Category: Vatican

Pope Doing Well After Intestinal Surgery, Vatican Says

VATICAN CITY—Pope Francis is doing well following intestinal surgery, the Vatican said on Sunday after the 84-year-old pontiff was hospitalized for the first time since his election in 2013. Spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement that the pontiff “responded well” to the surgery, which was done under general anesthesia and which the Vatican had…


Vatican Indicts 10 People, Including a Cardinal, in UK Deal

ROME—A Vatican judge on Saturday indicted 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal, on charges including embezzlement, abuse of office, extortion, and fraud in connection with the Secretariat of State’s €350 million investment in a London real estate venture. The president of the Vatican’s criminal tribunal, Giuseppe Pignatone, set July 27 as the trial date, but…


Vatican Foreign Minister to Epoch Times: Church Has No Positive Contribution to Make in Hong Kong

VATICAN CITY—In a press conference held on June 25 that was focused on the Holy See’s upcoming Day of Prayer and Reflection for Lebanon, The Epoch Times asked Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Vatican Secretary for Relations with States (Foreign Minister) to comment on similar unrest in Hong Kong. The Epoch Times asked: “With the financial and political…


Vatican Foreign Minister: Church Has No Positive Contribution to Make in Hong Kong

VATICAN CITY—In a press conference held on June 25 that was focused on the Holy See’s upcoming Day of Prayer and Reflection for Lebanon, The Epoch Times asked Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Vatican Secretary for Relations with States (Foreign Minister) to comment on similar unrest in Hong Kong. The Epoch Times asked: “With the financial and political…


Vatican Foreign Minister: Church Sees No Positive Contribution to Make in Hong Kong

VATICAN CITY—A senior Vatican official says that he and many of his colleagues aren’t yet persuaded that speaking out about the protest movement in Hong Kong “would make any difference whatever.” At a press conference held on June 25 that was focused on the Vatican’s upcoming Day of Prayer and Reflection for Lebanon, The Epoch Times…


Ex-Vatican Altar Boy Testifies in Seminary Sex Abuse Trial

ROME—A former Vatican altar boy has testified that an older seminarian would come into his bed at night to perform a sexual act on him in the Vatican’s youth seminary, saying his initial shock gave way to resignation because he feared being sent home. Accuser L.G. testified for the first time Wednesday in the Vatican’s…


Vatican Declares Blessings for Same-Sex Unions ‘Illicit’

The Vatican announced on Monday that blessings for unions of same-sex people are “illicit” because God “cannot bless sin,” while blessings for individual persons with homosexual inclinations are permissible. The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response of “negative” to a question of whether the Catholic churches…


Vatican Backtracks on Vaccine Directive After Backlash

The Vatican on Feb. 18 backtracked on a decree signed earlier this month that threatened termination for any employee in the city-state who refused to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, following widespread condemnation against the policy.  Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, the governor of the Vatican on Feb. 8 signed the directive that said employees who refuse to…