Stories from Quick Reads and Vatican City
A Plea to Pope Francis to Take Action Against African Dictators
Une pétition en ligne adressée au Pape pour demander l'excommunication des dictateurs africains de l'Angola, de la Guinée Equatoriale, du Cameroun, du Congo et du Zimbabwe.
Does Pope Benedict XVI Read Science Fiction?
GV Author Filip Stojanovski, in a post on his Science Fiction Observer blog, highlights the work of Canadian science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer, which is somewhat relevant for the recent resignation of Pope Benedict XVI: In 1995, I predicted next Pope would be Benedict XVI. In 2000, I predicted...
Lebanon: Awaiting the Pope's Visit in September
The head of the Catholic Church Benedict XVI is to visit Lebanon from September 14 to 16. Father Alex, from Germany, hopes the visit is not late for the region and asks: Which situation we will see in 1 month there? Let's hope and pray #Syria. For more details about...
Slovakia: Catholics Protest the Sacking of Popular Archbishop
A concert in support of Róbert Bezák, the popular archbishop of Trnava who was sacked for unknown reasons, took place on Tuesday and was the next step in various protests, including this online petition [sk] as well as worshipping in front of the church [sk] instead of inside it. Three...
Vatican: A ”Historic” Tweet From Pope Benedict XVI
“Dear Friends, I just launched NEWS.VA.Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI“: this is how Pope Benedict XVI engaged Twitter users on June 28, 2011, with his first tweet, descrived as “historic” by Vatican News website.
Brazil: Critic to Vatican's position on the death of Saramago
Leonardo Sakamoto criticizes [pt] Vatican's position on the death of portuguese Nobel Prize winner José Saramago. He says that “there are people celebrating the death of Saramago”, referring to an article which was published in Italy's main Roman Catholic newspaper “L’Osservatore Romano”.
Brazil: Grandma Aggie, Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers and the Pope
Lou Gold, a North-American blogger and nature-person turned “brasileiro’, blogs about [En] Grandma Aggie and the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, re-telling some of the adventures of these courageous indigenous ladies and their recent efforts to get the Pope to rescind the Papal Bulls that created the “right” to...
Brazil, USA: Sex, Crime and the Vatican
Antônio Mello, from blogdomello[Pt], blogs about “Sex, Crime and the Vatican” — a BBC documentary (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4)[En, subtitles in Pt] about children sexual abuse by catholic priests and the shelter provided by the Vatican to the accused ecclesiastics — and a Vatican internal document named Crimen...
Israel: The Vatican and Terrorism
Israel-based blogger Aussie Dave discusses what he sees as The Vatican's double standards when it comes to terrorism.
Israel: The Vatican and Terrorism
Israel-based blogger Aussie Dave discusses what he sees as The Vatican's double standards when it comes to terrorism.
Egypt: Vatican Visit Planned
A top Egyptian clergyman, Shaikh Mohammed Tantawi, has accepted Pope Benedict XVI invitation to visit the Vatican, reports Egyptian blogger Ibn Ad Dunya. He said the mini- summit “will hopefully help ease up some of the tension between the religions.”
China: To hell with the Vatican
Simon at Simon World looks at the Chinese government's decision this week to spurn the Vatican and appoint their own Bishops: “Naturally, this debate boils right down to control over Chinese civil society, and whether the Chinese government will tolerate any form of civil pluralism or alternate authority hierarchies in...
China: Catholics, coal, chemicals
China Confidential‘s Confidential Reporter gives a second look at rapidly-deteriorating relations between the Communists in Beijing and the Catholics in the Vatican, preceded with one long dire post: at least twenty-four dead in a coal mine collapse in the Northwestern province of Shaanxi this past weekend, and toxic dumping in...