Vatican

List of Vatican articles

Pope Benedict XVI at the end of his general weekly audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.
Pope Benedict XVI at the end of his general weekly audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.

Pope Benedict Was a Powerful, Flawed Leader in Turbulent Times

The former pontiff, known for decades as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, died at the age of 95.

Pope Francis prays as he addresses the crowd from the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter's Square during his Angelus prayer at the Vatican on Oct. 18.
Pope Francis prays as he addresses the crowd from the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter's Square during his Angelus prayer at the Vatican on Oct. 18.

The Pope’s Latest Encyclical Is Beautiful—and Hypocritical

“Fratelli Tutti” lays out a set of principles that the Vatican doesn’t apply to its own China deals.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (C), followed by U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Callista Gingrich, walks past a Swiss Guard as he arrives on October 1, 2020 after being welcomed by Monsignor Guillermo Karcher (R) at San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (C), followed by U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Callista Gingrich, walks past a Swiss Guard as he arrives on October 1, 2020 after being welcomed by Monsignor Guillermo Karcher (R) at San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican.

Why Pompeo’s Crusade Against the Pope Failed

Christian conservatives in the United States are using religious freedom in China as a smokescreen in their ongoing culture war against Pope Francis. It might win votes at home but won’t sway the Holy See.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travels to Brazil.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travels to Brazil.

Pompeo’s Preelection Politicking Is Wearing Thin, Even With Allies

From the Vatican to Brazil, foreign officials are getting tired of Pompeo dragging their governments into Trump’s reelection campaign.

Pope Francis leaves the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter's Square in Vatican City after the Sunday Angelus prayer on July 22, 2018.
Pope Francis leaves the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter's Square in Vatican City after the Sunday Angelus prayer on July 22, 2018.

Pope Francis’s Silence on Xinjiang Speaks Volumes

A pope dedicated to human rights has said nothing on China, thanks to a secret deal with Beijing.

Pope Francis prays in front of a crucifix that in 1552 was carried in a procession around Rome to stop the Great Plague, at the San Marcello al Corso church in Rome on March 15.
Pope Francis prays in front of a crucifix that in 1552 was carried in a procession around Rome to stop the Great Plague, at the San Marcello al Corso church in Rome on March 15.

Thou Shalt Practice Social Distancing

The world’s major faiths face a test, and some religious leaders are failing by endangering human lives in the name of adhering to tradition—and ushering in a new age of secularism in the process.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini (L) holds a rosary as Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte (R) delivers a speech in the Italian Senate in Rome, on Aug. 20.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini (L) holds a rosary as Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte (R) delivers a speech in the Italian Senate in Rome, on Aug. 20.

Italy’s Great Schism

Italian Catholics are deeply divided between traditionalists and supporters of Pope Francis’s liberal vision. Matteo Salvini is seeking to give the Vatican’s detractors a new political home.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini delivers a speech holding a rosary during a rally of European nationalists ahead of European elections on May 18, in Milan.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini delivers a speech holding a rosary during a rally of European nationalists ahead of European elections on May 18, in Milan.

Papa, Don’t Preach

Italy’s far-right deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, is publicly attacking the pope in a battle for the country’s soul.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and Pope Francis inspect an honor guard at the presidential palace in Bucharest on May 31.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and Pope Francis inspect an honor guard at the presidential palace in Bucharest on May 31.

Pope Francis’s Warning

A transcript of the pontiff’s remarks in Romania.

Henry IV, king of the Germans, surrenders his crown to Pope Gregory VII, who sits enthroned. (Woodcut by John Foxe/Rare Books and Manuscripts Library/Ohio State University Libraries/Wikimedia Commons)
Henry IV, king of the Germans, surrenders his crown to Pope Gregory VII, who sits enthroned. (Woodcut by John Foxe/Rare Books and Manuscripts Library/Ohio State University Libraries/Wikimedia Commons)

Will Pope Francis Surrender to China?

In capitulating on the issue of bishop appointments, the Vatican would lose a 1,000-year struggle.

Pope Francis in a procession to the Basilica of Santa Sabina before Ash Wednesday mass on February 14, 2018 in Rome. (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images)
Pope Francis in a procession to the Basilica of Santa Sabina before Ash Wednesday mass on February 14, 2018 in Rome. (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images)

Pope Francis Is Playacting Realpolitik

The Vatican’s diplomacy with China, and other authoritarian governments, is based on a century-old fantasy of its worldly power.

President Donald Trump in front of the Warsaw Uprising Monument on July 6, 2017. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump in front of the Warsaw Uprising Monument on July 6, 2017. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

How to Save Poland From Itself

Reagan intervened to rescue Poland from authoritarianism. Trump should do the same thing.

Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience at St Peter's square on October 14, 2015 at the Vatican. Pope Francis apologised Wednesday on behalf of the Catholic Church for a series of scandals which have recently shaken the city of Rome and the Vatican. The Vatican has been the focus of several controversies including the coming out of a gay priest and the leak of a controversial letter, while the pontiff himself ended up in the headlines for a gaffe which helped oust Rome's mayor.  AFP PHOTO / VINCENZO PINTO        (Photo credit should read VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images)
Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience at St Peter's square on October 14, 2015 at the Vatican. Pope Francis apologised Wednesday on behalf of the Catholic Church for a series of scandals which have recently shaken the city of Rome and the Vatican. The Vatican has been the focus of several controversies including the coming out of a gay priest and the leak of a controversial letter, while the pontiff himself ended up in the headlines for a gaffe which helped oust Rome's mayor. AFP PHOTO / VINCENZO PINTO (Photo credit should read VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images)

Pope Francis Should Reject Callista Gingrich as Ambassador (for Adultery)

The pontiff rejected a French ambassador just because he was gay; surely, he should reject Trump's pick for her sins.

This photo taken on May 11, 2016 shows villagers outside the Catholic church in Changjing, in China's southern Guangxi region.
The finishing touches are being put to a new museum in Dingan, the village where French missionary Auguste Chapdelaine died in 1856 and just a few kilometres from Changjing where he lived, celebrating the patriotism of his execution and condemning the spiritual opium of religion. / AFP / GREG BAKER / TO GO WITH China-culture-religion-Roman-Catholic-politics,FEATURE by Benjamin Carlson        (Photo credit should read GREG BAKER/AFP/Getty Images)
This photo taken on May 11, 2016 shows villagers outside the Catholic church in Changjing, in China's southern Guangxi region. The finishing touches are being put to a new museum in Dingan, the village where French missionary Auguste Chapdelaine died in 1856 and just a few kilometres from Changjing where he lived, celebrating the patriotism of his execution and condemning the spiritual opium of religion. / AFP / GREG BAKER / TO GO WITH China-culture-religion-Roman-Catholic-politics,FEATURE by Benjamin Carlson (Photo credit should read GREG BAKER/AFP/Getty Images)

Is Pope Francis Ditching Taiwan For China?

The Vatican is one of Taipei's few remaining political allies, but the Holy Father's desire to deal with the mainland may end that.

VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - APRIL 29:  U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) greets Pope Francis (R) upon his arrival before Pope Francis receives in audience the participants at the international conference promoted by the Pontifical Council for Culture on the progress of regenerative medicine and its cultural impact, at Paul VI Audience Hall in the Vatican City, Vatican on April 29, 2016. (Photo by Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - APRIL 29: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) greets Pope Francis (R) upon his arrival before Pope Francis receives in audience the participants at the international conference promoted by the Pontifical Council for Culture on the progress of regenerative medicine and its cultural impact, at Paul VI Audience Hall in the Vatican City, Vatican on April 29, 2016. (Photo by Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Joe Biden On Confessions, Cars, and Holy Wagers

In unscripted moment at the Vatican, the U.S. veep seeks absolution not for betting on cars, but for losing.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - JANUARY 16:  Pope Francis waves to thousands of followers as he arrives at the Manila Cathedral on January 16, 2015 in Manila, Philippines. Pope Francis will visit venues across Leyte and Manila during his visit to the Philippines from January 15 - 19. The visit is expected to attract crowds in the millions as Filipino Catholics flock to catch a glimpse of the leader of the Catholic Church in the Philippines for the first time since 1995. The Pope will begin the tour in Manila, then travelling to Tacloban to visit areas devastated by Typhoon Haiyan before returning to Manila to hold a mass at Rizal Park. The Philippines is the only Catholic majority nation in Asia with around 90 percent of the population professing the faith.  (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
MANILA, PHILIPPINES - JANUARY 16: Pope Francis waves to thousands of followers as he arrives at the Manila Cathedral on January 16, 2015 in Manila, Philippines. Pope Francis will visit venues across Leyte and Manila during his visit to the Philippines from January 15 - 19. The visit is expected to attract crowds in the millions as Filipino Catholics flock to catch a glimpse of the leader of the Catholic Church in the Philippines for the first time since 1995. The Pope will begin the tour in Manila, then travelling to Tacloban to visit areas devastated by Typhoon Haiyan before returning to Manila to hold a mass at Rizal Park. The Philippines is the only Catholic majority nation in Asia with around 90 percent of the population professing the faith. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

Democracy, Vatican-Style

By giving the laity more authority over issues of family life, Pope Francis is embracing a risky strategy for reform.

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