Vatican – News Stories About Vatican - Page 29

Dec 9, 2007 12:36 PM CST

Pope Rips Christmas Materialism

Continues Vatican battle against rampant consumerism

(Newser) - Continuing the Vatican's battle against rampant consumerism on the occasion of Jesus' birthday, Pope Benedict XVI today blasted a pervasive "materialistic mentality" in "the way of living out and perceiving Christmas." The pontiff urged pilgrims gathered below his window on St. Peter's Square instead to "fill...

Michelangelo Sketch Turns Up at Vatican

Dec 7, 2007 4:25 PM CST

Michelangelo Sketch Turns Up at Vatican

Long-lost drawing is detailed plan for St. Peter's Basilica

(Newser) - A red chalk drawing, possibly Michelangelo's last before his death at 88, has been found in a Vatican archive after nearly 500 years. The sketch is a plan for the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, which Michelangelo was put in charge of in 1546, the BBC reports. A researcher "...

Vatican Offers Earthly Rewards

Nov 23, 2007 6:35 AM CST

Vatican Offers Earthly Rewards

Employees get new corporate-style bonus system

(Newser) - The Vatican is offering corporate-style performance bonuses to its workers for the first time, the Times of London reports. Pope Benedict XVI is offering rewards based on "dedication, professionalism, productivity and politeness." The conditions will apply to the thousands of lay workers who do everything from run Vatican...

950 Years Later, 2 Churches
May Reunify

Nov 16, 2007 12:26 PM CST

950 Years Later, 2 Churches May Reunify

Catholic, Orthodox leaders draw up road map to end schism

(Newser) - Nearly a millennium after they split, the Catholic and Orthodox churches have published a joint document outlining first steps towards reunification. The Ravenna Document imagines a reunified church with the Pope at its head and proposes a new council composed of Catholic and Orthodox bishops that could formally end the...

Pope to Shun Boston on US Visit

Nov 14, 2007 7:52 AM CST

Pope to Shun Boston on US Visit

Omission of city at center of church sex abuse scandal raises ire

(Newser) - For his much-anticipated inaugural trip to the US this spring Pope Benedict XVI plans to visit the White House, the United Nations, the site of the World Trade Center—but not Boston, where the Church sex abuse scandal first erupted. The omission of Boston from the papal tour has infuriated...

Pope Will Visit US in April

Nov 12, 2007 1:10 PM CST

Pope Will Visit US in April

Pontiff will go to DC, Ground Zero, Yankee Stadium

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI will travel to the US in April, visiting the White House, Ground Zero, and the United Nations, the Washington Post reports. On his first trip to the country as pope, and the first papal visit since John Paul II's stop in St. Louis in 1999, he'll say...

Saudi King Meets the Pope

Nov 6, 2007 9:00 AM CST

Saudi King Meets the Pope

King Abdullah travels to the Vatican on his European tour

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah visited with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican today—the first official meeting of any pope with a reigning Saudi monarch. The visit comes as relations are improving between the Vatican and the Muslim world, the BBC reports. Still, the pontiff was expected to press Abdullah...

Anti-Franco Fights Erupt
at Vatican Ceremony

Oct 29, 2007 4:29 AM CDT

Anti-Franco Fights Erupt at Vatican Ceremony

Anger over church role supporting Spanish dictator as it honors clergy

(Newser) - Old wounds were ripped open and fights erupted yesterday as the Vatican beatified 498 priests and nuns killed in the Spanish Civil War. Scuffles between Catholics and leftists broke out near the Vatican's largest-ever beatification ceremony in St. Peter's Square. The Vatican, which supported dictator Francisco Franco during the war,...

Vatican's Fast Action on Gay Priest Could Herald Change

Oct 19, 2007 12:15 AM CDT

Vatican's Fast Action on Gay Priest Could Herald Change

Or was Pope's hand forced by TV camera?

(Newser) - An incident in which a Vatican official was caught on video making advances in his office to a younger man has raised questions about homosexuality in the hierarchy. The immediate suspension of the official also has some convinced that the Holy See has turned a corner in cracking down on...

Pope's New Cardinals: Still Old & European

Oct 18, 2007 9:53 AM CDT

Pope's New Cardinals: Still Old & European

But elevation of Houston archbishop reflects Southern shift

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI has named a new batch of cardinals, generally preserving the "princes of the church" posts for aging Europeans, reports Time magazine. There is, however, a new cardinal in Baghdad. And in recognition of the southward and Spanish-language shift of Catholicism in the United States, the pope...

