by Francis Rocca | Aug 12, 2011 | News
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Italians have an expression, “every death of a pope,” to describe rare events. And with Pope Benedict XVI in good health and scheduled to take three foreign trips in the next three months, few are talking about his replacement. But as with almost...
by Francis Rocca | Aug 1, 2011 | News
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pilgrims at next month’s Catholic World Youth Day in Madrid will have some high-tech help in their devotions, thanks to a new iPhone app unveiled at the Vatican on Friday (July 29). World Youth Day (WYD), an international gathering held every three...
by Francis Rocca | Jul 18, 2011 | News
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Ireland’s prime minister said Catholic priests could be jailed for failing to report child sex abuse crimes they hear during the sacrament of confession, regardless of the confidentiality imposed by church law. “The law of the land should not be...
by Francis Rocca | Jul 15, 2011 | News
VATICAN CITY (RNS) In its latest move in a long-running power struggle with the Vatican, China’s state-run Catholic church ordained another bishop without the approval of Pope Benedict XVI. The Rev. Joseph Huang Bingzhang was ordained as bishop of Shantou on Thursday...
by Francis Rocca | Jul 14, 2011 | News
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A special commission sponsored by the Irish government criticized a bishop for failing to report allegations of clerical sex abuse to police and noted “concerns” about the same bishop’s own interactions with a teenage boy. The commission’s report,...
