Vatican News

For Pope Francis, God's kingdom doesn't grow through organization charts

Vatican City, Oct 25, 2016 / 02:05 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The kingdom of heaven is able to grow when its members are docile to the Holy Spirit – rather than when they focus on structures and organization charts, the Pope said during his homily at Mass on Tuesday.

Vatican: Cremated bodies may not be scattered

Vatican City, Oct 25, 2016 / 09:44 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released an instruction Tuesday regarding burial and cremation, reiterating the Church's teaching that cremation, while strongly discouraged, can be permissible under certain restrictions – and that scattering the ashes is forbidden.

Pope Francis talks nationwide crisis in meeting with Venezuela's Maduro

Vatican City, Oct 25, 2016 / 05:34 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Monday Pope Francis met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, head of the country’s socialist regime, at the Vatican to discuss the dire political, social and economic situation of Venezuela and its citizens.

A message from Rome on the power of liturgical music

Vatican City, Oct 24, 2016 / 03:17 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Liturgical music has the ability to communicate the love of God – and it's this message that gives it the power to help bring others to Christ, said the choir director of the Diocese of Rome.

“I believe music is a powerful tool to evangelize because evangelization is to impart in the heart of man the joy of Christ, the love of Christ,” Msgr. Marco Frisina told CNA Oct. 21.

As battle for Mosul rages, Pope appeals for an end to violence in Iraq

Vatican City, Oct 23, 2016 / 06:24 am (CNA/EWTN News).- With the Iraqi Army currently embroiled in an effort to liberate Mosul and the Plains of Nineveh from the Islamic State, Pope Francis Sunday offered prayers for an end to violence in the country so it can move forward on the path of hope and reconciliation.

“In these dramatic hours, I am close to the people of Iraq, in particular those from the city of Mosul,” the Pope said Oct. 23.

Castel Gandolfo, the summer home of Popes, opens to the public

Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Oct 22, 2016 / 12:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Used for centuries as a private summer residence for Popes, the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo has now been opened to the public. Visitors may access rooms where Popes have died and where some 50 babies were born during the Second World War.

“Whoever crosses the threshold of the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo will encounter pure beauty,” Director of the Vatican Museums Antonio Paolucci said in an Oct. 21 statement.

That time a priest was reprimanded by a saint

Vatican City, Oct 22, 2016 / 08:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- When white smoke poured out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on October 16, 1978, Fr. Eamon Kelly, a seminarian studying in Rome at the time, couldn’t have known that he was witnessing the election of a future saint.

Nor did he know that more than a dozen years after that election, he would be reprimanded by that same future saint, John Paul II, during one of his Wednesday general audiences.

Pope Francis: don't interrupt others – it won't end well

Vatican City, Oct 22, 2016 / 03:53 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Dialogue is a key element of mercy, Pope Francis said Saturday, explaining that when we interrupt others in order to push our own opinions without truly listening, we risk ruining relationships.

Speaking to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square Oct. 22, the Pope pointed to “a very important aspect of mercy, which is precisely dialogue.”

Pope Francis: Where are vocations from? An encounter with God

Vatican City, Oct 21, 2016 / 03:54 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- When it comes to promoting vocations in the Church, Pope Francis said it all begins with an encounter with God – and that pastoral ministry in the area should focus on listening to youth and being there to answer their questions.

Vatican, Al-Azhar to officially resume dialogue

Vatican City, Oct 21, 2016 / 06:17 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Friday the Vatican announced they will be sending a representative to Egypt to set plans for the official re-launching of dialogue between the Holy See and the Al-Azhar Mosque and adjunct University, marking a seismic step in Catholic-Muslim relations.

Retreat House Bandra