The Vatican is saying little about a change in duties for Archbishop Gänswein. The Holy See Press Office says the long-time secretary of emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has had his duties as prefect of the papal household “reallocated to others”. It is downplaying 63-year-old Georg Gänswein’s absence from several papal audiences over the past few Read more
Pope Francis is asking for a radical change, “a new ethic,” in the way the world’s economy and finances are organised and managed. He addressed his concerns to those attending a high-level conference in the Vatican. Those at the conference included the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, the president of the World Bank, Read more
Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on the Amazon region will be published on 12 February, the Vatican has announced. The document, which follows October’s Synod of Bishops on the Amazon, is highly anticipated for how the pope will respond to the recommendation to allow the ordination of married men to the priesthood for ministry in the Read more
Pope Francis in January met and shook hands with the woman at whom he lost his patience after being grabbed in St. Peter’s Square Dec. 31. After his general audience Jan. 8, Pope Francis spoke briefly with the woman. In photos the two can be seen smiling at each other as they shake hands. A Read more
As Francis did last month when he appointed a fellow Jesuit, Fr. Juan Guerrero Alves, to take charge at the Secretariat for the Economy, the pope is filling a high-level Vatican post with a known friend and supporter of his reform agenda. And some observers wonder if this is the start of a trend that Read more
Netflix’s The Two Popes may be best described, borrowing a turn of phrase from Fredric Jameson, as “nostalgia for the present”. Biopic and historical dramas are traditionally reserved for people who are dead, so I felt suspicious about watching a movie about two popes who are alive. It feels premature and slightly reminiscent of Barack Read more
Pope Francis has issued a stark warning about the dangers of populism in today’s world. Speaking off script to staff and members of a Jesuit magazine “Aggiornamenti Sociali” (“Social Updates”), Francis said ignoring the reality lived by men and women today has caused a resurgence of old ideologies that inevitably do more harm than good. Read more
Famed actor Robert Redford waited patiently outside the Vatican on Wednesday for the chance to briefly exchange personal words with Pope Francis. Redford and his wife, German artist Sibylle Szaggars, were spotted in the general audience for the weekly Papal Mass in St. Peter’s Square. The pope, 82, and Redford, 83, clasped hands as Redford Read more
Groupe Renault gifted Pope Francis a Dacia Duster 4×4 “modified specifically for the mobility needs of the Sovereign Pontiff,” to use as a popemobile. The adapted version has five seats and a “particularly comfortable” rear bench, a large sunroof, roof-mounted grab handles and a removable glass superstructure. The popemobile suspension has been lowered by 30mm to Read more
French cardinal Philippe Barbarin says he does not understand why he was found guilty of covering up a priest’s sexual abuse of children. In March this year the Lyon court ruled that Barbarin, “in wanting to avoid scandal caused by the facts of multiple sexual abuses committed by a priest … preferred to take the Read more