Pope Benedict appointed 22 new cardinals at the Vatican on Saturday, with his choices for the lofty role likely to influence who will be appointed as the next pontiff.
The Vatican has rejected criticism that church leaders sought to cover up extensive abuse of young people by priests in Ireland, in a lengthy statement sent to the Irish government Saturday.
The Vatican on Monday recalled its envoy to Ireland in the wake of a blistering report accusing church leaders of covering up extensive abuse of young people by priests.
Ireland's prime minister has launched a stinging attack on the Vatican, a week after a report said the Catholic Church in Ireland did not take serious steps to stamp out child abuse by priests, even after the scandal blew up worldwide.
To fight child abuse by priests, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops revised its 2002 charter Thursday, the group said.
The Vatican is warning people who plan to travel to the beatification of Pope John Paul II to look out for scammers claiming to sell tickets for the ceremony.
The makers say the app isn't replacing the confessional, but it will help people with the sacrament. WCVB reports.
Yes, the Roman Catholic Church still supports the new app designed to help Catholics make confession. To a point.
Irish victims of sexual abuse are "disgusted" by a newly revealed letter in which a Vatican official expresses "serious reservations" about requiring bishops to report suspected abuse by priests to police, they said Wednesday.
In his annual "State of the World" address to the Vatican diplomatic corps, Pope Benedict XVI spoke Monday about religious intolerance and discrimination toward Christian minorities around the world.
The Vatican Bank will adapt to meet international standards on money-laundering and other illegal activities, Pope Benedict XVI decreed Thursday, after some of the bank's assets were ordered frozen in Italy.
The Vatican celebrates Christmas with a traditional midnight mass.
The Holy See's press office Saturday urged the public to read the latest Vatican-related diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks with "great prudence," claiming the allegations cited in the documents reflect only the view of their writers.
Relations between the Vatican and Ireland deteriorated sharply as the Holy See appeared to ignore a commission looking into complaints of physical and sexual abuse of children by Irish priests, according to U.S. diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks.
Pope Benedict XVI announced Wednesday that he would create 24 new cardinals -- putting his stamp on the body that will select his replacement when he dies.
The Vatican Apostolic Library has reopened after an extensive 3-year restoration. CNN's Eileen Hsieh explains.
The Vatican Apostolic Library reopened its hallowed halls Monday following a three-year renovation, according to library officials.
Pope Benedict XVI is likely to meet victims of child abuse when he visits the United Kingdom next week, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales indicated Sunday.
The archbishop of Santiago has asked the Vatican to investigate a priest accused of sexually abusing four minors, a church official said.
Activists campaigning for the Catholic Church to ordain women as priests were asked to leave the Vatican on Tuesday.
The Vatican had praise Saturday for this week's announcement that scientists had created the world's first synthetic cell, calling it an "interesting result" that could help cure disease.
The Vatican will embark on a sweeping new legal strategy Monday in responding to allegations of sex abuse in the United States, CNN has learned.
Pope Benedict XVI made one of his strongest statements to date on the sex abuse scandal sweeping the Roman Catholic Church, saying Tuesday the reality he has seen is "terrifying."
Pope Benedict XVI will appoint a special envoy to run a Mexican Catholic order whose founder abused minor-age seminarians and fathered three children with two women, the Vatican said Saturday.
A man who says he was abused by a priest speaks to reporters after another man filed a lawsuit against the Vatican.
The Vatican said a lawsuit accusing it and Pope Benedict XVI of covering up sexual abuse by a priest at a Catholic school in the United States has no merit.
An Illinois man is suing the Vatican and Pope Benedict XVI for allegedly covering up sexual abuse by a priest at a Catholic school in Wisconsin.
Pope Benedict XVI has met with 8 victims of clerical sex abuse in Malta. CNN Vatican analyst John Allen reports.
For the fifth anniversary of Benedict XVI's papacy on Monday, the Vatican is expected to do everything it normally does to celebrate such milestones: the pope will lunch with dozens of Catholic cardinals from around the world and deliver remarks from his window above St. Peter's Square, while Vatican employees will receive an anniversary bonus in their paychecks.
Pope Benedict XVI told a group of sexual abuse victims Sunday that he feels "shame" for what they suffered within the church and will make sure their abusers are brought "to justice," the Vatican announced.
Gay rights groups have expressed outrage over comments made by a senior Vatican official linking homosexuality to child abuse.
A top Vatican cardinal says homosexuality, not celibacy, is a root cause of child abuse by priests. CNN's Rafael Romo reports.
