Vatican City
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Southern Europe
Pope: Eternal youth is an illusion
The desire to remain young is prominent in modern society. However, Pope Francis criticised the “delusional” presumption of the ability to stop ageing. Instead, he defended the value of elderly people to the community and the Church. We cannot stop time; the desire for eternal youth, unlimited well-being and absolute…
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Southern Europe
Pope wants to appoint women in leadership positions
Pope Francis promises to appoint two women for the vacancies in the commission that selects bishops. He said so during an interview with Reuters. It is the first time that women will get a say in the selection of bishops. In the interview, Pope Francis did not mention any names,…
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Southern Europe
Vatican is ambiguous about meeting Moscow
The Vatican's ecumenical cardinal accuses Russia's Patriarch Kirill of heresy. Pope Francis stands behind these words. Although Rome's patience with Kirill seems to have run out, some sources report that the Pope would want to visit Moscow and Kyiv soon. In an exclusive interview with the Catholic German daily Die…
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Southern Europe
Will Pope Francis resign?
Is Pope Francis thinking about resigning from his position? He is 85 years old, deals with deteriorating health conditions, and suffers from the heavy workload of his work. Francis's predecessor, Joseph Ratzinger, resigned from his office in 2013. Since then, the more than 700-year-old taboo on stepping down as head…
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Southern Europe
Vatican publishes documents from Nazi era
The Vatican is making part of its archive of documents on the persecution of Jews from the Nazi era accessible to the public. Interested parties can read letters from and to the pontificate of Pius XII on the Internet. In many of these letters, European Jews ask the head of…
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Southern Europe
Pope advocates better preparation for marriage in new Vatican guidelines
The Vatican published Wednesday new guidelines for clergy to help couples in preparation of their marriage. In the foreword, Pope Francis says the document is necessary to avoid celebrating “null or inconsistent” unions. Marriage preparation should become an integral part of the marriage procedure, “as an antidote to avoid the…
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Southern Europe
One Protestant church for Germany is enough, says Pope
The Roman Catholic Pope Francis has openly criticised the reform process that is underway in the German Catholic Church. He said Germany did not need a second Protestant group. The reformist group, the “Synodal Way”, is pleading with the Vatican for changes, including the ordination of women and the blessing…
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Southern Europe
More room for women in Vatican constitution
A new constitution has come into effect in the Vatican. The new statute, created at the initiative of Pope Francis, allows, among other things, from Sunday onward, that lay people, including women, become heads of ministries of the Church-state. So are the highest offices in the Curia, as the Vatican…
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Southern Europe
Pope John Paul II, the child that should have been aborted
If it were up to Polish doctor Dr Jan Moskala, John Paul II – Pope from 1978 to 2005 – would never have been born. Because of a life-threatening pregnancy at the end of 1919, the medical expert advised Emilia Wojtyla, his mother-to-be, to have an abortion. In a new…
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Southern Europe
Wives Ukrainian soldiers beg Pope to save their husbands
Two Ukrainian military wives asked Pope Francis to save the lives of their husbands. They did so during the General Audience on Wednesday. The husbands of Katheryna Prokopenko and Yulya Fedosiuk are trapped at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Catholic News Agency reports. Propenko is married to lieutenant colonel…