Tag: Vatican

• Friday, April 4th 2014 - 02:15 UTC

  Queen and Pope talked of the “shared roots of Christian faith”, says Vatican radio

  

  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.

• Friday, March 28th 2014 - 06:15 UTC

  Obama praises Francis and invites him to the US; Vatican points out some differences

  

  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.

• Thursday, March 27th 2014 - 07:55 UTC

  Malvinas affairs official meets with Pope Francis and talks about Falklands' dialogue

  

  Pope Francis showed an interest on the Falklands/Malvinas question negotiations during a meeting on Wednesday at the Vatican with Daniel Filmus chairman of Issues relative to the Malvinas Islands secretariat, according to Argentine sources which gave the event a great coverage. The meeting was in the framework of Wednesdays open audience at St Peter's square, when an estimated 50.000 people attend the ceremony.

• Tuesday, March 18th 2014 - 00:13 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez holds two-hour private meeting with the Pope and then flies to France

  

  President Cristina Fernández (with a sprained ankle in a boot) and Pope Francis shared on Monday a lunch which lasted two hours and a half at Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. It's the third time the Argentine head of state and Francis meet since he was elected pontiff one year ago.

• Thursday, March 13th 2014 - 23:34 UTC

  On the anniversary of his papacy, Francis renewed 'Pray for me' message

  

  Reaffirming his austere and simple style – no mass celebrations have been scheduled in the Vatican to mark the first anniversary of his papacy – Francis chose a social network to address Catholics and renew his “Pray for me” message.

• Monday, March 10th 2014 - 06:04 UTC

  Pope Francis names finance personalities to the Vatican Economy Council

  

  Pope Francis named top laymen from the worlds of finance and economics to a new Vatican Council for the Economy, intended to improve scrutiny of the Holy See's scandal-plagued accounts.The creation of the 15-member council is a major step in bringing lay people into the Vatican, and reflects a drive by Francis to make changes to an establishment often seen as murky and secretive.

• Tuesday, February 25th 2014 - 04:13 UTC

  Pope overhauls Vatican finances and names Secretariat for the Economy

  

  Pope Francis has taken his boldest step yet to overhaul the Vatican's scandal-plagued finances, creating a new department with broad powers to oversee all of its economic and administrative affairs, the Vatican announced on Monday. The Secretariat for the Economy will answer directly to the pope and will be headed by Australian Cardinal George Pell, currently the archbishop of Sydney.

• Friday, January 17th 2014 - 07:41 UTC

  Vatican questioned by UN child rights watchdog on child sex abuse by priests

  

  The Vatican was Thursday pushed for the first time to provide answers to the UN over its commitment to stamp out child sex abuse by priests. The landmark question-and-answer session before the UN's child rights watchdog in Geneva came as Pope Francis said Catholics should feel “shame”, in an apparent reference to the scandals that have rocked the Church.

• Wednesday, January 15th 2014 - 00:00 UTC

  Francis surprises conservatives with strong mention against the 'horrific' practice of abortion

  

  Pope Francis, whom conservatives in the Roman Catholic Church have accused of not speaking out forcefully enough against abortion, has called the practice “horrific.” The pope made his toughest remarks to date on abortion in his yearly address to diplomats accredited to the Vatican, a speech known as his “State of the World” address.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 06:55 UTC

  Pope puts his stamp as he names 19 new cardinals, including his Buenos Aires successor

  

  Pope Francis put his first stamp on the group at the top of the Roman Catholic hierarchy naming 19 new cardinals from around the world. Sixteen of them are “cardinal electors” under 80 and thus eligible to enter a conclave to elect a pope. They come from Italy, Germany, Britain, Nicaragua, Canada, Ivory Coast, Brazil, Argentina, South Korea, Chile, Burkina Faso, the Philippines and Haiti.