Father Timothy Radcliffe, a spiritual assistant for the October Synod on Synodality, has expressed uncertainty about how young gay Catholics should live according to Church teachings. Writing for the Vatican’s L’Osservatore Romano, Fr Radcliffe acknowledged the complexity of applying Church teachings. This is especially challenging for young people trying to accept their sexuality. “The challenge, Read more
The Catholic Church’s proclamation of new saints demonstrates that it is possible for men and women to live holy lives and that God is present and at work in the world, said the prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. “It’s useful on earth, not for heaven,” said Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the prefect, when asked, Read more
The Vatican daily newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, which Pope Francis has jokingly called “the party newspaper”, suspended printing for only the third time in nearly 160 years on Wednesday due to the coronavirus. The paper, which was founded in 1861, will continue publishing online and most of its staff of about 60, including 20 journalists, will Read more
The founder and all-female editorial board of the Vatican’s women’s magazine Women Church World have resigned after what they say was a Vatican campaign to discredit them and put them “under the direct control of men.” In the final editorial and open letter to Pope Francis, released to news media ahead of the magazine’s 1 Read more
Lucetta Scaraffia, who edits the Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano women’s supplement, has published an editorial defending the media’s role in unlocking the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. Scaraffia says the “implacable and pitiless” nature of the coverage is “born from disappointment.” In her view, in societies affected by the sexual revolution, this disappointment Read more
The Vatican is striking back at critics of Pope Francis’s document on family life, titled “Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love)”. Wednesday’s L’Osservatore Romano carried a front page essay by Italian Catholic historian and politician Rocco Buttiglione. He insisted that the document is in line with teaching by previous popes on divorced and civilly remarried Read more
Pope Francis has chosen a Protestant theologian to edit an Argentine version of L’Osservatore Romano. Marcelo Figueroa is a personal friend of the Pope’s. Beginning in September, Mr Figueroa will edit an Argentine publication that combines material from the weekly Spanish-language edition of L’Osservatore Romano with local content. The publication is an attempt to ensure that the Pope’s Read more
The Vatican’s semi-official newspaper has started a women’s magazine, which is not averse to taking a critical stance over women’s role in the Church. The new monthly magazine “Women-Church-World” was launched this week by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s secretary of state. His department oversees L’Osservatore Romano, in which the new magazine has previously Read more
The Vatican’s newspaper has criticised an event in Texas featuring caricatures of Islam’s prophet Mohammed, at which there was violence. On Sunday, two gunmen, Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, allegedly shot and wounded a security guard near the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest at Garland, Texas. The two gunmen were subsequently killed by local police. Media Read more
The Vatican’s newspaper has acknowledged actor Robin Williams, who took his own life and was found dead on August 11. In a brief article, L’Osservatore Romano called the comedian and actor an “unforgettable clown with a heart of gold”. Williams had recently been battling severe depression , according to his publicist. He was known to Read more