'I Was Only Pretending
to Be Gay'

Oct 15, 2007 11:15 AM CDT

'I Was Only Pretending to Be Gay'

Booted Vatican priest claims he was gathering info as psychoanalyst

(Newser) - A high-ranking Vatican official suspended after he was caught on video making advances to a young man said yesterday in an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica that he posed as a homosexual as part of his work as a psychoanalyst. Monsignor Tommaso Stenico said he is celibately heterosexual and...

Gay Vatican Priest Outed on TV; Ousted by Holy See

Oct 14, 2007 6:55 AM CDT

Gay Vatican Priest Outed on TV; Ousted by Holy See

I'm not 'sinning," monsignor says on hidden camera

(Newser) - The Vatican yesterday suspended a senior official caught on hidden camera making advances to a man and saying that he didn't believe he was sinning by being involved with gays. Italian television showed the priest with his face distorted, but Vatican officials recognized the office where he was filmed. The...

Vatican Clears Knights Templar of Heresy

Oct 13, 2007 4:44 AM CDT

Vatican Clears Knights Templar of Heresy

Doc comes to light 700 years after knights were executed

(Newser) - Correcting a 700-year-old filing error, the Vatican will soon publish papers that clear the Knights Templar of heresy—a crime for which they burned at the stake in the 1300s. Scholars at the Vatican's Secret Archives plan to print the docs in a hefty leather-bound book that costs more than...

Laity, Clergy Asked to Defray Sex Abuse Costs

Oct 8, 2007 12:00 PM CDT

Laity, Clergy Asked to Defray Sex Abuse Costs

San Diego bishop draws support from pulpit, less backing from pews

(Newser) - The San Diego Diocese is turning over every stone to pay its $198.1 million settlement to sexual abuse victims, asking both priests and parishioners to chip in. Clerics are apparently willing—many will donate a month’s salary—but parishioner responses are far less positive, the LA Times reports....

6 Ark. Nuns Excommunicated

Sep 27, 2007 11:32 AM CDT

6 Ark. Nuns Excommunicated

Members of 'Army of Mary' cast out

(Newser) - Six Arkansas nuns have been booted from the Catholic Church for refusing to renounce the Army of Mary, a sect the Vatican deems heretical for its founder’s claim to be the reincarnation of the virgin. “We know we are doing the right thing,” said an 82-year-old nun....

Pope's Robe Shredded For Relics

Sep 25, 2007 3:24 AM CDT

Pope's Robe Shredded For Relics

100,000 fragments available online for a donation

(Newser) - A white robe worn by Pope John Paul II has been cut into 100,000 tiny fragments which are being distributed for donations as religious relics to aid prayer and achieve miracles, reports the London Times. The operation is run by the Diocese of Rome and is causing concern in...

Did Docs Speed Pope's Death?

Sep 23, 2007 5:31 PM CDT

Did Docs Speed Pope's Death?

Doctor claims euthanasia was behind John Paul II’s death

(Newser) - An Italian doctor is claiming that Pope John Paul II’s 2005 death was hastened by measures that would qualify as euthanasia—a practice the Catholic Church condemns. She believes the Vatican stressed the Pope’s breathing problems in public reports to conceal the real threat to his life, which...

Website Helps Speed Sainthood

Sep 22, 2007 9:00 AM CDT

Website Helps Speed Sainthood

Devotees can offer prayer or donation via a Vatican-maintained site

(Newser) - The Vatican has invited followers of John Paul II to offer prayers and donations to boost the process of making him a saint . A website set up for that purpose gives visitors the opportunity to see the late pontiff''s tomb via the 24-hour webcam and request pieces of the popular...

China Installs Bishop With Pope's Approval

Sep 21, 2007 3:06 PM CDT

China Installs Bishop With Pope's Approval

After half a century, some movement in Beijing-Vatican standoff

(Newser) - Pope Benedict publicly approved the appointment of the new bishop installed today in Beijing, bringing some warmth to long-frozen relations between the Holy See and China’s government-controlled church, Reuters reports. In a critical test for future ties, Joseph Li Shan took over the highest-profile diocese in the atheist nation,...

Mugabe Critic Quits Over
Sex Scandal

Sep 12, 2007 3:18 PM CDT

Mugabe Critic Quits Over Sex Scandal

Archbishop's supporters suspect regime is behind adultery lawsuit

(Newser) - An archbishop and prominent critic of Robert Mugabe's regime has resigned his Catholic Church leadership position after being accused of having an affair with a married woman. Pius Ncube remains a bishop, and his supporters say they see the authoritarian Zimbabwean regime behind the scandal, which Ncube calls "a...