Wednesday: Lent is a journey from slavery to freedom

Vatican City, Feb 17, 2021 / 03:15 am (CNA).- The 40 days of Lent are an opportunity to turn from the slavery of sin to the freedom found in reconciliation with God, Pope Francis said on Ash Wednesday.

“The journey of Lent is an exodus from slavery to freedom,” the pope said Feb. 17. “These forty days correspond to the forty years that God’s people trekked through the desert to return to their homeland. How difficult it was to leave Egypt!”

The Vatican ties of Italy’s new Prime Minister Mario Draghi

Vatican City, Feb 17, 2021 / 02:00 am (CNA).- Mario Draghi, an economist and retired banker, was sworn in as prime minister of Italy on Saturday, after the previous government coalition collapsed when a party pulled its support for then prime minister Giuseppe Conte.

As President Sergio Mattarella’s pick to form a new government, Draghi was an unexpected choice. But he was able to win enough support to form a new coalition, appointing a mix of technocrats and politicians to his cabinet. 

Pope Francis praises Coptic Orthodox martyrs as 'saints of all Christians'

Vatican City, Feb 15, 2021 / 11:01 am (CNA).- Pope Francis has praised the courageous witness of the 21 Coptic Orthodox Christians killed by ISIS in 2015, calling them “saints of all Christians.”

In a video message for the “Day of Contemporary Martyrs” Feb. 15, the pope said, “I hold in my heart that baptism of blood, those twenty-one men baptized as Christians with water and the Spirit.”

Vatican diplomat: The empowerment of women will contribute to peace and security

Rome Newsroom, Feb 15, 2021 / 10:17 am (CNA).- A Vatican diplomat said Monday that the advancement of more women in leadership positions in public life will contribute to peace and security.

Fr. Janusz Urbańczyk told the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe that “building a better future requires the complementary collaboration of men and women.”

Italy's bishops draw attention to suffering families in message to new prime minister

Rome Newsroom, Feb 15, 2021 / 08:30 am (CNA).- The president of the national bishops’ conference has welcomed Italy’s new government with a message to Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who was sworn in Saturday.

Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti said the bishops are sure Draghi “will want to give priority attention to the people and families most marked by suffering, precariousness and the economic crisis.”

Pope Francis names Texas priest an auxiliary bishop of San Antonio

Vatican City, Feb 15, 2021 / 05:30 am (CNA).- Pope Francis on Monday named Fr. Gary W. Janak, a canon lawyer and licensed counselor, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas.

Bishop-elect Janak, 58, is vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of Victoria, as well as rector of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Victory.

He will join Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Miller and auxiliary bishop Michael Joseph Boulette in leading the south-central Texas archdiocese.

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