Catholic Church

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Pope Francis signs his new encyclical, Fratelli tutti, on the altar before the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi on Oct. 3, 2020. Photo

Pope Francis signs new encyclical ‘Fratelli tutti’ in Assisi

Oct 3, 2020

Pope Francis signed his new encyclical, Fratelli tutti, Saturday during a visit to Assisi.  Read more

Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Cardinal Parolin defends China deal as Vatican prepares to renew agreement

Oct 3, 2020

Cardinal Pietro Parolin defended the Vatican’s controversial deal with China Saturday, saying that all recent popes sought such an agreement... Read more

A statue of St. Peter in St. Peter's Square, pictured April 5, 2016.

Analysis: Vatican financial report stops short of questions on Peter’s Pence

Oct 3, 2020

By Hannah Brockhaus

The Vatican on Thursday published a 2019 financial report on the Holy See, citing calls for greater transparency in how... Read more

The incorruptible body of St. Rita of Cascia (1381-1457).

Carlo Acutis raises question: What does it mean if a saint's body is 'incorrupt'?

Oct 2, 2020

By Hannah Brockhaus

The opening of the tomb of Carlo Acutis in Assisi has sparked interest in the phenomenon of incorruptibility. But what... Read more

Francesca DiGiovanni, an undersecretary for multilateral affairs in the Vatican Secretariat of State. Screengrab from Holy See UN YouTube channel.

Vatican official tells UN: Women deserve better than abortion

Oct 2, 2020

By Courtney Mares

A female Vatican official told the United Nations Thursday that resources that could be invested in basic healthcare, nutrition, and... Read more

Sacred Heart Cathedral in the Diocese of Thái Bình, Vietnam.

Catholic diocese in Vietnam builds new seminary amid rising vocations

Oct 2, 2020

By Courtney Mares

A diocese in northern Vietnam is expanding its seminary in response to an increasing number of priestly vocations.  Read more

A Swiss Guard at the general audience in St. Peter's Square on Oct. 25, 2017.

Be faithful to Christ, Pope Francis urges new Swiss Guard recruits

Oct 2, 2020

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis Friday met with the 38 new recruits of the Swiss Guard, who will be sworn-in Oct. 4, encouraging... Read more

Professor Tracey Rowland, St John Paul II Chair in Theology at the University of Notre Dame (Australia).

Australian professor and French philosopher win Ratzinger Prize

Oct 2, 2020

An Australian professor and a French philosopher were named the winners of this year’s Ratzinger Prize Oct. 1.  Read more

Carlo Acutis’ tomb is opened for public veneration in Assisi, Italy, Oct. 1, 2020. Photos courtesy of Assisi diocese.

Tomb of Carlo Acutis is opened for veneration ahead of beatification

Oct 1, 2020

By Courtney Mares

The tomb of Venerable Carlo Acutis was opened for public veneration Thursday ahead of the computer-programming teen’s beatification.   Read more

Fr. Juan A. Guerrero, S.J.

Economy prefect says Vatican must be ‘a house of glass’ as 2019 figures released

Oct 1, 2020

By Hannah Brockhaus

The Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy released the 2019 balance sheet for the Roman Curia Thursday.  Read more

Saint Jerome Writing, a painting by Caravaggio, dated to 1605–06. Public domain.

Pope Francis: St. Jerome gave ‘uncompromising witness to the truth’

Sep 30, 2020

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis Wednesday highlighted the life and figure of St. Jerome in an apostolic letter for the 1,600th anniversary of... Read more

Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square on Oct. 16, 2019.

Pope Francis recognizes miracle attributed to Italian laywoman who died in 1997

Sep 30, 2020

Pope Francis advanced the sainthood cause Tuesday of an Italian woman who died in 1997 after touching the lives of... Read more

Cardinal George Pell arrives in Rome Sept. 30, 2020.

Cardinal Pell arrives in Rome as financial scandal casts shadow over Vatican

Sep 30, 2020

Cardinal George Pell arrived in Rome Wednesday as financial scandals continue to cast a shadow over the Vatican.  Read more

Pope Francis arrives for his general audience in the San Damaso Courtyard at the Vatican Sept. 30, 2020.

Pope Francis calls for new economic model to rebuild post-coronavirus world

Sep 30, 2020

Pope Francis called Wednesday for a new economic model to help rebuild the world after the coronavirus pandemic.   Read more

A Vatican flag waves over the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Moneyval evaluation begins at Vatican

Sep 30, 2020

By Hannah Brockhaus

The Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering watchdog, Moneyval, began its two-week on-site inspection of the Holy See and Vatican City... Read more

Bishop-elect Erik Varden of Trondheim, Norway. Courtesy photo.

Norway’s newest Catholic bishop is Cistercian monk Erik Varden

Sep 30, 2020

By Hannah Brockhaus

After 11 years, the Catholic Church in central Norway will have a bishop again.  Read more

The flag of Cameroon.

English Catholic bishops lament attacks on civilians in Cameroon

Sep 29, 2020

Catholic bishops in England appealed Monday for an end to human rights abuses in Cameroon.   Read more

The statue of St. Michael the Archangel in the Cathedral of the Blessed Name of Mary in Minsk, Belarus, on Sept. 23, 2020.

Catholics in Belarus ask St. Michael the Archangel’s intercession for end to crisis

Sep 29, 2020

By Courtney Mares

Amid strife in their country, Catholics in Belarus held a Mass Tuesday with a revered statue of St. Michael the... Read more

Vatican official hails ‘positive’ results of China deal amid report that Holy See delegation is heading to Beijing

Sep 29, 2020

A Vatican official hailed the “positive” results of the Holy See’s provisional agreement with China Tuesday amid reports that a... Read more

Fabiola Gianotti at the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest particle accelerator, beneath the France-Switzerland border.

Pope Francis names leading physicist to pontifical academy

Sep 29, 2020

Pope Francis appointed the director-general of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) Tuesday to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.    Read more