Vatican

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Vatican Reveals Church Owns 5K Properties

Extensive release of real estate and financial records is a first for the church

(Newser) - The Catholic Church has made an unprecedented financial disclosure, revealing the extent of its real estate holdings around the world. More than 50 pages of forms released Saturday show that the Vatican owns 4,051 properties in Italy and 1,120 elsewhere, Politico reports. Vatican embassies are not included in...

Crowd Hears Pope on Hospital Balcony
Recovering Pope
Speaks at Hospital
Jul 11, 2021 10:25 AM CDT

Recovering Pope Speaks at Hospital

In appearance during recovery from surgery, Francis stresses need for free health care

(Newser) - Pope Francis led prayers before a Rome crowd Sunday as he does every week, albeit from a different balcony this time. "I am happy to be able to keep the Sunday appointment of the Angelus, even here from the Gemelli Polyclinic," the pope said from a balcony on...

Update Is In After Pope's Surgery

Vatican says the pontiff is 'alert,' in 'good' condition after procedure for narrowed intestine

(Newser) - It's not unusual for people to be slightly nervous when an 84-year-old goes in for surgery—even less so when it's the pontiff. But it looks like all has gone according to plan for Pope Francis, who underwent a procedure Sunday to remedy a narrowing of his large...

Vatican Indicts Cardinal in Financial Crimes

Charity money was lost in high-risk schemes, charges say

(Newser) - The Vatican announced Saturday that 10 people, one of them an Italian cardinal, will be put on trial this month on financial charges including extortion, corruption, and fraud. Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu was indicted on charges of abuse of office, bribery, and embezzlement, CNN reports. Becciu, 73, issued a statement...

Bishops Ignore Vatican on Communion for Biden

They're drafting a statement to back denying him the sacrament over his abortion stance

(Newser) - US bishops are moving against the nation's second Roman Catholic president, voting to draft a document in support of denying President Biden the sacrament of Communion because he supports abortion rights. The bishops announced Friday that they debated in a virtual meeting this month before voting to start work...

On Punishments for Church Sex Abuse, a 'Significant Rewrite'

Pope Francis signs off on first major update to penal sanctions since 1980s

(Newser) - A slew of new rules on how to handle sexual abuse within the Catholic Church has received the official green light from Pope Francis, updating a penal system that's been in place for 40 years. The Washington Post calls it "the most significant rewrite of canon law" since...

Pope Questions Value of Vatican Newspaper to Its Employees

Francis issues thinly veiled warning about expensive media operation

(Newser) - Pope Francis challenged the Vatican's own media employees Monday to essentially justify their continued work, asking them how many people actually consume their news as he visited the office that costs the Holy See more than all its embassies around the world combined. Francis paid a visit to the...

Bishops Receive a Caution Over Communion Penalty

Letter from Vatican sets up steps before withholding sacrament from Biden

(Newser) - The head of the Vatican's doctrine office is warning US bishops to deliberate carefully and minimize divisions before proceeding with any plan to rebuke Roman Catholic politicians such as President Biden for receiving Communion even though they support abortion rights. The strong words of caution came in a letter...

In Anti-Corruption Move, Pope Limits Vatican Gifts

Employees will have to report on finances every 2 years

(Newser) - Pope Francis set a $48 gift cap for all Vatican employees Thursday and issued a new law requiring Vatican cardinals and managers to periodically report on their compliance with clean financial practices in one of his biggest efforts yet to crack down on corruption in the Holy See. The law...

Minnesota Bishop Resigns at Pope's Request

Bishop Michael Hoeppner accused of pressuring victim to recant claim against a priest

(Newser) - A Minnesota bishop resigned Tuesday at the request of the pope after an investigation determined he'd covered up a sex abuse allegation involving a priest. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston, which is made up of some 35,000 Catholics, said an investigation was launched at the Vatican's...

Pope Orders Cardinals to Take a Pay Cut

Pandemic has hit Vatican finances hard

(Newser) - Pope Francis, who worked as a bar bouncer and a janitor as a young man in a working-class family in Argentina, has ordered cardinals and other clerics to take a pay cut in order to save the jobs of ordinary workers at the Vatican. The Vatican says cardinals, who are...

Vatican on Gay Unions: We 'Cannot Bless Sin'

Catholic Church rules priests can't sanction same-sex unions

(Newser) - The Vatican decreed Monday that the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions since God “cannot bless sin," per the AP . The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response Monday to a question about whether Catholic clergy can bless gay...

Pope Names Women to Posts Only Men Had Held

French nun will be the first woman to vote in the Synod of Bishops

(Newser) - Pope Francis has taken two steps to empower women in the Catholic Church's hierarchy, answering calls for change from laypeople, some bishops, and the pope himself. In both cases, women have been appointed to positions that until now have been held only by men, NBC reports. Nathalie Becquart, a...

Pope Doesn't Appear to Be a Fan of This Nativity Scene

Vatican's choice for St. Peter's Square has a sci-fi theme

(Newser) - Without directly adding his own art criticism of the Nativity scene chosen by the Vatican this year for St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis has made his preference clear. Twice when speaking the faithful in the square on Sunday, the pope suggested they instead visit the 100 small, more traditional...

After Scandals, Pope Revamps Vatican's Finance Intel Unit

It's part of pontiff's efforts to prevent and counter 'money laundering and the financing of terrorism'

(Newser) - Pope Francis has revamped the Holy See's financial intelligence and anti-money-laundering unit following financial scandals, including an ongoing in-house corruption probe, Vatican officials said Saturday. The changes involve the governance and organization of the unit, which has been renamed the Supervisory and Financial Information Authority, or ASIF, the Vatican...

Vatican Report: John Paul II to Blame for McCarrick's Rise

Probe into disgraced cardinal lets Pope Francis off the hook, blames other bishops, cardinals, popes

(Newser) - A Vatican probe into ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has found that a series of bishops, cardinals, and even popes downplayed or dismissed reports he slept with seminarians, and determined that Pope Francis merely continued his predecessors' naive handling of the predator until a former altar boy alleged abuse. The Vatican took...

New Twist in Story of Pope's Remarks on Same-Sex Unions

Vatican removed quote from 2019 interview footage, sources say

(Newser) - Somebody at the Vatican apparently didn't want the world to hear Pope Francis' thoughts on same-sex civil unions . It emerged Thursday that the pontiff's statement of support for civil unions, which kicked off a major controversy when new documentary Francesco premiered Wednesday, was made during a 2019 interview...

A Film That Premiered Today Holds Big Statement From Pope

In it, Francis endorses same-sex civil unions for the first time as pope

(Newser) - Pope Francis endorsed same-sex civil unions for the first time as pope while being interviewed for the feature-length documentary Francesco, which had its premiere at the Rome Film Festival on Wednesday. The papal thumbs-up came midway through the film that delves into issues Francis cares about most, including the environment,...

Trump Not the Only World Leader Not Wearing a Mask

Pope Francis seen kissing priests at Vatican event without mask on

(Newser) - Pope Francis is back giving out kisses without a mask as coronavirus cases rise across Italy. The 83-year-old—who lost part of a lung during a childhood illness—was seen kissing the hands of newly-ordained priests during a general audience in Vatican City on Wednesday, reports the Daily Beast . He...

Vatican Tells Pompeo He Can't Meet Pope

He met some of the pontiff's critics instead

(Newser) - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was denied an audience with Pope Francis during his visit to the Vatican this week—but he was welcomed by the pontiff's critics. Vatican officials said it is normal for the pope not to meet political figures during election periods, though they also expressed...

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