Vatican

Bishop Mario Grech will be taking on the role of Secretary of Bishops at the Vatican – Newsbook

Newsbook.com.mt reports that informed but unofficial sources told it that widespread rumours in Gozo that Bishop Mario Grech will be relinquishing his post as bishop of Gozo are true. The same…

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Vatican police raid Secretariat of State offices

Vatican police raided the offices of the Holy See’s Secretariat of State and its Financial Information Authority, or AIF, and took away documents and electronic devices as part of an…

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Pompeo to visit Italy, have talks with Conte, Di Maio and private meeting with Pope Francis

United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Rome this week and have talks with President Sergio Mattarella, Premier Giuseppe Conte and Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, the State…

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Pope feels ‘besieged’

Pope Francis told a group of Jesuits that he felt "besieged" during his recent trip to Africa, according to Father Antonio Spadaro, the editor of the Civiltà Cattolica magazine. "It…

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Safeguarding must be woven into Church life across the globe – Pope Francis

There is a continuing need for the culture and mission of Safeguarding to be systemically embedded into the life of the Church across the globe. In this regard, the Pontifical…

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President George Vella in private audience with Pope Francis (Updated)

Today, Monday 16 September 2019, the Holy Father Francis received in audience the President of Malta, His Excellency Mr. George Vella, who subsequently met with His Eminence Cardinal Secretary of…

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God saves with love, not force – He proposes himself not impose – Pope Francis

Pope Francis explained that God waits for us to accept his infinite love. He continued, saying this infinite love, at times, “can be rejected”. Speaking before Sunday's Angelus, Pope Francis…

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Photo Story: Pope Francis during the audience at the Penitentiary Police

Pope Francis during an audience at the Penitentiary Police, Vatican City, 14 September 2019. Pope Francis talked about the problem of overcrowded prisons in a hearing with the prison police.…

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Pope Francis to visit Thailand and Japan in November

The Holy See Press Office announced Pope Francis’ Apostolic Journey to Thailand and Japan from 19 to 26 November. He will be the second Pope to visit these two Asian…

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Pope Francis “not afraid” of the Catholic Church splitting, accuses critics of stabbing him in the back

Pope Francis has accused his critics of stabbing him in the back, and said he is "not afraid" of the Catholic Church splitting but added “I pray that they do…

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French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray dies aged 96

French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, a frequent collaborator of Pope St. John Paul II, has died at 96. Etchagaray, from the French Basque region, was born in Espelette on September 25,…

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Pope Francis welcomed in Mozambique

Pope Francis was met by thousands of excited Mozambicans on Wednesday evening, including President Filipe Nyusi, as he began his first papal visit to the southern African country. The pontiff…

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Man arrested on the main altar of St Peter’s in the Vatican

A man was arrested by Vatican gendarmes for throwing down a candelabra on the main altar of St Peter's basilica. The man climbed onto the altar under Bernini's famed canopy…

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Pope Francis names 13 new cardinals, including Vatican’s point-person on helping refugees

Pope Francis named thirteen new Catholic cardinals Sept. 1, tasking bishops from two African nations, Indonesia, and a rural town in Guatemala to be part of the church's most elite…

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Pope arrives late for his traditional weekly address after getting stuck in Vatican elevator

Pope Francis said he was stuck for 25 minutes in a Vatican elevator and had to be rescued by firefighters. Francis apologized to the faithful in St. Peter's Square Sunday…

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A handout picture provided by the Vatican Media shows Pope Francis (L) meeting with Italian Premier-designate Giuseppe Conte (R) after the funeral of Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, prefect emeritus of the…

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Pope leaves sick girl run free on general audience stage

Pope Francis allowed a girl suffering from an undisclosed illness to move around undisturbed clapping and dancing on the stage for most of his general audience on Wednesday, delighting the…

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Cardinal George Pell loses appeal against sexual abuse convictions

Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic cleric to be convicted of sexual abuse, has failed in a legal bid to quash his convictions in Australia. Pell, the former Vatican…

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Pope Francis writes to the people of Genoa on Morandi bridge disaster anniversary

Pope Francis wrote to the citizens of Genoa, Italy, affected by the August 14 2018 collapse of the northern Italian city's Morandi Bridge which killed 43 people. In the letter,…

