Vatican News

Rome, Italy, Jun 24, 2010 / 08:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Representatives from Vatican delegations and aid agencies working in the Middle East wrapped up the working sessions of the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO in its Italian abbreviation) on Thursday. According to the organizing Vatican congregation, expectations are "great" among the participants for October's Special Assembly for the Middle East.

Vatican City, Jun 24, 2010 / 05:22 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The annual celebration of the feast of the First Martyrs, or "Promartyrs," of the Church of Rome will be observed in a special way in the Vatican next week. The ceremony for the feast day will be carried out on the very ground where the martyrs, lost their lives at the bidding of Emperor Nero in the year 64 A.D.

Rome, Italy, Jun 24, 2010 / 11:17 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy Father left the Apostolic Palace on Thursday morning to bless a statue of Mary perched on a hill just a short distance north of the Vatican. While blessing the statue and venerating Mary, he commented on the importance of charity as the "best apologist for the Catholic faith" and as a tangible expression of God's love.

Rome, Italy, Jun 24, 2010 / 10:34 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Speaking to a group of cloistered Dominican nuns after having blessed the restored statue of Mary in Rome's Monte Mario quarter, Pope Benedict referred to them as the heart of the Church which provides blood to the rest of the body. In their work and prayer, together with Christ, he said, they are the "heart" of the Church and in their desire for God's love they approach the ultimate goal.

Vatican City, Jun 23, 2010 / 11:33 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Following Wednesday's general audience, the Holy Father received the thousands of text messages sent to him as part of an initiative through an Italian television network last month.

Vatican City, Jun 23, 2010 / 10:12 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Basing his catechesis for a third and final time on the legacy of St. Thomas Aquinas, Pope Benedict highlighted Aquinas' "masterpiece," the "Summa Theologica." He referred to the saint's devotion to the Eucharist, making the call for all people to "fall in love" with the Blessed Sacrament.

Rome, Italy, Jun 23, 2010 / 01:21 am (CNA).- Archaeologists and restorers working at the Roman catacombs of St. Tecla on Tuesday announced the discovery of the world's oldest known paintings of the apostles Peter, Paul, Andrew and John.

Vatican City, Jun 21, 2010 / 10:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- L'Osservatore Romano published an article last week titled, "When Ratzinger wrote about soccer," focusing on the reflection the former cardinal and present-day Pontiff included in a 1985 book titled, "Suchen was droben ist" (Seek That Which Is Above).

Vatican City, Jun 21, 2010 / 07:02 pm (CNA).- Stating that he has acted with "maximum transparency," Archbishop of Naples Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe has said he will cooperate with authorities after being accused of corruption in a property deal. A Vatican spokesman has expressed "solidarity" with the prelate, saying he hopes the situation will be "rapidly clarified."

Vatican City, Jun 21, 2010 / 03:09 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Following claims in the media that the Vatican rehabilitated a Polish archbishop accused of sexual abuse and that his successor had resigned in protest, the Vatican press office released a statement on June 19 declaring the contrary.

Vatican City, Jun 21, 2010 / 12:59 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- During Pope Benedict's homily for the ordination of 14 priests on Sunday for the Diocese of Rome, he emphasized that the vocation of the priesthood, must not be viewed as a way to achieve social status in life, but rather as a way to "rediscover the ever-new face" of Christ.

Vatican City, Jun 21, 2010 / 10:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Saturday morning, Pope Benedict XVI received prelates from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, who have recently completed their "ad limina" visit. The Pope reminded the prelates that, "as teachers and doctors of the faith, you have the mission to teach the truth boldly and authentically, the truth that must be believed and lived."

Vatican City, Jun 21, 2010 / 01:18 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Andrea Tornielli, the Vatican expert from the Italian newspaper Il Giornale, announced in an article on Sunday that Pope Benedict has decided to appoint as Vatican delegate to the troubled Legionaries of Christ Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, C.S., President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See.

Vatican City, Jun 20, 2010 / 11:49 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After celebrating the Mass of ordination for 14 deacons of the diocese of Rome in St. Peter's Basilica this morning, Pope Benedict prayed the Sunday Angelus with the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square. Before the prayer, he explained that priests are a sign of God's love for all mankind.

Rome, Italy, Jun 18, 2010 / 03:58 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy See's Permanent Observer at the United Nations, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, said this week that countries must combat maternal deaths with policies that respect the lives of both the mother and the unborn child.

Vatican City, Jun 17, 2010 / 04:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict received Fr. Alvaro Corcuera, the Director General of the Legionaries of Christ, in a private audience this morning, reports the Vatican Press office.

Vatican City, Jun 17, 2010 / 08:58 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Vatican analyst Sandro Magister published an article in which he detailed Pope Benedict's teaching on priestly celibacy, a concept with which many have expressed discontent in face of the clerical sexual abuse scandals. However, the Pope's June 10 explanation, which presents celibacy in a new light, was both hinted at and foreshadowed by two prior talks, Magister claims.

Vatican City, Jun 17, 2010 / 12:41 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A plenary meeting between officials of the Holy See and the State of Israel on Tuesday was held "in an atmosphere of mutual understanding" to discuss relations between the two states.

Vatican City, Jun 16, 2010 / 12:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Yesterday evening, Pope Benedict XVI inaugurated the diocesan congress of Rome in the Basilica of St. John Lateran. The congress, which is being held June 15-17, has as its theme this year, "'Their eyes were opened, they recognized Him and announced Him:' The Sunday Eucharist and the witness of charity."

Vatican City, Jun 16, 2010 / 10:31 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During his Wednesday audience, the Holy Father explored the teachings of the renowned scholar, St. Thomas Aquinas, asserting that saint's work emphasizing faith and reason "helps us overcome certain objections raised by modern atheism" which "denies that religious language possesses objective meaning and holds that it only has a subjective or merely emotional value."