While still a cardinal, Pope Benedict XVI sought in vain to expedite
the process for defrocking priests guilty of grave crimes, according to a
1988 letter published in the official Vatican newspaper. The letter,
which appears in the December 2 edition of L'Osservatore Romano, could have important implications for the pope's record on child sexual abuse.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A Holocaust-denying bishop whose readmission to
the Roman Catholic Church provoked an international outcry last year now
faces expulsion from his ultra-traditionalist group for hiring a lawyer
with neo-Nazi ties.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican announced on Friday (Nov. 19) that it
is preparing international guidelines to prevent the sexual abuse of
children by Roman Catholic clergy, a long-awaited response to a scandal
that has seeped into countless corners of the church.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A week and a half after losing five Anglican
bishops to the Catholic Church, the leader of the worldwide Anglican
Communion reaffirmed his dedication to ecumenical relations between the
two churches -- and his belief that female Anglican priests should not
be an impediment to union.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Catholic archbishops of New York and Boston
will meet personally with victims of abusive priests as part of a
Vatican investigation of the Catholic Church in Ireland, the Vatican
announced on Friday (Nov. 12).
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI denounced abortion, same-sex
marriage and the absence of religion in public life during a weekend
(Nov. 6-7) visit to Spain, a country he called the "focal point" of
tensions between faith and secularism in Europe.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican's top spokesman appealed to victims
of pedophile priests who demonstrated near the Vatican on Sunday (Oct.
31) to regard the Catholic Church as an "ally" in the struggle against
the sexual abuse of children.
Following a private meeting with the spokesman, however, protest
leaders expressed only frustration and disappointment.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican on Tuesday (Oct. 26) called for
former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz to be spared the death
penalty, and suggested it might intervene diplomatically on his behalf.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A special Vatican meeting on the Middle East
ended Saturday (Oct. 23) with a flare-up in Catholic-Jewish tensions,
after an American bishop declared the Bible does not give Jews
privileged rights to the land of Israel.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Several days after the Vatican's official
newspaper reported that characters Homer and Bart Simpson are Catholic,
the source of that supposed discovery has distanced himself from the
cartoonish claim.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Two American archbishops, one serving in Rome and the
other in Washington, D.C., will be granted a cardinal's red hat in a
ceremony at the Vatican next month, Pope Benedict XVI announced on
Wednesday (Oct. 20).
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican on Wednesday (Sept. 8) joined Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other high-level U.S. officials in denouncing a Florida pastor's plans to burn the Quran on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
