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When the Vatican announced new procedures to hold bishops accountable in May, the main question was: Will it work? The legislation – called Vos Estis Lux Mundi – enacted what is known as the Metropolitan Model, in which archbishops would play a prominent role in policing those bishops in their ecclesiastical province. This week, the Read more
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Two acts of vandalism inside St. Peter’s Basilica last week have prompted questions about increasing protection and security. Guides who regularly take pilgrims and tourists to pray and to see the Basilica’s priceless art and artifacts are resisting tightening security, saying suggestions of glass barriers risk compromising the sacred nature of the space. It is Read more
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The 145-year-old Vatican pharmacy has a new hire: a state-of-the-art robot working behind the scenes to manage the stockroom, retrieve medications and deliver the drugs quickly to the sales floor. The Vatican, which claims to have the busiest pharmacy in the world, recently adopted the new automated system by the Germany-based BD Rowa firm. The Read more
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The Vatican is holding off from issuing any disciplinary measures against Cardinal George Pell until the Australian prelate has exhausted all legal avenues in trying to overturn his convictions for the sexual abuse of children. After a panel of judges rejected Pell’s attempt to overturn the December 2018 jury’s guilty verdict against him, the Holy Read more
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Abuse survivor Tim Lennon says the Vatican should have been decisive after George Pell was convicted and immediately defrocked him. However following the Victoria Supreme Court’s 2-1 ruling against Pell (78) last week, his legal team says it is considering a further appeal to Australia’s High Court. The Vatican says it is waiting for Pell Read more
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In an effort to expand the Vatican’s green environmental stance, the city state has decided not to sell any single-use plastic items after its current supplies run out. Single-use plastic include bags, water bottles, cutlery, straws and balloons. The top five single-use plastic items polluting Europe are cigarette butts, bottles and caps, food packaging, cotton Read more
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The Holy See has announced it will lift the diplomatic immunity of its ambassador to France, who is accused of inappropriate touching and groping by numerous men. As a result, the path is cleared for Archbishop Luigi Ventura to be prosecuted by the French authorities over the allegations, with one incident said to have taken Read more
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Two sets of bones have been found in a stone slab, a tomb expected to have bones in it is empty and the remains of a Vatican schoolgirl missing since 1983 continue to elude searchers. The empty tomb in the cemetery of the Pontifical Teutonic College was supposedly the last resting places of two 19th-century Read more
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The Vatican has waived diplomatic immunity for its ambassador to France, Archbishop Luigi Ventura, who is being investigated for sexual assault. In doing so, the Vatican has cleared the way for Ventura (74) to face criminal charges in France. This decision to waive diplomatic immunity is unprecedented in the history of modern Vatican diplomacy. “This Read more
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As California is currently embroiled in a battle over whether to punish priests for not breaking the seal of confession in cases when child abuse is revealed, the Vatican has issued a statement reaffirming the “inviolability” of the confidentiality of confession, and saying political pressure in this regard is a breach of religious liberty. “Every Read more
