MondayVatican
No doubt about it: every gesture by Pope Francis is a political signal. The time when his choices could be considered those of a naïve or inexperienced Pope is over. Every decision Pope Francis makes is signaling in which direction he wants to move the Church.
The eight cardinals charged with advising the Pope [...]
Those who know Pope Francis very well note that we are yet to see him at his best. They maintain that Pope Francis is a skilled «politician,» a man of great culture, even if up until now he has only shown the pastoral and – some would concede – populist aspects of his personality. [...]
The appointment of Benedict XVI’s personal secretary, Georg Gaenswein, as Prefect of the Pontifical Household fills the last vacant post of the Pontifical family’s organization chart, and at the same time gives more weight and importance within the Sacred Walls to Msgr. Gaenswein. This takes place notwithstanding the fact that he [...]
The second outcome of the Vatileaks case may have come in the classical Vatican formula promoveatur ut amoveatur (promote to remove). James Michael Harvey, Prefect of the Pontifical Household, is to be created cardinal in a surprise consistory announced by Benedict XVI. The consistory will take place November, 24, and will create just [...]
The Vatileaks case does not come to an end with the trial of Paolo Gabriele, the Pope’s butler charged with aggravated theft, convicted of stealing the pontiff’s private documents and leaking them to a journalist, and sentenced to 18 months in prison (but a Papal pardon is likely). Perhaps Vatileaks will [...]
Paolo Gabriele, the Pope’s butler accused of stealing and leaking documents from the Apostolic Palace and His Holiness’ Secretariat of State, will be tried as a criminal. But the real news is that there is one more person who will also face criminal proceedings: Claudio Sciarpelletti, a computer specialist working at the [...]
Reset and recommence from prayer. Prayer does not subtract us from the world. To the contrary, it gives people the sense of living. Benedict XVI, in his catechesis at the general audience of Wednesday, June 13, did not respond directly to the attacks levied against the Church. He is not interested in gossip, [...]
To do away with Vatileaks polemics and rumors, Benedict XVI decided to make a personal public statement. At the end of the General Audience of Wednesday, May 30th, he read a brief and significant declaration about the Vatileaks scandal. «The events – the Pope said - which have occurred during these [...]
«Now the longed-for day has come; it came quickly because this is what was pleasing to the Lord: John Paul II is blessed!» Benedict XVI underlines these latter words, moved from a deep emotion. Not all Popes reach the goal to beatify their predecessor. Moreover, not all Popes are able to beatify a [...]
John Paul II will be beatified on May the 1st. It was a controversial beatification: many wanted to suspend the judgment about the beatification. Two cardinals (Angelo Sodano, former Secretay of State, and Leonardo Sandri, now Prefect of the Congregation of Oriental Churches) decided not to testify in the [...]
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