Vatican News

Vatican City, May 28, 2010 / 02:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI told members of the Vatican department for migrants today that those they serve have rights based solely on the fact that they are human beings. He encouraged international cooperation and a sense of co-responsibility between states and private organizations in finding solutions to migration that simultaneously respect national sovereignty and the rights of the individual.

Vatican City, May 28, 2010 / 10:30 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy Father spoke extensively about the role of fraternity in society on Friday while meeting with the new ambassador to the Holy See from the African country of Benin. Looking to the country's motto, he highlighted the relationship of fraternity, justice and the need for political leaders who work for the good of the people.

Vatican City, May 28, 2010 / 09:42 am (CNA/EWTN News).- President of the Italian Christian Democratic Party, Rocco Buttiglione, spoke with CNA following the morning sessions of the  Hildebrand Project's first day of a conference on love. He remarked that standing in solidarity with Pope Benedict XVI is rediscovering our encounter with Christ.

Rome, Italy, May 27, 2010 / 07:09 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- During an Italian bishops gathering that discussed pastoral guidelines for the upcoming decade and emphasized the theme of education, Pope Benedict focused intently on youth and stressed the importance of viewing education as a means of "forming new generations" so "that they may know how to relate to the world."

Rome, Italy, May 27, 2010 / 04:15 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Hildebrand Project commenced its 2010 International Conference exploring Dietrich von Hildebrand's philosophy of love at Rome's Pontifical University of the Holy Cross on Thursday.

Vatican City, May 26, 2010 / 11:25 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Responding to the devastation wrought by the torrential rains and subsequent flooding in Poland during recent weeks, the Holy Father has sent a financial gift to the Polish Church.

Vatican City, May 26, 2010 / 01:35 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- L'Osservatore Romano reported several hopeful encounters the Holy Father had after Wednesday's general audience in St. Peter's Square. Hopes for improved inter-religious relations were brought to the Pope by a Muslim-Catholic joint delegation from Canada and a Catholic archbishop located in Moscow.

Vatican City, May 26, 2010 / 10:33 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his last catechesis on the priesthood, Pope Benedict dedicated his Wednesday audience address to the authority that priests receive from Jesus, emphasizing that it must be used in service of people, not as an end in itself. He also asked for prayers to conclude the Year for Priests for all the ordained, including himself.

Vatican City, May 24, 2010 / 08:30 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On Monday morning, Pope Benedict XVI met with the presidents of Congo and Moldova, discussing with both heads of state the presence and influence of the Catholic Church within their respective countries.

Rome, Italy, May 24, 2010 / 02:55 pm (CNA).- In his address to Pope Benedict XVI during the 24th full assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the dicastery, said, "The Church does not identify herself with any one political party or system," but "she appreciates the work of those who dedicate themselves to the service of the common good and assume the weight of these responsibilities."

Vatican City, May 23, 2010 / 11:18 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy Father thanked God for Blessed Teresa Manganiello, a "luminous witness to the Gospel," after the Regina Coeli prayer on Sunday. The recently beatified saint is remembered for her humility and penitential spirit.

Vatican City, May 23, 2010 / 10:45 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Before reciting the Regina Coeli prayer from his apartment window, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of Pentecost and the constant "effusion" of the Holy Spirit on the Church, "without which it would exhaust its forces, like a sailboat lacking wind." He taught that there is no Church without Pentecost and no Pentecost without Mary.

Vatican City, May 23, 2010 / 10:10 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pentecost reminds us as Christians of the universality and unity of the Church, Pope Benedict said during Mass on Sunday. The Church, he stated, must always be Catholic and universal, "the home of all in which each person can find himself again."

Vatican City, May 22, 2010 / 11:27 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Saturday morning, the Holy Father met in the Clementine Room of the Apostolic Palace with participants in a convention titled "Development, Progress, Common Good." The convention was sponsored by the Centesimus Annus-Pro Pontifice Foundation, a lay organization dedicated to teaching about the social doctrine of the Church.

Vatican City, May 22, 2010 / 10:30 am (CNA/EWTN News).- U.S. service men and women received good news on Saturday morning when Pope Benedict XVI named current Army chaplain Fr. F. Richard Spencer as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services.

Vatican City, May 22, 2010 / 09:38 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Speaking to delegations from Eastern European countries in Rome in memory of the evangelizing saints of the Slavic peoples, the Holy Father observed the deep-rooted Christian tradition in the area. All Christians, he said, have the duty to maintain the link between the Word of God and their cultural identity.

Vatican City, May 21, 2010 / 08:00 pm (CNA).- Lourdes, France is this weekend's destination for thousands of military personnel and their families who will participate in the 2010 International Military Pilgrimage.Since 1958, the Shrine has seen soldiers from all over the world come in peace to venerate Mary.