Vatican Archives - Page 2 of 139

Vatican

Pope Francis reveals he was used in ‘manoeuvre’ during 2005 conclave to prevent Benedict’s election

April 02, 2024

ROME – Pope Francis has said that he was used in an “manoeuvre” to block the election of the future Benedict XVI during the 2005 conclave, but that he resisted the move and voted for Benedict himself. The revelation comes in a new book about Pope Francis’ relationship with his predecessor, “It was a complete

Critics who paint the Pope as a ‘meek’ peacenik over Ukraine fail to see how victory can lie in unexpected places

April 01, 2024

If this Easter we celebrate Christ’s victory over Death through His Resurrection, we must do so knowing our thanksgivings occur amid a world mired in intractable conflict once again, including on the edges of Europe and in the Holy Land. Pope Francis has attempted to address this and the subsequent slaughter and countless deaths of

Pope’s ‘foreign policy’ Easter message: What got included, what got left out

March 31, 2024

ROME – A pope’s Easter Sunday Urbi et Orbi blessing, meaning “to the city and the world,” is generally understood to be one of his premier foreign policy statements of the year, a sort of 365-degree review of the global situation. Which issues and hotspots a pontiff chooses to highlight, therefore – and, equally, which he chooses

Easter Vigil: We must roll away the stones in our hearts, preaches Pope Francis

March 30, 2024

ROME – Presiding over the Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday night Pope Francis drew particular attention to the concerns of the women who went to Jesus’s tomb after his crucifixion to anoint his body. He focused on how they were worried about the stone that would be blocking them from getting to the tomb. And

In first Holy Week homily Pope urges Catholics not to be afraid of guilt

March 28, 2024

ROME – In his first major liturgy for Holy Week, Pope Francis offered an extended reflection on the spiritual underpinnings of so-called “Catholic guilt”, a by now almost notorious concept associated by many (especially critics of Catholicism) with an almost compulsive need to feel overly guilty for any perceived offense. He addressed the ancient tradition

Loss of traditional-rite Triduum in Westminster as Cardinal Nichols says ‘No’

March 27, 2024

This year the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, has refused permission for the celebration of the services of the pre-Vatican II Easter Triduum in his diocese. These services have taken place in the Archdiocese of Westminster since the 1990s, and have attracted up to 200 people, including many of those served by the various

Study parses what US Catholics think about Pope’s views on climate change

March 27, 2024

A new study from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) looks at the differing views of US Catholics on the environmental issues raised by Pope Francis, and specially addresses their views on what has come to be known as “climate justice”. Climate justice is an approach to environmental action that focuses on

Cardinal Bo laments ‘wounded world’ and a Holy Week scarred by ‘devastating toll of conflict’

March 25, 2024

Cardinal Charles Bo has said that this year Christians mark Holy Week reflecting on the “devastating toll of conflict even in the birthplace of Jesus, Ukraine, and our own soil”. The Myanmar cardinal, and president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Myanmar and of the Federations of Asia Bishops Conferences, said in a statement: “As