Vatican officials are becoming increasingly irritated with the Argentine government after its ambassador to Britain, who is a vocal critic of the UK policy regarding the Falkland Islands, requested a private audience with the Argentine born pontiff, reports a piece by Edward Pentin, published by Newsmax.com.
Pope Francis sacked on Thursday the five-man board of the Vatican's financial watchdog, all Italians, in the latest move to break with an old guard associated with a murky past under his predecessor.
A UN watchdog urged the Vatican on Friday to live up to Pope Francis' vow to stamp out child sex abuse by priests, calling on the Church to ensure violators face justice. Three weeks after grilling the Vatican at a public hearing, the UN Committee Against Torture said the Roman Catholic Church had made progress, but said there are still failings of major concern.
Argentina's Secretary to the Presidency Oscar Parrilli said on Friday that the letter sent to President Cristina Fernandez and which caused a controversy with local Church officials, is authentic. Argentine ambassador to the Vatican Juan Pablo Cafiero was contacted by Pope Francis to confirm the situation.
One of the Pope's closest collaborator, Argentine Monsignor Guillermo Karcher has affirmed that the alleged letter from Pope Francis to President Cristina Fernández revealed earlier on Thursday by the government is a fake.
For the first time, the Vatican has revealed a statistical picture of the internal fallout from the church's sex abuse epidemic. According to the Vatican's U.N. Ambassador Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Pope defrocked 848 priests over the past 10 years, and doled out lesser punishments to another 2,572 accused of molesting children. That includes punishments handed down by John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis.
A UN committee on torture grilled on Monday the Vatican on the Catholic Church's child sexual abuse crisis, urging a permanent investigation system to end a climate of impunity prevailing for decades.
Vatican administrators need a change of mentality and must ensure that the Holy See's finances are efficient, transparent and primarily aimed at helping the most needy, Pope Francis said on Friday.
The head of the Anglican Church Queen Elizabeth II met Pope Francis on Thursday for the first time during a one-day visit to the Italian capital, Rome. The meeting in the Vatican was described as a private one and pomp and protocol were kept to a minimum. Earlier, the Queen and Prince Philip had lunch with the Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano, and his wife Clio at the Quirinal Palace.
President Barack Obama and Pope Francis focused publicly on their mutual respect and shared concern for the poor on Thursday during their meeting in the Vatican, but the lengthy private discussion also highlighted the deep differences between the White House and the Catholic Church on abortion and birth control.