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Msgr. Joseph Grech assigned to the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the International Organisations in Vienna

His Holiness Pope Francis has promoted Councillor of Apostolic Nunciature the Rev. Msgr. Joseph Grech and has assigned him to the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the International…

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Pope Francis expresses encouragement and closeness to priests from around the world

Pope Francis has written to priests recalling the 160th anniversary of the death of the Curé of Ars, Patron Saint of parish priests around the world. It is a letter…

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Pope Francis urges scouts to give themselves to give, build, serve and care for others

Pope Francis on Saturday urged scouts to give of themselves to others by building, serving and caring for others, saying it will free them from within and enrich the world.…

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Photo Story: The Pope greets the Euromoot

Pope Francis during the audience to the Euromoot with about 5000 between Scouts, Rangers and Rovers of the European Scouts FSE at the Vatican, 03 August 2019. The Euromoot…

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The bones found in the Vatican’s cemetery are “too old” to belong to the missing teenager Emanuela Orlandi

The Vatican has said human remains discovered during an excavation earlier in July do not belong to missing teenager Emanuela Orlandi, again dashing hopes that the decades-long mystery of her…

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Pope Francis confirms Archbishop Scicluna Vatican College’s presidency role

Pope Francis has confirmed Archbishop Charles Scicluna as President of the College for the examination of appeal. Archbishop Scicluna will be serving in this role for his second term which…

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Thousands of bones discovered in search for Emanuela Orlandi

The Catholic News Agency (CNA) reports that the search for the remains of missing 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi took another twist as Vatican officials discovered “thousands” of human bones in a…

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The Holy See’s desire for clarity in the Emanuela Orlandi mystery

On Saturday, experts will examine two ossuaries - small chambers where dead are buried - in the latest attempt to unravel the mystery of the disappearance of a teenage Italian…

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Photo Story: New director of the Holy See’s press office

A handout photo made available on 18 July 2019 by the Vatican Media shows Pope Francis shaking hands with Matteo Bruni (R), in The Vatican City on 03…

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Pope appeals for political dialogue in Venezuela

“Once again”, Pope Francis said on Sunday, “I would like to express my closeness to the beloved people of Venezuela, who have been particularly hard hit by the continuing crisis”.…

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Do the right-wing victories mean that Pope Francis has lost the battle against the alt-right Christians? – Fr Joe Borg

St Pope John Paul II seems to have had more electoral successes than Pope Francis. This opening sentence will probably surprise many given that popes do not lead political parties…

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A new mystery has surfaced in the Emanuela Orlandi case

Another twist emerged on Saturday in the puzzle surrounding the disappearance 35 years ago of Emanuela Orlandi, a Vatican employee's 15-year-old daughter. The Vatican confirmed that two sets of bones…

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Vatican tombs in Orlandi search found empty

The tombs of two princesses in the Vatican's Teutonic Cemetry, opened in a search for the body of Emanuela Orlandi, have been found empty, her brother said Thursday. Orlandi, the…

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Photo Story: ‘Emanuela Orlandi’ demonstration at the Vatican

A woman with a t-shirt 'You said She is in heaven, but where is her body?' during a demostration in front of the Sant'Uffizio gate at the Vatican, 11…

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The Vatican revokes diplomatic immunity of Nuncio to France, following investigation for sexual attacks

The Vatican on Monday revoked the diplomatic immunity of papal nuncio to France mons. Luigi Ventura, who is under investigation for "sexual attacks," the French foreign ministry announced. A Quai…

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Photo Story: Pope Francis celebrates Mass on the sixth anniversary of his visit to Lampedusa

A handout picture provided by the Vatican Media shows Pope Francis celebrating the Holy Mass on the sixth anniversary of his visit to Lampedusa, Vatican City. Photo: EPA-EFE/VATICAN

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Pope Francis expresses his hope for humanitarian corridors for migrants

Pope Francis on Sunday invited the faithful to join him in prayer for the “poor, unarmed people who were killed or injured by an air strike on a detention center…

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Photo Story: Putin Lands in Rome

