The following post was contributed by Stefanie Romano, a team leader from the Archdiocese of Toronto Office of Catholic Youth. The OCY Toronto pilgrims visited Rome before heading to World Youth Day in Madrid. I am amazed at how active the spirit has been. Praise be to Jesus for carrying us through this miraculous day. ...read more

Five minutes is a short time to explain the current diplomatic impasse between Beijing and the Vatican. When I interviewed the Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong on the August 1st edition of Perspectives Daily, he concisely summarized the state of the relationship: it’s at a new beginning, but it may get worse before it gets ...read more

Today, CNS Rome Correspondent Carol Glatz tells us about Pope Benedict XVI’s General Audience on the importance of finding times and places for silence, and about how silence naturally leads to prayer. ...read more

Today on CNS we look at Pope Benedict’s call to help those who are hungry, especially the people suffering in the Horn of Africa. Catholic News Service Rome Correspondent Carol Glatz covers all this in today’s Vatican report. ...read more

Pope Benedict deplores the manner in which the Catholic Church in China is being treated by Chinese officials. [singlepic id=50 w=320 float=right]That from a Vatican statement regarding last Thursday’s illicit Episcopal ordination of Fr. Joseph Huang Bingzhang (we first wrote about the ordination last week). The ordination was conducted through the government-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic ...read more

The Vatican has established diplomatic ties with a predominantly Muslim nation, and the Pope appeals for humanitarian aid to Somalia. Catholic News Service Rome Bureau Chief John Thavis reports. ...read more

After being in the red for the last few years, Vatican finances are back in the black — but a decrease in donations by the faithful means a mixed financial picture for the Vatican. Catholic News Service Rome Bureau Chief John Thavis and Rome correspondent Cindy Wooden report investments and tourism can play a role ...read more

China has a new Bishop. [singlepic id=45 w=320 float=right]But it’s not cause for celebration in Rome. The ordination is unapproved by the Holy See. And Vatican Press Office director Fr. Federico Lombardi says if there is no Papal mandate, then the ordination is contrary “to the unity of the Universal Church” and a cause for ...read more

The Vatican returned to the contentious issue of HIV/AIDS prevention at a conference sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers. One hundred invited experts ranged from theologians to doctors. Speakers included Michel Sidibe, the executive director of UNAIDS, and Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s Secretary of State. Another participant was Edward C. Green, ...read more

It started as a tribute to a Church he loves dearly and now it sustains him as his only means of income. Rocco Palmo is a blogger. And an impassioned one at that. Rocco is the man behind Whispers in the Loggia, arguably the most referenced Catholic blog in the English language. This week Rocco ...read more