Vatican News

L'Aquila, Italy, Jul 4, 2010 / 10:52 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy Father dedicated his Sunday homily to reflections on the life of St. Celestine as he visited the Italian city where the relics of the 13th century saint and Pope are kept. In a message filled with lessons on life, the Pope especially highlighted the importance of silence to finding God, the fact that faith is a gift and the lasting power of holiness.

L'Aquila, Italy, Jul 3, 2010 / 05:43 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- During his pastoral visit to Sulmona, Italy on Sunday, in addition to events on the official program, the Holy Father will also meet with a delegation from the local prison. According to their chaplain, the event will serve to communicate the hope found in Christ for inmates' "interior freedom."

Vatican City, Jul 3, 2010 / 11:14 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI's "exquisitely evangelical witness" this week show his "personal and direct commitment" to creating communion in the Church, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi has said, citing the Holy Father's launch of a new evangelization of the West and his action to reconcile disputes and to renew the Church.

Rome, Italy, Jul 2, 2010 / 10:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Recognizing the democratic election of the new president in Iraq, the Holy Father hoped on Friday that the change would bring increased stability,  security and unity in the country. He encouraged all Iraqis, Christians and Muslims alike, to unite in their "shared suffering" to build "a just, moral and peaceable environment."

Vatican City, Jul 2, 2010 / 09:14 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy Father will spend most of July at the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo. Although he will still be available for the Sunday Angelus, his schedule will be otherwise rather bare for the "period of rest."

Rome, Italy, Jul 2, 2010 / 08:43 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy Father met on Friday with the Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid Antonio Maria Rouco Varela and sponsors working for the success of World Youth Day 2011. The Pope explained the importance of next August's encounter of youth during the audience after which WYD 2011's executive director briefed journalists on the planning process.

Rome, Italy, Jul 2, 2010 / 06:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On July 4, Pope Benedict XVI will make an Pastoral Visit to the town of Sulmona, Italy. During his visit, which the local region's president said will "in a moment" turn the area into the center of the Universal Church, he will visit Pope Celestine V's relics.

Vatican City, Jul 1, 2010 / 03:34 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Setting in concrete an appointment that was already well known, Bishop of Basel Kurt Koch has been named as president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. He takes the place of Cardinal Walter Kasper at the helm of the Vatican's department for ecumenical outreach.

Vatican City, Jul 1, 2010 / 12:54 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Emeritus of Augsburg, Walter Mixa spoke privately with Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday about the situation surrounding his removal from the episcopate nearly two months ago. A note released about the meeting illustrates a "truly beautiful example" from the Pope on how to address problems within the Church.

Vatican City, Jul 1, 2010 / 12:09 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI authorized the Pontifical Council for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decrees on a variety of miracles, martyrs and declarations of heroic virtue on Thursday. Included among the European majority is an Italian priest destined for canonization.

Vatican City, Jul 1, 2010 / 10:35 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Today the Vatican announced the Holy Father's intentions for the month of July, which include prayers that elections around the world will be carried out with fairness and respect of citizens' freedom and that Christians, particularly in urban areas, will strive to contribute to solidarity and peace.

Vatican City, Jun 30, 2010 / 05:21 pm (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI received in a private audience this Wednesday Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard of Mechelen-Brussels, who is also the president of the Belgian Episcopal Conference. In their conversation, the two discussed the recent Belgian police raid in the archdiocese.

Vatican City, Jun 30, 2010 / 02:15 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- There was really only one surprise in the whirlwind of appointments and resignations at the Vatican on Wednesday. Few people, if anyone, expected the Holy Father's appointment of Archbishop Celestino Migliore, until now the Holy See's permanent observer to the U.N., as the Apostolic Nuncio to Poland.

Vatican City, Jun 30, 2010 / 02:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy See announced the nomination of priest, medical doctor and philosopher Msgr. Ignacio Carrasco de Paula to the presidency of the Pontifical Academy for Life on Wednesday. He will take over at the helm of the academy following the resignation of Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella.

Vatican City, Jun 30, 2010 / 12:48 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Speaking with journalists at the Holy See's Press Office on Wednesday, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi, said that more nominations can be expected to follow Wednesday's bombardment of resignations and appointments to different positions within the Church's Roman Curia.

Vatican City, Jun 30, 2010 / 11:19 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Among a flurry of announcements from the Holy See on Wednesday, the Holy Father officially nominated the current head of the Pontifical Academy for Life to lead the recently announced Pontifical Council for New Evangelization. Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella will lead the Church in the formidable challenge of re-evangelizing the "secularized" countries of the world.

Vatican City, Jun 30, 2010 / 10:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday, the Vatican announced the nomination of Cardinal Marc Ouellet to take the place of the retiring Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re in his two major positions in the Roman Curia. With the appointment, Cardinal Ouellet, no stranger to Rome, will enter into the Vatican ranks as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and the president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

Vatican City, Jun 30, 2010 / 10:28 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI highlighted today a saint from Turin as a model for priests in light of the recently concluded Year for Priests. The Holy Father said during his catechesis at Wednesday's general audience that St. Joseph Cafasso offers a reminder of the importance of having a "spiritual guide" in life.

Vatican City, Jun 29, 2010 / 04:23 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Although they carried out different missions, Saints Peter and Paul together form the foundation of the "one, holy, Catholic, Apostolic" Church, said Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday. The Pope celebrated Mass at St. Peter's Basilica on the solemnity of the two saints and later led the Angelus in St. Peter's Square.

Vatican City, Jun 29, 2010 / 11:11 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During his address for today's feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the Holy Father asserted that the "greatest danger" to the Church is not external persecution, but the "negative attitudes" of the world that can pollute and "infect the Christian community" from within.