Tag: Vatican

• Friday, May 23rd 2014 - 10:28 UTC

  Vatican claims letter addressed to President Cristina Fernandez is fake

  

  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.

• Wednesday, May 7th 2014 - 00:11 UTC

  Vatican admits having defrocked 848 priests over ten years for sex abuse

  

  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.

• Tuesday, May 6th 2014 - 05:58 UTC

  UN calls on Vatican to change the 'climate of impunity' on child sexual abuse

  

  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.

• Saturday, May 3rd 2014 - 05:43 UTC

  Pope says Vatican finances must be transparent and aimed at helping the needy

  

  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.

• 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.