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) disembarks from a plane as he arrives at Rome's international airport in Fiumicino, Italy, 04 July 2019. Putin is scheduled to meet with the…

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Putin to meet the Pope today

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Pope Francis on Thursday, amid speculation that the visit could be a prelude to the first trip by a pope to Russia.…

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Vatican court orders opening of 2 tombs in Emanuela Orlandi case

The Vatican court's ordered two tombs in the Vatican's Teutonic Cemetery to be opened after a petition from the family of a 15-year-old girl who went missing in 1983, Emanuela…

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Vatican insists that priests cannot reveal confession secrets

The Vatican on Monday strongly reaffirmed Catholic teaching that priests cannot reveal what they learn in confession, in an apparent response to moves in Australia and elsewhere to force them…

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Pope praises Trump-Kim meeting

Pope Francis praised on Sunday the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and said he hoped it would lead to peace. He said…

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Tension between the Vatican and China

The Vatican has told bishops and priests in China that they must follow their own consciences in deciding whether to register with the government, and it urged Catholics in the…

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Photo Story: The Pope and the Grand Master

Current Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Fra' Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto (L) kisses the hand of Pope Francis at the start…

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Pope saddened by image of dead migrant father and baby at US-Mexico border

Reader's discretion is recommended due to the graphic nature of the photo attached to the story Pope Francis is profoundly saddened by the death of two migrants – a…

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Vatican reported to be considering ordaining married men as priests in remote areas of the Amazon

The Vatican has said it would consider ordaining married men as priests in remote areas of the Amazon, in a move that could help tackle the shortage of clergy in…

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Scicluna urges Polish bishops to do what is needed to fight pedophilia

The Vatican’s leading sexual abuse investigator on Friday urged stronger action from Poland’s Catholic bishops who are under growing public pressure over a pedophilia scandal. The Vatican's sex crimes prosecutor,…

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Pope Francis decries modern ‘culture of insults’ on social media

The Pope warned that the more people use online platforms the less social they become, and criticized the trend "to hurl adjectives" at each other. Pope Francis noted that "the…

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Pope appeals for more vocations

Pope Francis told participants at a Congress for the Pastoral Care of Vocations in Europe not to be afraid to take up the challenge of the vocation to consecrated…

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Pope and Putin to meet again in July

Pope Francis will receive Russian President Vladimir Putin in an audience in the Vatican on July 4, Vatican spokesperson Alessandro Gisotti told reporters on Thursday. It will be the third…

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Vatican mourns Dutch teenager’s ‘euthanasia’ death

The Vatican on Wednesday mourned the death of Noa Pothoven, a 17-year-old girl from the Netherlands who reportedly ended her life via legal euthanasia on Sunday - although it was…

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Pope pays tribute to Christians in Romania killed or persecuted under Communism

Pope Francis paid tribute to Christians in Romania killed or persecuted under Communism as he warned against any new ideological attempt to sow fear or division in society. On…

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Pope Francis urges journalists to persevere with the reports of the forgotten people who suffer

In an address to the Foreign Press Association at the Vatican on Saturday, Pope Francis urged journalists to reject fake news and to persevere with the reports on the troubling…

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Photo Story: Children saved from Libya go for a drive with Pope Francis

Pope Francis gave a lift to eight children who only last month were airlifted out of Libya. Pope Francis took eight children rescued from crisis-hit Libya for a ride in…

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The Washington Post’s eulogy to Archbishop Charles Scicluna

The Washington Post, one of the United States leading and most respected newspaper, published what could be best described as a far reaching eulogy for Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna. In…

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Polish Cardinal defies Italian police to restore electricity to homeless shelter

Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, Pope Francis' almoner - the person is in charge of the pope's charities and helping the poor- on Sunday lowered himself into a manhole to restore…

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Aldo Moro’s daughter asks Pope Francis to interrupt her father’s beatification process

The daughter of Aldo Moro, Maria Fida, appealed to Pope Francis to "interrupt his father's beatification process". In a letter of appeal the woman asks for "clarity" and attacks, explaining…

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Slideshow: The Pope in Bulgaria

On his second day in Bulgaria, Pope Francis made an early morning visit to a refugee center, thanking children and families for their joy despite the pain of leaving their…

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