The Vatican is overhauling its rules on how it handles accusations of sexual abuse by priests, it said Monday, without giving any details.
CNN's Diana Magnay reports on the Vatican's process to defrock a California priest who molested children.
The Vatican did not know about an American priest believed to have molested up to 200 boys until 20 years after civil authorities investigated and then dropped the case, its top spokesman said Thursday.
Vatican officials failed to take action against a priest accused of sexually abusing two teenage girls in Minnesota despite repeated warnings from a local bishop starting in 2005, attorneys for one of the alleged victims said Monday.
CNN's Diana Magnay looks at how the abuse scandal affected Good Friday celebrations at the Vatican.
Pope Benedict XVI's personal preacher on Friday compared the fury aimed at the Catholic leadership because of sexual abuse within the Church to aspects of anti-Semitism.
A top Vatican official has harshly criticized The New York Times' coverage of the Catholic sexual abuse crisis in a lengthy article posted on the Vatican Web site.
Top Catholic clerics from France and Britain expressed shame, anger and regret Friday over a widening abuse scandal in the church that has reached Pope Benedict XVI's doorstep.
The Vatican is taking a defensive stand amid allegations of abuse by priests. CNN's Diana Magnay reports.
Pope Benedict XVI has signed a letter aimed at defusing anger in Ireland over a sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church.
A cadet in the Vatican police force was found fatally shot in the head early Monday inside the barracks, in what officials said was an apparent suicide over a breakup with a girlfriend.
While some passengers only turn to prayer when jolted by turbulence, the Vatican made it standard on Monday by launching the world's first airline for Catholic pilgrims.
Catholic pilgrims have own airline
If the Pope exerts such authority, why is the Holy See impervious to predatory priest lawsuits?
The Vatican, the ruling body of the Catholic Church, has issued new guidelines for road users, including a drivers' "Ten Commandments". The guidelines form part of Pope Benedict XVI's mission to make Catholic teaching more appropriate to modern life and to put new technology within a Christian context.
A movie about the birth of Jesus Christ made its world premiere Sunday at the Vatican, the first time a feature film debuted here.
Pope Benedict XVI has invited ambassadors from Muslim nations to meet him on Monday in a bid to calm anger over his use of a medieval text saying their religion was spread by violence.
Pope Benedict XVI has said he is "deeply sorry" for the reaction to his comments on Islam and said a quote he used from a medieval text about holy wars did not reflect his personal thoughts.
Pope Benedict XVI has said he is "very upset" that his speech on Islam offended Muslims and expressed his respect for their faith, according to the Vatican.
Pope Benedict XVI came under a hail of criticism from the Islamic world Friday for comments he made earlier in the week regarding the Prophet Mohammed and the Muslim faith, in some cities provoking street protests.
The Vatican says it has excommunicated two Chinese bishops consecrated earlier this week to China's government-approved Catholic church, which is not recognized by the Holy See.
The Vatican has published a controversial document on gays and the Catholic priesthood, affirming its policy against gay priests but saying anyone who has "clearly overcome" homosexual tendencies can start the process of becoming a priest.
In an eagerly awaited document, the Vatican has reiterated its policy against gay priests, but has said it would allow those who have "clearly overcome" homosexual tendencies to start the process of becoming a priest.
Pope Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, will officially take the helm of the Roman Catholic Church on Sunday before a crowd filled with dignitaries, members of his flock and a worldwide television audience of millions.
There is one Roman Catholic Church, headquartered in the Vatican. Then there are thousands of churches -- located in rural and metropolitan, traditional and progressive, affluent and impoverished communities worldwide.
CNN.com asked users to share their thoughts about the political, spiritual, economic and other global issues the next pope will face. Here is a sampling from thousands of responses, some of which have been edited:
Pope Benedict XVI outlined goals for his papacy Wednesday, including the unification of all Christians, continuing the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and reaching out to people of other faiths.
The newly elected Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, was one of the most powerful men in the Vatican under Pope John Paul II, a strict enforcer of church doctrine who earned the nickname "Cardinal No."
Shrouded in secrecy, cardinals will convene the first of a series of private meetings at the Vatican on Monday to elect a new pope to lead the Roman Catholic Church.
From bugs to lasers to cell phones, the Vatican is on guard for high-tech eavesdropping ahead of Monday's opening of the conclave to elect a new pope to lead the Roman Catholic Church.
Pilgrims have been filing past Pope John Paul II's tomb after the Vatican opened the site for the first time since the pontiff's funeral.
Roman Catholic cardinals preparing to elect a new pope have unanimously decided not to talk with the media, a Vatican spokesman told reporters Saturday.
