This weekend marks the start of "The Pauline Year" declared by Pope Benedict XVI to deepen the Church's devotion to and understanding of St. Paul. This H2O News report interviews the Archpriest of St. Paul Outside the Walls Basilica in Rome and includes video of the basilica, my favorite church in Rome.
Recently in The Vatican Category
A consistory has been announced! New cardinals! Here's the list. Here is John Allen's analysis.
Homepage of Vatican City State
Don't miss the Webcams page, where you can take a virtual pilgrimage to the tomb of Pope John Paul the Great.
Behold. L’Osservatore Romano, the official unofficially official newspaper of the Vatican has created an on-line photo archive. The pics are watermarked, so they're not good for downloading (sorry, bloggers), but you can order prints.
With last week's news of a new Secretary of State for the Vatican, you might be wondering, "Just what does the Vatican SoS do?"
If so, Zenit published a handy reference last week.
The Holy See has a new Secretary of State, in case you haven't heard. John Allen's Word from Rome column this week has a profile of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the new Secretary. An excerpt:
Bertone is a staunch conservative on doctrinal issues, and a man with a very positive and optimistic spirit. In true Salesian fashion, he is good at youth ministry, and has made outreach to the young a priority in Genoa. One of his first outings as archbishop was to a local disco, where Bertone was photographed on the dance floor. He has also taken a few turns at providing color commentary during broadcasts of Italian soccer matches.
Seems like things will be getting interesting at State.
So it's officially out now. The document that some on both sides of the debate seem to think authorizes live-burning of gays was released officially today. The official English translation is here.
Here is the money quote:
In the light of such teaching, this dicastery, in accord with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, believes it necessary to state clearly that the Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies, or support the so-called 'gay culture'.
Mama Lu's horse during the recent conclave gave an interview to Inside the Vatican Magazine.
Nobody dispenses with BS like this man.
Sandro magister has the scoop on Sino-Vatican relations.
