Vatican News

At Vatican, Secretary Mike Pompeo highlights Chinese religious freedom violations 

Vatican City, Oct 2, 2019 / 06:00 am (CNA).- U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo spoke out Wednesday about China’s religious freedom violations during a visit to the Vatican.

“When the state rules absolutely, God becomes an absolute threat to authority … human dignity is trampled … moral norms are crushed completely,” Pompeo said Oct. 2 in Vatican City’s Old Synod Hall.

Pope Francis: The Holy Spirit is essential to evangelization

Vatican City, Oct 2, 2019 / 05:34 am (CNA).- Guidance by the Holy Spirit is integral to sharing the Gospel with others and bringing them to Christ, Pope Francis said during the general audience Wednesday.

To try to convince people that Jesus is God without the guidance of the Holy Spirit “is not evangelization,” he said Oct. 2. “If there is no Holy Spirit there is no evangelization.”

Pope Francis appoints Maltese bishop pro-secretary general of Synod of Bishops

Vatican City, Oct 2, 2019 / 04:40 am (CNA).- The Vatican announced Wednesday that Pope Francis has nominated Maltese Bishop Mario Grech pro-secretary general of the Synod of Bishops to work alongside secretary general Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri.

In a declaration to journalists Oct. 2, Balidisseri, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops since 2013, said the pro-secretary general will "walk alongside" him in his role and participate in this month's Amazon synod as a member.

The Church's Extraordinary Missionary Month begins under the gaze of St Therese

Vatican City, Oct 1, 2019 / 02:35 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis opened the Extraordinary Missionary Month Tuesday invoking St. Therese of Liseux, the patron saint of missionaries.

“Saint Therese of the Child Jesus shows us the way: she made prayer the fuel for missionary activity in the world,” Pope Francis said Oct. 1 during his homily at Vespers in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Vatican prosecutors conduct raid on Secretariat of State offices

Vatican City, Oct 1, 2019 / 08:40 am (CNA).- Vatican prosecutors seized documents and electronic devices in a raid executed Tuesday at the offices of the most senior curial department.

According to a statement from the Holy See press office Oct. 1, the raid was conducted at the offices of the general affairs section of the Secretariat of State. The action was authorized by the Vatican City court's Promoter of Justice, Gian Piero Milano, and Adjunct Promoter of Justice Alessandro Diddi.

Pope Francis: Love children and the elderly, or expect the sadness of ‘demographic winter’

Vatican City, Sep 30, 2019 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- In his morning homily at the Vatican’s Santa Marta guesthouse, Pope Francis said Monday that the vibrant presence of elderly and young people in communities demonstrates the presence of God.

“The abundance of elderly people and children. This is the sign that when a people care for the old and for the young, and consider them a treasure, there is the presence of God, a promise of future,” the pope said Sept. 30.

Pope Francis meets with Fr. James Martin at Vatican

Vatican City, Sep 30, 2019 / 09:20 am (CNA).- Pope Francis met Monday with Fr. James Martin, SJ, in a private audience in the apostolic palace inside the Vatican.

Martin said on Twitter Sept. 30, that his meeting with Pope Francis lasted 30 minutes, and that he shared with him “the joys and hopes, and the griefs and anxieties, of LGBT Catholics and LGBT people worldwide.”

 

Pope Francis institutes day to promote knowledge and love of scripture

Vatican City, Sep 30, 2019 / 04:02 am (CNA).- Pope Francis Monday declared the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time to be the Sunday of the Word of God in order to promote a closer relationship with holy scripture and its dissemination in the world.

“A day devoted to the Bible should not be seen as a yearly event but rather a year-long event, for we urgently need to grow in our knowledge and love of the Scriptures and of the risen Lord,” the pope wrote in an apostolic letter Sept. 30.

Cardinal Sarah reflects on the meaning of the priesthood

Vatican City, Sep 29, 2019 / 09:30 am (CNA).- Cardinal Robert Sarah reflected on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the meaning of the priesthood in a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Saturday marking his 50th ordination anniversary.

“The priest lives joy in its fullness at Holy Mass, which is the raison d'être of his existence, what gives meaning to his life,” Sarah said in his homily at the Altar of the Chair Sept. 29.

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