Vatican News

Korea’s first cardinal, bold human rights’ defender, dies at age 86
Feb 17 2009
VATICAN CITY – Korea’s first cardinal, an outspoken defender of human rights, died in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 16 at the age of 86.

Former Legionaries official apologizes for defending Father Maciel
Feb 13 2009
WASHINGTON – When it became public Feb. 4 that Legionaries of Christ founder Father Marcial Maciel Degollado had fathered a daughter, the order’s former communications director decided he had to apologize for having defended him after sex abuse allegations against the priest first became public in 1997.

Vatican says Englaro’s death must lead to better ways to protect life
Feb 10 2009
VATICAN CITY – The Feb. 9 death of Eluana Englaro after nutrition and hydration were withheld should lead Italian citizens and their government to find more effective ways to protect and promote human life, said the Vatican spokesman.

Pope, German chancellor discuss Holocaust-denying bishop
Feb 09 2009
VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to each other on the telephone about the recent controversy surrounding a traditionalist bishop who has denied the Holocaust.

Remembering the Holocaust: A scientific fact, a religious obligation
Feb 08 2009
VATICAN CITY – Acknowledging and remembering the Holocaust is not only a matter of historical honesty; it is a religious obligation, especially for bishops, several Vatican officials said.

Spokesman: News that founder fathered child causes Legionaries pain
Feb 05 2009
ROME – The Legionaries of Christ only recently found out that their founder had fathered a child, knowledge that has caused the members great suffering, but has not destroyed the gratitude they owe him, said a spokesman for the religious order.

Pope calls for protection of civilians amid fighting in Sri Lanka
Feb 04 2009
VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI called for the protection of innocent civilians caught up in an increasingly bloody conflict in Sri Lanka.

Vatican: Bishop’s Holocaust statements ‘strongly rejected’ by pope
Feb 03 2009
VATICAN CITY – The Vatican said a traditionalist bishop who has minimized the full extent of the Holocaust must disavow his positions before he will be accepted into full communion with the church.

Bishop’s remarks on Holocaust strain US Jewish-Catholic relations
Jan 30 2009
WASHINGTON – Strained Jewish-Catholic relations are being felt beyond the Vatican and Israel as U.S. rabbis express their displeasure with Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to lift the excommunication of a traditionalist bishop who has minimized the severity and extent of the Holocaust.

Rabbi Klenicki, Christian-Jewish relations expert, dies at 78
Jan 28 2009
MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Rabbi Leon Klenicki, a longtime Jewish voice on Catholic-Jewish relations, died Jan. 25 at his home in Monroe Township. He was 78 years old. No cause of death was immediately reported.

Pope condemns Holocaust denial, reaffirms solidarity with Jews
Jan 28 2009
VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI renewed his “full and unquestionable solidarity” with the world’s Jews and condemned all ignorance, denial and downplaying of the brutal slaughter of millions of Jewish people during the Holocaust.

FDA approval of embryonic stem-cell research a ‘step back’
Jan 26 2009
Maryland could become a focal point in the moral minefield of embryonic stem-cell research.

Obama signs order reversing Mexico City policy
Jan 26 2009
WASHINGTON – Pro-life activists quickly denounced President Barack Obama’s Jan. 23 signature on an executive order reversing the Mexico City policy, a move that clears the way for the federal government to provide aid to programs that promote or perform abortion overseas.

Vatican launches video news channel on YouTube
Jan 24 2009
VATICAN CITY – The Vatican launched a video channel on YouTube that will feature news coverage of Pope Benedict XVI and major Vatican events.

Pope asks young Catholics to use technology to share their faith
Jan 23 2009
VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI asked young Catholics to use their computers, Facebook accounts, blogs and Internet video posts to share with their peers the joy of faith in Christ.