Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican Press Office from 2006 to 2016, said that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is ready for “the definitive encounter” with God. The Jesuit priest made the observation in an interview with Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops, on the occasion of his upcoming 80th birthday, which he will Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Father Federico Lombardi’
Emeritus Pope Benedict wasn’t pressured to step down
Thursday, March 16th, 2017
Emeritus Pope Benedict wasn’t pressured to step down, says Father Federico Lombardi. Lombardi, who was Benedict’s spokesman, denied Italian Archbishop Luigi Negri’s claim that Benedict was forced to resign. However according to Negri, Benedict’s resignation was as a result of “tremendous pressure” being put upon him. The Obama administration has been implicated in the pressures Read more
German lawyer headhunted to lead Vatican Bank
Tuesday, February 19th, 2013
After a long recruitment search, a German lawyer has been headhunted to become president of the Vatican Bank, an institution troubled in the past by scandal and more recently by complaints about inadequate safeguards against money-laundering. Ernst von Freyberg is currently chairman of the Blohm+Voss Group, a Hamburg-based company that builds and repairs yachts and Read more
Benedict’s resignation leaves a mixed legacy and raises lots of questions
Tuesday, February 12th, 2013
There was “absolute silence” this morning when the Pope told cardinals that he decided to resign, according to Mexican prelate Monsignor Oscar Sanchez, who witnessed his resignation. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the pope took his decision “aware of the great problems the church faces today”. His decision showed “great courage” and “determination”, Lombardi said. Lombardi Read more
Officials close to Pope Benedict are not Vatileaks suspects
Friday, July 27th, 2012
The Vatican has flatly denied European media reports that three officials close to Pope Benedict are being investigated in connection with the leaking of confidential paper documents. A report in the online edition of the German newspaper Die Welt, republished in the Italian daily La Repubblica, claimed the involvement of the three officials in the Read more