Vatican

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Vatican Debates Paying Tribute to Galileo

Heretic remains a touchy subject in Catholic Church

(Newser) - Galileo Galilei is riling the Catholic church yet again, the Wall Street Journal reports, as an anonymous donor has offered to pay to erect a statue in the Vatican of Catholicism’s most famous heretic. But though the church has come around on science, Galileo remains a touchy subject. He’...

Knights Templar Heirs Sue Pope for $150B

Group wants money, apology—and its good name back

(Newser) - A group claiming to be descended from the ancient Knights Templar want Pope Benedict XVI to right a 700-year-old wrong, NPR reports. The group has filed a lawsuit in Spain seeking $150 billion in compensation for property seized by the church. It also wants the church to apologize and restore...

Boston Diocese Boots 'Women Priests'

Church excommunicates 4 women ordained in unsanctioned ritual

(Newser) - A group campaigning for women to be admitted to the Roman Catholic priesthood held a ceremony in a Protestant church in Boston yesterday in which three women were declared Catholic priests and a fourth a deacon. The Archdiocese of Boston immediately denounced the action and declared that the women had...

Aussies May Have Slipped Pope a Cat

Vatican denies presence of papal loaner for company

(Newser) - There’s a new papal mystery swirling around the Outback—is Pope Benedict hanging out with a borrowed kitten? Organizers of the Catholic youth festival say they gave Benedict a gray loaner named Bella to keep the cat-loving pontiff company during his Australian sojurn. But when pressed, a Vatican spokesman...

'Go Green,' Pope Urges Youth
 'Go Green,' Pope Urges Youth 
Jul 14, 2008 4:35 AM CDT

'Go Green,' Pope Urges Youth

Pontiff pleads for the earth as he kicks off visit to Australia

(Newser) - The Pope yesterday called on the world—particularly young people—to combat global warming with "a style of life that eases problems caused to the environment," reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Pope Benedict issued his plea just minutes before touching down in Australia for an official visit. The...

Weak Dollar Sends Vatican to $14.5M Loss

Catholic church blames declining greenback as it goes into the red

(Newser) - The weak dollar has wreaked havoc on business across Europe, but one organization has posted a surprising loss: the Vatican. The Catholic Church blamed the declining greenback for its first loss in 4 years as it ended the year $14.5 million in the red. The Guardian reports on how...

Pope to Launch Bible Marathon for TV, Internet

Pontiff will lead off six-day reading fest in the fall

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI may not have the media cache of his predecessor, but he's working on it. The pontiff will kick off a six-day Bible-reading marathon that will be broadcast live on Italian television and the Internet this fall. The Guardian reports the pope will read aloud the first chapter...

Imposter Priest Confessor Nabbed at Vatican

'Strange behavior' tipped off authorities

(Newser) - A phony priest was stopped just as he was about to hear confessions in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, the BBC reports. The man had on the right clothes and produced valid-looking priestly documents and Vatican ID—"but the expert eye of our personnel didn't need much to...

High-Rolling Hathaway Ex Charged With Fraud

Raffaelo Follieri said to use Vatican in scam, which ensnared billionaire Burkle, others

(Newser) - Actress Anne Hathaway’s ex-boyfriend was charged today with defrauding investors of millions with a real-estate scheme in which Raffaello Follieri claimed intimate connections with the Vatican, the Smoking Gun reports. Billionaire Ron Burkle appears to be the "principal investor" scammed by Follieri, 29, who used Burkle’s money...

Divorced Berlusconi Challenges Communion Ban

He confronts startled bishop at mass

(Newser) - Beleaguered Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi caused a scene in a church over the weekend, loudly demanding from a startled bishop in the middle of mass: "When are you going to change this rule that stops me taking communion?" Berlusconi, like other divorced Catholics who remarry, is banned from...

Rumors From Vatican: Bush May Convert

Sit-down with pope sparks talk that prez could turn Catholic

(Newser) - President Bush visited Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican yesterday, sparking rumors that the president may convert to Catholicism, the Telegraph reports. They spoke in a garden where the pontiff prays daily, not in the library where Benedict greets most world leaders. “What an honor!” said Bush, who...

