Vatican News

Pope Francis urges new cardinals to imitate Christ’s compassionate heart

Vatican City, Oct 5, 2019 / 10:15 am (CNA).- Pope Francis created 13 new cardinals Saturday, encouraging each of them to ask for the grace to have a compassionate heart like Christ.

“The readiness of a cardinal to shed his own blood – as signified by the scarlet color of your robes – is secure if it is rooted in this awareness of having been shown compassion and in the ability to show compassion in turn,” Pope Francis said at the consistory Oct. 5.

In Rome, outside voices offer contrasting opposition to Amazon synod

Vatican City, Oct 4, 2019 / 02:00 pm (CNA).- In Rome this week, two groups who say their voices are not often heard by Church leaders held events to speak out against aspects of the Amazon synod with which they disagree, with both groups offering dramatic assessments about the meaning and significance of the synod of bishops.

Ecological ritual performed in Vatican gardens for pope’s tree planting ceremony

Vatican City, Oct 4, 2019 / 10:30 am (CNA).- Pope Francis witnessed an indigenous performance at a tree planting ceremony in the Vatican gardens Friday, during which people held hands and bowed before carved images of pregnant women.

A group of people, including Amazonians in ritual dress, as well people in lay clothes and a Franciscan brother, knelt and bowed in a circle around images of two semi-naked pregnant women in the presence of the pope and members of the curia.

US ambassadors: Religious groups provide aid where governments cannot

Vatican City, Oct 3, 2019 / 01:37 pm (CNA).- U.S. diplomats asked the Holy See to join the multilateral International Religious Freedom Alliance Wednesday, underscoring the contributions of faith-based organizations to flourishing and free societies around the world.

Cardinal Baldisseri: Amazon synod's working doc ‘not magisterium’

Vatican City, Oct 3, 2019 / 10:15 am (CNA).- Speaking at a press conference Thursday on the Vatican’s upcoming Amazon synod, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, head of the Synod of Bishops, played down the importance of the synod’s working document, saying it is neither a “papal document” nor “magisterium.”

Pompeo meets pope to discuss religious freedom, Middle East Christians

Vatican City, Oct 3, 2019 / 09:00 am (CNA).- Pope Francis met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss the preservation of Christian communities in the Middle East and the promotion of religious freedom on Thursday.

Vatican approves miracle of Polish Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski

Vatican City, Oct 3, 2019 / 05:27 am (CNA).- The Vatican announced Thursday approval of a miracle attributed to Venerable Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, the former primate of Poland known for his heroic resistance to Communism.

Burkina Faso Jesuit is the first African to win prestigious Ratzinger Prize

Vatican City, Oct 2, 2019 / 03:00 pm (CNA).- A Jesuit priest from Burkina Faso has made history as the first African to win the prestigious Ratzinger Prize, which honors the work and academic contribution of theologians and other Catholic intellectuals.

“I am very surprised to have been awarded this prize, and I am very grateful to the scientific committee for this honor of being at the forefront of Africa for this prize,” Fr. Paul Béré, SJ told Vatican News shortly after the announcement.

After Vatican raid, 5 officials and employees suspended

Vatican City, Oct 2, 2019 / 12:43 pm (CNA).- An Italian news magazine has reported that five Vatican employees have been suspended following an Oct. 1 raid of offices within the Vatican’s Secretariat of State.

An Oct. 2 internal memo from the government of the Vatican City State conveyed that the five employees have been “suspended from service.” The memo was published by L’Espresso.

Cardinal Ouellet defends priestly celibacy ahead of Amazon synod

Rome, Italy, Oct 2, 2019 / 11:35 am (CNA).- Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, presented a book Wednesday arguing that in the face of challenges, the Church should not grab at quick solutions, but seek to deepen its understanding of the uninterrupted tradition of priestly celibacy in the Latin rite.

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