Tag: vatican

ROME (RNS) Bogus papal statements date back to the earliest days of the church. But with the explosion of social media and self-published blogs, they have become far more frequent in recent years -- and especially in recent months.

(RNS) Escaping the “gilded cage” of the papal apartments has been a dream of many popes who fear losing touch with ordinary life. Here are five examples, mostly true, of other Catholic churchmen who have gone off the grid.

ROME (RNS) The Vatican's chief spokesman told reporters on Friday that the Vatican was “extremely calm” regarding a possible mob threat against Pope Francis.

RUTHERFORD, N.J. (RNS) Monsignor Peter Cheplic is one of at least seven alleged sexual predators quietly placed in a Rutherford retirement home for priests in the past 15 years -- on the same block as a Catholic grade school. This is hardly an isolated case: Across the country, clerics who have been removed from ministry are being housed by dioceses in neighborhoods teeming with children, and residents rarely know about their presence.

ROME (RNS) “It is simply not a realistic possibility that the pope will name female cardinals for the consistory in February," the Vatican's chief spokesman said.

(RNS) Pope Francis wants to know what rank-and-file Catholics think about gay marriage, divorce and birth control, but it's unclear whether U.S. bishops will poll their flocks or simply report their own thoughts.

(RNS) There’s a saying in the Catholic Church that while only God can create the world, only a pope can create cardinals.