Articles by Alessandro Speciale

News

Pope's butler faces trial, and eyes turn to Vatican judicial system

Jun 06, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI's former butler is facing up to eight years in jail for allegedly stealing confidential documents from the pope's own desk. But according to a Vatican judge, Paolo Gabriele won't be serving any time in the world's smallest state.

News

Vatican censures nun’s book on sexual ethics

Jun 05, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

A long-simmering conflict between the Vatican and American nuns has erupted again with the Vatican’s doctrinal office issuing a scathing critique of a popular book on sexual ethics by Sister Margaret A. Farley, one of the first Catholics to teach at Yale Divinity School.

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Vatican 'moles' say pope's butler didn't act alone, vow more leaks

Jun 05, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) Despite the arrest of Pope Benedict XVI's butler two weeks ago, leaks of confidential documents continue to dribble out of the Vatican as "moles" vow to continue their action until the pope's two closest aides are sacked.

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Vatican official calls leaked documents an 'immoral' and 'brutal' attack

May 30, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) The Vatican's No. 3 official on Tuesday (May 29) condemned the theft and publication of secret papal documents as an "immoral act of unheard-of gravity."

News

Director of Vatican Bank resigns under pressure

May 24, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) In an unprecedented move, the board of the Vatican Bank on Thursday (May 24) forced its president, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, to resign.

News

Pope Benedict XVI gives direction to U.S. bishops on hot-button issues

May 23, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) Over the course of the last six months, Pope Benedict XVI delivered five major speeches to small groups of American bishops who were in Rome for their "ad limina" visits, which are required once every five years.

News

Vatican details rules on Virgin Mary sightings

May 23, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) The Vatican has published rules to evaluate the authenticity of the dozens of apparitions of the Virgin Mary reported each year.

News

Vatican settles with Benetton over pope-kissing ad

May 16, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican announced on Tuesday (May 15) it had settled a lawsuit against Italian clothing group Benetton for using an image of Pope Benedict XVI in one of its advertisement campaigns.

The image had been modified to show Benedict kissing Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed El-Tayeb, imam of Cairo's renowned al-Azhar Mosque.

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Pope finds kindred spirit in German 'feminist' saint

May 14, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) Here are two things that don't typically go together: Pope Benedict XVI and feminist culture.

Yet they both share a veneration for Hildegard von Bingen, a 12th-century German nun who was the first woman to be officially recognized as a "prophetess" by the Roman Catholic Church.

News

Vatican issues new guidelines for Catholic charities

May 04, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) Under new rules announced on Wednesday (May 2), the Vatican will more closely oversee the operations of Caritas Internationalis, a global confederation of 162 national Catholic charities.

News

Vatican official calls for stronger protection for conscientious objection

Apr 19, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) A senior Vatican official on Tuesday (April 17) called for stronger protection for conscientious objection for both the Catholic Church and individual Catholics when they are faced with laws that conflict with their "moral norms."

News

Pope turns 85 amid speculation of resignation

Apr 18, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI turned 85 on Monday (April 16) amid renewed speculation about his declining health and possible resignation.

News

Traditionalists facing showdown with Vatican

Apr 11, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) When Pope Benedict XVI chose in 2009 to lift the excommunications of four bishops from a conservative schismatic group, few would have thought the news would generate headlines worldwide.

News

Pope Benedict XVI says church reform won't come through open dissent

Apr 06, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) In a rare public rebuke, Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday (April 5) denounced a call for optional celibacy and women's ordination that was issued by a group of Austrian priests, saying true reform will not come as a result of open dissent.

News

Vatican wants to revive church's role in fighting the Mafia

Apr 02, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) Vatican officials traveled this week to the island of Sicily, the heartland of the Mafia, to promote the church's role in fighting organized crime.

The Vatican says it wants to show that the best way to respond to the Mafia is through the promotion of a "culture of dialogue and legality."

News

Pope meets with Fidel Castro, urges more freedom

Mar 29, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI ended his three-day visit to Cuba on Wednesday (March 28) with an appeal for more religious freedom for the Catholic Church, ahead of a highly anticipated meeting with the island's historic leader, Fidel Castro.

News

Pope arrives in Cuba, blasts economic 'selfishness'

Mar 27, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Cuba on Monday (March 26), renewing the Catholic Church's pledge to "work tirelessly to better serve all Cubans" as the island strives to "renew and broaden its horizons."

News

Pope tells Cubans to look beyond Marxism

Mar 23, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI on Friday (March 23) urged Cuba's communist government to look for "new models" beyond its "Marxist ideology," saying it is clear that Marxism "no longer responds to reality."

News

Pope to find challenges, opportunities in Cuba

Mar 20, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) Two weeks before Pope Benedict XVI was scheduled to touch down in Cuba, a small group of protesters occupied a church in central Havana, asking that a message with their requests be delivered directly to the pope.

News

Vatican pulls support for seminarians' soccer league

Mar 17, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) A Vatican department has withdrawn its support from a soccer tournament that pits teams from Rome's seminaries against each other because it has lost its "educational" value.