On Friday, in a move that raised the eyebrows of some, Pope Francis consecrated Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. A good Jesuit, Francis is applying the maxim “Pray as if everything depended on God, work as if everything depended on you,” a Vatican official told La Croix’s Loup Besmond de Senneville. Read more
Vatican diplomacy has diverged sharply from U.S. foreign policy under Pope Francis, according to a new book, which details examples to illustrate the widening divide. “While Francis has continued the pragmatism of his two predecessors, he’s also a skilled administrator, who’s mobilized the whole diplomatic corps with its interlocking assets to implement a culture of Read more
Retired Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong says the Holy See’s diplomacy seeks a compromise at all costs with the Chinese government, risking “to sell out the faithful Church”. Zen’s comments were made during Mass in his homily, where he recalled Fr. Wei Heping (Yu Heping), who died two years ago in mysterious and Read more
The latest verbal sparring between Rome and Beijing could be preliminary moves in which both sides establish the ground rules for future relations. Last week, Pope Francis called on Chinese Catholics to attach themselves to “the rock of Peter on which the Church was built”. This means giving allegiance to Rome, rather than the government-sanctioned Read more
The Vatican has reportedly delayed approving France’s ambassador to the Holy See, leading to speculation that this is because the nominee is openly gay. Laurent Stefanini, a close aide of French President Francois Hollande, was nominated in early January. According to The Telegraph in London, the usual time frame for official acceptance is a month and Read more
Pope Francis has received Ireland’s new ambassador to the Holy See, ending a three year hiatus in which the ambassador was based in Dublin. In 2011, the Irish government closed its Vatican embassy after Prime Minister Enda Kenny accused the Holy See of deliberately thwarting a probe into sex abuse allegations. The Vatican had strongly Read more
New Zealand Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae will be visiting Pope Francis at the Vatican by the middle of May. While the official announcement is yet to be made,this could be the very first state visit made by a New Zealand governor general to the Pope.The governor general’s office said they had “consulted historian Gavin Read more