Pope Leo XIV•Vatican City

Pope Leo XIV approves labor reform on family matters for Vatican employees

For the first time, Vatican employees will have the right to five fully paid working days of paternity leave following the birth of a child

Aug 11, 2025 20:32

Valentina di Giorgio

Rome

Letter from Benedict XVI published, definitively clarifying whether his resignation was valid or whether there was an anti-pope

In the same letter, Benedict revealed that his own predecessor, John Paul II, had once seriously considered resigning as he approached his 75th birthday, ultimately choosing not to but affirming the same principle of papal freedom

Aug 09, 2025 23:13

Valentina di Giorgio

Local Church

Church and scientists respond to superficial “study” claiming that the Shroud of Turin is not authentic

The International Center for Studies on the Shroud (CISS) has issued a technical rebuttal, stating that Moraes’s digital models “do not reflect real conditions” and “do not add anything new” to the body of knowledge

Aug 08, 2025 08:20

Valentina di Giorgio

Vatican Diplomacy

The Vatican will become the first country in the world to produce 100% clean energy

According to the Vatican’s press office, the installation will apply the most advanced solutions currently available, balancing clean energy generation with the preservation of agricultural use, the region’s hydrogeological stability, and the protection of its cultural and archaeological heritage

Aug 01, 2025 01:44

Valentina di Giorgio

Dicasteries•Local Church•Virgin Mary

The Vatican issues a statement and assessment on alleged Marian apparitions at Monte Sant’Onofrio

Yet the Dicastery does not ignore what it terms “elements of confusion.” Two specific concerns are raised. The first relates to a disobedience regarding ecclesiastical guidelines. The previous bishop, Claudio Palumbo, had explicitly forbidden public or private liturgical celebrations connected to the apparitions

Jul 30, 2025 16:06

Valentina di Giorgio

Causes of Saints•Protection of vulnerable people•Rome

Case of mismanagement of abuse allegations could halt canonization of Jesuit Pedro Arrupe

The case not only implicates institutional failures at multiple levels, but forces a reckoning with how the Church remembers its revered leaders. Arrupe’s involvement may have been limited to correspondence, and the surviving documentation does not indicate whether he approved the ordination against advice or simply deferred to others

Jul 30, 2025 16:04

Valentina di Giorgio

Jubilee 2025•Rome•Vatican City

Italian police confiscate 13 million unauthorized religious articles sold around the Vatican

The figures, revealed by Italian financial police and reported by «La Repubblica», highlight the darker underside of the city’s booming religious tourism sector. Among the items confiscated were 13 million objects with spiritual significance — often adorned with imagery or text designed to mimic Vatican-issued products.

Jul 21, 2025 22:27

Valentina di Giorgio

Pope Leo XIV

No Papal Souvenirs in Sight: Pope Leo XIV Breaks with a Modern Tradition

There’s no explicit ban, of course. The Vatican has always walked a delicate line between respecting the sacredness of the papal office and tolerating a cottage industry that, for many Roman families, represents a legitimate livelihood. But Pope Leo XIV seems to be charting a different course—one that resonates with his discreet and austere profile so far.

Jul 16, 2025 15:59

Valentina di Giorgio

Jubilee 2025•Young People

Rome Prepares for a Youthquake: A Million Young Pilgrims Expected for 2025 Jubilee

The Vatican has already received over 500,000 requests for lodging, but organizers stress that this is only a fraction of the full crowd expected. Many groups from Italy, Europe, Latin America, and Asia have arranged their own accommodations or plan to attend only the weekend events

Jul 13, 2025 19:12

Valentina di Giorgio

Cardinals and Bishops•Rome

Cardinal Makrickas takes the helm of the Roman basilica of St. Mary Major: the oldest Marian church in the West

The change marks more than an administrative adjustment. It symbolizes a broader generational and geographical shift within the leadership of the Roman Curia, as Cardinal Makrickas—born behind the Iron Curtain in Soviet-occupied Lithuania—becomes the first Lithuanian to assume stewardship of the Liberian basilica in modern times.

Jul 07, 2025 13:23

Valentina di Giorgio

Church and World•Pope Leo XIV•Vatican Diplomacy

Iranian Ambassador to the Vatican asks Pope Leo XIV in letter to defend Khamenei against USA and Israel

The letter, sent amid rising international tensions, calls on the Pontiff not merely as a head of state, but as a global moral and religious authority, to speak out against what the ambassador termed a “direct assassination threat” against a figure who, in Iran’s view, is both a political leader and a sacred religious authority for Shi’a Muslims.

Jul 07, 2025 13:19

Valentina di Giorgio

Cardinals and Bishops•Protection of vulnerable people•Rome

Vatican Assembles Independent Tribunal to Try Former Jesuit Marko Rupnik

The announcement was made on July 3 by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. In statements to the press following a press conference at the Vatican during which the new Mass form “for the care of creation” was presented

Jul 06, 2025 23:41

Valentina di Giorgio