In the last quarter century, since the fall of the Berlin Wall redrew the map of the world, the Holy See was the only global institution that firmly and clearly opposed the so-called clash of civilisations. Many in the West and the Middle East sought this clash of civilisations due to economic, territorial and political Read more
Australia’s Catholic bishops have offered the Church’s help for the Australian government’s international work to abolish the death penalty. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president, Archbishop Denis Hart, wrote to a parliamentary inquiry into Australia’s advocacy for the abolition of the death penalty. “The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference would be happy to assist the Australian Read more
France has reportedly dropped its attempt to appoint a gay Catholic diplomat as its ambassador to the Vatican, after a nine month standoff. In January, President Francois Hollande named Laurent Stefani as ambassador to the Holy See. The Vatican did not accept his credentials, but did not explicitly reject him. Mr Stefani, who is President Read more
Three bishops from China have travelled to the United States seeking reconciliation with the universal Church. The visits of Bishops Joseph Ma Yinglin, John Baptist Yang Xiaoting and Vincent Zhan Silu coincided with visits by Pope Francis and Chinese President Xi Jinping to the US. The three prelates belong to the Chinese-government sanctioned bishops’ conference Read more
The Vatican is now taking applications from priests who want to be ‘missionaries of mercy’ for the upcoming jubilee Year of Mercy. In Misericordiae Vultus, promulgated in April, Pope Francis stated that the missionaries of mercy would be granted “the authority to pardon even those sins reserved to the Holy See”. These sins include desecration Read more
The Holy See has withdrawn from an alliance formed to combat human trafficking. The Global Freedom Network signed an agreement in the Vatican in March last year, aiming to form an interreligious network supported by the Walk Free Foundation, which is financed by Australian magnate Andrew Forrest. The goal was to foster awareness among religious Read more
The chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences says the United Nations is not the devil, and the academy is free to collaborate with it. Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo said the Church will continue to collaborate with the United Nations on any joint project that “does not go against the doctrine of the Church”. The Read more
The Vatican’s nine communications offices are to be consolidated under the authority of a new Secretariat for Communications. Pope Francis announced the new secretariat with a motu proprio, promulgated on June 27. The new dicastery will oversee the all of the Vatican’s communications offices, including Vatican Radio, L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican Television Centre, the Holy 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