Militants claiming loyalty to the Islamic State (ISIS) have declared that they intend to conquer Rome. The warning came in a video apparently showing the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians next to the Mediterranean Sea in Libya. In the video, an English-speaking militant said they are sending a message “from the south of Rome”. At Read more
Here’s where most-first time visitors to Rome get it wrong: they head straight for St Peter’s Cathedral. St Peter’s is a magnificent building, containing superb works of art; however its size – not to mention the size of the crowds – can be so overwhelming, visitors don’t set foot in another church for the rest Read more
As I was saying last time, before I was interrupted, Pope Francis is facing resistance to the fresh air and change of ethos he’s trying to bring about inside the Church. And those with eyes to see can detect this opposition especially among the current crop of seminarians and younger priests, as well as a Read more
Pope Francis has presided over the marriages of 20 couples in St Peter’s Basilica, the first weddings he has officiated at as Pontiff. Several of the couples already had children and some had been living together before being married. It was a rare act for a Pope, with the last time a pontiff presided at Read more
One is an Argentine son of Italian immigrants, the other an Old Etonian whose mother worked for Sir Winston Churchill. Yet despite coming from opposite ends of the earth – both literally and metaphorically – Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury have some uncanny similarities. The two leaders of Christianity’s largest global communions were Read more
Pope Francis has told Catholics from the charismatic movement that he was not always comfortable with the way they prayed. But little by little, he came to see the good the movement is doing for members and for the Church, the Pope told 50,000 people at Rome’s Olympic Stadium on June 1. The gathering involved Read more
The Leonardo Express rumbles from Rome’s airport right to the city centre. After 32 minutes, it arrives at its final destination, Termini, the city’s central station. An ad in a pedestrian tunnel at the station reads, “Roma Termini — a Place to Live.” Some have taken the message quite literally. It’s 11:10 p.m. Stranded people Read more
You could be forgiven for not knowing where the buck stops in the Catholic Church these days. In any society, organization or Church community, it is important to know who is ultimately responsible in decision making; otherwise, chaos or worse would prevail. In an unprecedented (for a cardinal) cross examination in court last week, Cardinal Read more
As Pope Francis completes his first year in office, David Willey reports from Rome on the changes that have taken place in the Vatican and the Catholic Church. Back in 1978 – which went down in history as the “year of the three Popes” – I remember meeting a gregarious American priest and journalist who Read more
A German cardinal has called on national churches to speak up more courageously in their dialogues with the Vatican. Cardinal Karl Lehmann of Mainz said a lack of courage from national churches has made Rome “over-powerful”. Continue reading