Pope John Paul II will be remembered as a great communicator not only for his language skills, but also for his use of modern technologies to reach his followers.
Thousands of mourners, including many world leaders, will gather at the Vatican Friday to pay their final respects at the funeral Mass for Pope John Paul II.
As a line of mourners stretched for miles Tuesday to file past Pope John Paul II's body in St. Peter's Basilica, tributes also were being observed across the globe, including the pope's native Poland.
Pope John Paul II was remembered Saturday as a "champion of human freedom," a "tireless advocate of peace" and a man with a "wonderful sense of humor" who was easy to talk to.
Pope John Paul II has developed a high fever and remains in a very serious condition, but is responding to his aides, the Vatican announced Saturday evening.
Pope John Paul II, whose health has been increasingly fragile in recent years, has suffered a series of medical setbacks in the last two months. Some developments:
The Vatican says the pope has suffered cardiocirculatory collapse and septic shock. CNN's Richard Quest spoke Friday to Professor Anthony Costello, head of the Department of Urology at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, to determine the seriousness of the conditions. The following is a transcript of the interview:
The following is a translation of a statement issued by chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls Saturday morning on the health of Pope John Paul II:
Pope John Paul II's condition remained "serious" early Friday, but he appeared to be responding well to antibiotic treatment for a urinary tract infection that caused him to develop a fever, a Vatican official said.
A spokesman for the Vatican criticized the manner in which Terri Schiavo died Thursday.
Pope John Paul II is not considering resignation despite increasingly frail health, according to a Vatican expert.
Pope John Paul II is being fed through a nasal tube in an effort to boost his calorie intake, the Vatican says.
In another sign of his fragile health, Pope John Paul II has skipped the post-Easter Angelus prayer for the first time in his 26-year papacy.
An ailing Pope John Paul II has blessed tens of thousands of jubilant pilgrims and tourists marking Easter Sunday in St. Peter's Square by making the sign of the cross with his hand, but he was unable to speak.
Pope John Paul II, recovering from last month's throat surgery, is expected to bless the faithful from his window on Easter Sunday.
Pope John Paul II returned to the Vatican on Sunday after leaving Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital for the first time since he suffered breathing trouble more than two weeks ago.
Pope John Paul II has accepted his doctors' advice to remain hospitalized "for a few more days," the Vatican said Thursday.
Pope John Paul II, for the first time in his papacy, has delegated senior cardinals to preside over nearly all of his Easter ceremonies, the Vatican says.
The Vatican has said it expects Pope John Paul II to be released from a Rome hospital in time for Holy Week activities leading up to Easter.
For a second week, Pope John Paul II has blessed a cheering crowd gathered at his Rome hospital, where he is recovering from breathing problems, as the traditional Angelus blessing was conducted in his absence at St. Peter's Square.
The condition of Pope John Paul II, hospitalized since last week for breathing problems, "continues to improve," the Vatican has said in a statement.
Pope John Paul II is recovering without complications in hospital following his tracheotomy operation, the Vatican has said.
The following is the medical bulletin issued Friday, in English, by chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls on the pope's condition:
Hours after Pope John Paul II was hospitalized with a recurrence of the flu, doctors performed a successful tracheotomy to ease the ailing pontiff's breathing, a Vatican spokesman has said.
Pope John Paul II was discharged from a Rome hospital Thursday evening to return to the Vatican.
Pope John Paul II will remain in hospital for a few more days to recover fully from his respiratory infection, the Vatican has said, adding that his condition continues to improve.
Pope John Paul II, in a voice weakened by a respiratory infection, has delivered a blessing to a crowd gathered outside his hospital.
Pope John Paul II appears to feeling better and he was eager to return to work, according to a bishop who visited the pontiff Saturday at the Rome hospital where he is being treated for a respiratory infection.
Pope John Paul II is improving and eating regularly, The Vatican says.
Pope John Paul II is now breathing more easily, according to the Vatican, but it hinted the frail 84-year-old pontiff may have to spend up to a week in hospital to fully recover from a respiratory infection.
Pope John Paul II's condition stabilized Wednesday morning following overnight hospital treatment for an acute respiratory infection, a papal spokesman said.
Pope John Paul II was taken to a hospital late Tuesday with an acute respiratory infection, hours after aides announced he was suffering from the flu, the Vatican said.
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The view is hard to beat, the atmosphere can be, well, heavenly, and the coffee isn't bad either. St Peter's Basilica now has its own rooftop coffee bar.
© 2011 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|