Vatican Opens Ancient Pagan Tomb
Vatican Opens Ancient
Pagan Tomb
May 28, 2008 12:11 PM CDT

Vatican Opens Ancient Pagan Tomb

After a year of restoration, public sees necropolis gem

(Newser) - After a year of restoration work, the Vatican has unveiled one of the most luxurious pagan tombs buried in the necropolis beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, the AP reports. Built by Emperor Marcus Aurelius in the second century, the once open-air tomb was buried by Emperor Constantine in the fourth...

Vatican: OK to Believe in Aliens
 Vatican: OK to Believe in Aliens 
May 14, 2008 10:04 AM CDT

Vatican: OK to Believe in Aliens

If God wants to create aliens, 'we can't limit his freedom,' says astronomer

(Newser) - Believing in God doesn’t mean you can’t believe in aliens, the Vatican’s chief astronomer told L’Osservatore Romano. God may well have created other creatures, including intelligent ones. “We cannot place limits on God’s creative freedom,” he noted.

Padre Pio's Shrine Now 2nd Only to Vatican

Italy's most famous saint displaces Lourdes for religious tourists

(Newser) - Move over, Lourdes. Padre Pio’s shrine in southern Italy is now the world’s second-largest religious tourist destination, reports the ANSA news agency. About 9 million tourists will visit the saint’s body, a million more than the French site and second only to the Vatican.

Pope Prays for Healing After Abuse Scandal

Reassures clergy of his "spiritual closeness" in NYC

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI spent the third anniversary of his election to the papacy trying to comfort clergy still weathering the fallout from the priest sex abuse scandal, the AP reports. “I simply wish to assure you of my spiritual closeness,” Benedict said. The pontiff, addressing 3,000 people...

After Pope Meets Victims, Vatican Considers Change

Canon law, particularly on statute of limitations, evolving with sex scandal

(Newser) - Just a day after a Washington meeting where Pope Benedict XVI talked with victims sexually abused by Catholic priests, a Vatican official said the church would consider changes to canon law dictating how the church deals with such offenses, the New York Times reports. Cardinal William Levada holds Benedict’s...

Did You See What the Pope Is Wearing?!?

Benedict brings back vintage papal styles; Catholics wonder why

(Newser) - Benedict XVI is wearing some pretty flashy, and pretty old-school, outfits, and pope-watchers the world over are atwitter, the Washington Post reports. Unlike his predecessor, who “would just wear whatever was given to him,” the current pontiff is reaching into a closet that dates back hundreds of years,...

'Monumental' US Visit Ahead
 'Monumental' US Visit Ahead 
UPDATED
Apr 15, 2008 5:05 PM CDT

'Monumental' US Visit Ahead

Unprecedented presidential welcome kick off Pope's jam-packed itinerary

(Newser) - Today's arrival of Pope Benedict XVI "had the look and feel of a monumental and historic event," a CNN correspondent notes—and the six-day visit will indeed be eventful. Benedict will speak to US Catholic leadership tomorrow after a welcoming ceremony at the White House, then visit the...

Greenies Find God Might Be the Answer
Greenies Find God Might Be the Answer
Apr 15, 2008 11:56 AM CDT

Greenies Find God Might Be the Answer

Eco lobby partners with the pulpit to get through to Congress

(Newser) - How much carbon would Jesus use? Not much, say the religious communities now teaming with environmentalists to lobby Capitol Hill. As a carbon-capping bill approaches the Senate, eco-advocates hope that church partnerships will re-frame the debate, and religious leaders rail against the desecration of divine creation and the suffering of...

America May See Soft Side of Hardline Pope

Pontiff known to blend dogma with compassion

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI is a known hardliner, but Americans may see his softer side during a 5-day US tour this week, the New York Times reports. During stops at the White House, United Nations, and various churches, Benedict will touch on abortion, divorce, war, and the priest sex-abuse scandals, but...

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