Vatican Corner 7-19-15

Two weeks ago when Pope Francis arrived in Ecuador and emerged from the plane, a breeze whipped off his white zucchetto (skull-cap) and swirled his robes. He smiled and laughed and took it in stride. The same thing happened about 6 months earlier in January, 2015 when...

Vatican Corner 7-12-15

On Sunday July 5, 2015, Pope Francis began an eight day tour of three South American countries: Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay. They are among the poorest nations in Latin America, the region of the world where 40% of all Catholics reside. As Pope, this is his second...

Vatican Corner 7-5-15

continued … Pope Francis uses poetry, prose and a steady stream of stern recriminations to urge mankind onto a path of survival in his recently released environmental encyclical. He says” very solid scientific consensus” confirms global warming and rising seas, and...

Vatican Corner 6-21-15

continued … The Catholic Church remains an important political institution in Cuba even though attendance is low. It helped negotiate the release of scores of jailed dissidents in 2011 and 2012. The Castro government has made major concessions to church authorities...