Posts tagged Vatican
Crossroads Podcast: The Struggle To Cover The Sins Of Powerful Clergy

The scandals surrounding the life and work of the former (and now disgraced) cardinal Theodore McCarrick rumbled in the background of Roman Catholic life for decades — starting in the early 1980s. Insiders whispered, but nothing was done.

Read More
New Rules On Supernatural Appearances Of Mary Will Affect Pilgrimage Site

(ANALYSIS) For over 40 years, six people from Medjugorje, a small town in Bosnia-Herzegovina, have claimed to see and speak with the Virgin Mary. For almost as long, hordes of pilgrims have traveled to visit sites of the virgin’s alleged appearance and to observe the seers’ daily trances. The Vatican has never approved the pilgrimage or issued official judgment of the visionaries — until now.

Read More
Gazing At The Heavens: The Vatican Observatory’s Mission To Study Faith And Science

Science and faith intersect at this special place. While some may find it strange that the Vatican has an observatory, the Catholic Church has been involved with science since the Jesuit order was founded in 1540. Saint Ignatius, for example, would spend hours on his balcony gazing at the night sky.

Read More
Inside A Secret Process: Papal Drama ‘Conclave’ Shares An Unconventional Message Of Unity

(REVIEW) “Conclave,” the fictional thriller that outlines the Catholic process of selecting a new pope, does the audience the service of stating its intended message outright. In a controversial homily that begins the proceedings, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence declares that “certainty is the great enemy of unity.” The movie also goes on to demonstrate that lesson in a variety of ways, as conspiracy abounds and tension grows.

Read More
Concerts And Art Exhibits Mark Countdown To Opening Of Vatican Jubilee Year

Ahead of the beginning of the Jubilee of Hope in 2025, the Dicastery for Evangelization is hosting various events, including concerts and exhibitions. In a press conference, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-prefect of the Dicastery, outlined the itinerary for some of the upcoming events. Another major event ahead of the Jubilee is the exhibition of various rare icons from the Vatican Museums.

Read More
Pope Francis Hails Final Synod Document As a Gift To God’s People

Addressing the Synod Assembly on Saturday evening, Pope Francis highlighted how the Final Document, written over the course of the 2nd Session of the Synod on Synodality that began on Oct. 2 following a process of listening and dialogue, is the fruit of over three years of listening to the People of God.

Read More
A New Look At The Status Of Women Across Global Christianity

(ANALYSIS) Before this month’s synod at the Vatican, Pope Francis took the question of allowing women deacons off the agenda, referring this and other hot-button issues to study groups. That distressed many Catholic activists. Leaving aside this matter of ordained ministry, sisters in religious orders and lay women could fill many influential church posts monopolized by male priests.

Read More
Vatican Synod Opens Door A Bit Wider For Catholic Women

(ANALYSIS) At the current synod, whose purpose is to address “communion, participation, and mission” in the church, women’s role is on the agenda. But Catholic women have historically found ways to speak to and about their church leadership, even when they have been excluded from its proceedings.

Read More
‘God Versus Aliens’: Inside The Vatican’s High-Stakes UFO Hunt

(ANALYSIS) Earlier this year, “God Versus Aliens" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The documentary,  directed by award-winning filmmaker Mark Christopher Lee, shines a light on the Vatican's secretive investigations into UFOs. It suggests, in no uncertain terms, that the Vatican has been quietly exploring extraterrestrial phenomena for years.

Read More
Vatican’s Doctrinal Chief Says Now Not The Time For Female Deacons

The Vatican’s doctrinal summit opened this week with one issue deemed to be out of bounds: female deacons. Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernandez, the Vatican’s prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that the church was not “rushing” on the issue.

Read More
Pope Francis Instructs US Voters On Election Choice: Pick ‘The Lesser Evil’

Pope Francis — following his historic 12-day trip to Southeast Asia — chimed in on the upcoming U.S. presidential election, instructing U.S. Catholics to use their “conscience” when voting and to choose the “lesser evil.” The pope’s remarks came days after the very first debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Read More
Meet The Swiss Guard: 500 Years Of Protecting The Papacy

(PHOTO ESSAY) The U.S. president has the Secret Service as protection. The pope has the Swiss Guard. Who are these men donning multi-colored uniforms designed during the Middle Ages who march around St. Peter’s Square? Religion Unplugged takes you behind the Vatican walls for a closer look at the military unit.

Read More
On Religion: Wading Into Doctrinal Debates — And Taking Heat From Both Sides

(ANALYSIS) In the heated environs of Catholic cyberspace, that kind of reporting being done by The Pillar has drawn fierce criticism from partisans on the other side of all doctrinal debates with political, moral and cultural implications. At the moment, The Pillar is taking heat from conservatives for coverage raising questions about remarks by Sen. J.D. Vance.

Read More
Vatican Looks To Younger Generation With Acutis’ Canonization

(ANALYSIS) The Italian teenager Carlo Acutis, who died in 2006 of a rare form of leukemia at age 15, will soon become the Catholic Church’s first “millennial saint.” Acutis’ upcoming canonization reflects the Vatican’s interest in making a more modern church that appeals to a new generation of faithful.

Read More
On Religion: The Lord’s Supper Meets Dionysus In An Unholy Parody

(ANALYSIS) These debates raged on and on because few combatants could agree on what took place, in part because that scene in the opening ceremonies were quickly removed from the official Olympics YouTube and NBC Universal accounts.

Read More
The Holy See Responds to Olympics Opening Ceremony Controversy

Fallout from the “Last Supper” scene during the Opening Ceremony at the Paris Olympics spilled over into a second week after bishops from around the world — and even the Vatican — issued statements calling out the display as offensive to Christians everywhere. The Holy See said ir was “saddened” by the display, while others called on the IOC to “repudiate this blasphemous action.”

Read More
Cardinal Parolin Visits Ukraine, says Pope Following Situation With ‘Pain’

The Holy See’s secretary of state visited the Ukrainian city of Odessa and said that the pope is following the situation there “with so much attention, with so much worry and so much pain.”

Read More
World Religions Commit To Rome Call On AI In Hiroshima Meeting

Religious leaders from across the world meet in Hiroshima, Japan, to sign the “Rome Call for AI Ethics” — emphasizing the vital importance of guiding the development of artificial intelligence with ethical principles that promote peace.

Read More
Vatican Excommunicates Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano For Schism

The Vatican on Friday excommunicated the outspoken Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, its former ambassador to Washington, finding him guilty of promoting schism after repeatedly questioning Pope Francis’ authority. The Italian prelate had in recent years become one of Francis’ harshest critics.

Read More