" Cardinal Zen has affirmed several times that no Accord [with the Chinese government] would have been better than a 'brutal Accord.' The last three Pontiffs did not share such a position and have supported and accompanied the crafting of the Accord which, at the present, appeared to be the only one possible." —Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re (above left), 86, in a highly [...]
#1 Svetlana Kasyan Opera Star from Moscow, Russia “Love and Art Should Reign Again” Thirty-five year old Russian opera star Svetlana Kasyan celebrated her birthday this year at the Vatican with Pope Francis. Kasyan was born and raised in Georgia, and now resides with her husband and young daughter in Moscow. As an opera singer, Kasyan [...]
#3 Alexander Tschugguel The Austrian who tossed the Pachamama images in the Tiber “I only had one reason to do it: to defend the glory of God” On October 4, 2019, during a ceremony at the Vatican Gardens, a group of people were filmed bowing down before two wooden statues representing Pachamama, the “Mother Earth” goddess of [...]
Top Ten from 2019 We bring you in the January issue of Inside the Vatican the incredible story of a beautiful Russian opera soprano, Svetlana Kasyan. (To obtain a copy of the print edition, call our US office at 1-800-789-9494). We have come to know Svetlana personally since she sang at a Concert for Peace in [...]
#9 Vincent Guo Xijin Bishop in China “I am ready to face the persecution” Until 2018, Bishop Guo was the ordinary of the Diocese of Mindong, located in the southern province of Fujian. However, with the signing of the “provisional agreement” between the Vatican and China in September of 2018, which resulted in Pope Francis lifting [...]
"O Salutaris Hostia, Quae caeli pandis ostium!" ("O Saving Victim, opening wide The gate of heaven to man below!") —A hymn in praise of Jesus Christ, composed by St. Thomas Aquinas, writing in the 1200s. Aquinas says the work of Jesus Christ was, through his sacrificial death, to open the gates of Heaven (eternity) to man. [...]
By Becky Derks with CNA Reports – Grzegorz Galazka and CNA photos November Wednesday 13 Vatican Museums opens exhibit with newly restored Renaissance Marian paintings The Vatican Museums opened an exhibit of recently restored paintings of the Virgin Mary by early Renaissance painter Carlo Crivelli. “The Vatican painting gallery has the privilege of having three large [...]
By Becky Derks with G. Galazka, CNA and CNS photos Archbishop Paglia: Priests can be present at assisted suicide Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said that he would be willing to hold the hand of someone dying from assisted suicide, and that he does not see that as lending implicit support [...]
CNS photo/Paul Haring CNS photo/Paul Haring Monday October 14, 2019 Today Pope Francis, 82 -- as I reported yesterday was likely -- accepted the resignation of Domenico Giani, 57, the Commander of his Vatican City State security force, the Vatican Gendarmes, for the past 16 years (link). (Photos of the two [...]
CNS photo/Paul Haring Sunday, October 13, 2019 Today is the 102nd anniversary of the mysterious "Miracle of the Sun" which occurred in and near Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, as a conclusion to the six apparitions of Our Lady to the three shepherd children, Lucia, 10, Francisco, 9, and Jacinta, 7. So much is happening [...]
