Rappler's latest stories on Vatican
Middleman in Vatican real estate deal in UK arrested
Gianluigi Torzi is said to be a middleman in 2018, during the final stages of the sale of a luxury apartment building on London's Sloane Avenue to the Vatican's Secretariat of State

Pope says racism 'intolerable,' in reaction to Floyd killing
But the pontiff also condemns the violence that followed George Floyd's death in the city of Minneapolis as 'self-destructive and self-defeating'

Pope to resume window addresses to faithful
With the pontiff now set to return to the window, police will be on hand to ensure that believers and onlookers observe social distancing rules, says the Holy See

Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican reopens
'I share the joy of those communities who can finally reunite as liturgical assemblies, a sign of hope for all society,' Pope Francis says on Sunday during his live-streamed prayer

How virus changed Vatican's Holy Week, Easter Sunday celebrations
Here is a timeline with videos showing the way COVID-19 has affected the Vatican

Pope Francis livestreams Palm Sunday mass due to virus 'tragedy'
Many of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics are observing the sacred days under home confinement

Pope Francis: 'You, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm'
Here is the full text of Pope Francis' homily at his Extraordinary 'Urbi et Orbi' to pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic

Pope reportedly tests negative for virus after Vatican scare
The 83-year-old pontiff has remained largely secluded at his residence since coming down with a cold late February

Italian clergyman in Pope's residence tests positive for virus
Italian newspapers say the 83-year-old Pope Francis has remained largely secluded at his residence since coming down with a cold at the end of last month

Vatican to hold Easter celebrations without congregation due to virus
The Vatican says all general audiences and the Angelus presided over by Pope Francis will be livestreamed until April 12

Vatican closes to tourists – but not the faithful
A Vatican source clarifies that anyone who expresses a wish to pray at the basilica can still pass through the police barrier and walk onto the main square

Saint Peter's Square, basilica closed to tourists until April 3
The Holy See says the measures will remain in place until April 3 'in order to halt the spread of the coronavirus'

'Caged' Pope Francis receives guests – from afar
The Vatican releases pictures showing bishops seated in armchairs spaced a meter apart, in keeping with Italian government regulations aimed at fighting an illness that has killed 366 people in Italy in just over two weeks

Pope to deliver Sunday prayer by livestream due to coronavirus
The Pope, who suffered from cough, is also pulling out of an annual spiritual retreat south of Rome to stay at home and get well

French cardinal exits over failure to report alleged sex abuser
Archbishop of Lyon Philippe Barbarin is the most senior French priest to be caught up in a global pedophilia scandal that has seen clergy hauled before courts from Argentina to Australia

Vatican reports 1st coronavirus case
Some offices of the Secretariate of State – the Vatican's central government – are 'closed as a precaution following a suspected case of COVID-19'

Vatican opens archive on pope's silence during Holocaust
Why did Pius XII stay silent during the extermination of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust?

Pope cancels more official appointments over cold
This comes as Italy grapples with the largest outbreak of the coronavirus in Europe. But the Vatican makes no reference to the disease in its announcement.

Pope has 'mild ailment,' skips mass – Vatican
The pontiff very rarely cancels an appointment in his busy schedule

7 years after stepping down, Benedict fuels 'two popes' headache
As the 'emeritus' Pope Benedict XVI continues in his retirement to write on the great themes of the Church, friction has arisen, most recently over the topic of married priests

Pope to visit Malta in May
The visit, to both the main island of Malta and the archipelago's island of Gozo, is the pontiff's first announced journey for 2020

Pope Francis repeats support for celibacy after Benedict outburst
The head of the Vatican's press center, Matteo Bruni, quotes Pope Francis as saying: 'Personally I think that celibacy is a gift to the Church. Secondly, I don't think optional celibacy should be allowed. No.'

Ex-pope Benedict rejects opening up priesthood to married men
'I cannot keep silent!' Benedict writes in a book, which follows an extraordinary meeting of bishops last year that recommended the ordination of married men in certain circumstances

Pope appoints new envoy to France after abuse claims
French investigators have looked into claims made against former ambassador to France Luigi Venture, who has denied the allegations of sexual abuse

Pope says sorry for slapping devotee's hand
Pope Francis confesses he had 'lost patience' with the admirer who had grabbed his hand

Defrocked US cardinal gave money to top clerics – report
Theodore McCarrick, who faces accusations of sexual harassment, sent checks totaling more than $600,000 to clerics in Rome and elsewhere

Pope shakes up cardinals with further Vatican reform
Pope Francis limits the college dean's term to two five-year terms – a change from current rules that allow the dean to remain in post as long as he chooses

Pope admits Church losing clout, calls for 'change in mentality'
'We are no longer the only ones today to produce culture, neither the first nor the most listened to,' says Pope Francis
Pope lifts 'pontifical secret' for sex abuse cases
So-called pontifical secrecy is a rule of confidentiality designed to protect sensitive information related to the governance of the Roman Catholic Church
Pope Francis leads Simbang Gabi: ‘Be smugglers of faith’
The Simbang Gabi has already been held 4 times in Saint Peter’s Basilica, but it is the first time that a Pope presided over a Simbang Gabi

Tagle’s office eyed as 2nd most important in Vatican
The new appointment of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle positions him ‘to be a possible successor to Pope Francis,’ says a Vatican analyst

'His heart is broken': Vatican prefect Tagle breaks into tears
Be happy to let him go, the Vatican's ambassador tells Filipinos

Cardinal Tagle seen to step down as Manila archbishop
As the powerful ‘Red Pope,’ Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is expected to address hot-button issues such as the Vatican’s policy toward China

Cardinal Tagle to lead top Vatican office
Pope Francis names Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle as part of his 'Cabinet,' making Tagle one of the most powerful men in the Catholic Church

U.S. bishop steps down in Church abuse scandal
The Vatican says in a statement that it accepts the resignation of Bishop Richard Malone, from the Buffalo diocese in New York state

Zombies, brollies and happis: Key moments of Pope Francis' Japan trip
Here are some highlights of the Pope's four-day trip, which capped an Asia tour that also took in Thailand

'Peace prayer': Muslim choir from restive Thai south to sing for Pope Francis
Wearing headscarves and school uniforms, students assemble in a university auditorium to practice ballads specially written for the Pope, who is in Bangkok for a four-day visit

Vatican ends contract of top anti-money laundering official
The Vatican statement says: 'Thanking him for his service in recent years (the Holy Father) has appointed his successor,' adding that Rene Bruelhart's mandate had expired

Pope to visit Hiroshima on anti-nuclear weapon mission
Pope Francis, 82, flies to Asia on November 19, where he will first visit Thailand and then Japan, including the two cities destroyed by devastating US nuclear attacks during the Second World War

The Vatican out of money? Heavens no, says Pope ally
'To say that the Vatican is at danger of default is false,' says Honduran Cardinal Oscar Maradiaga, who heads a group of 6 cardinals that advise Pope Francis on economic reforms

Archbishop from Bohol appointed new Papal Nuncio to Spain
(UPDATED) In a reversal of roles, the new envoy of the Holy See to Spain is a citizen of a former Spanish colony

Pope Francis to visit Thailand, Japan in November
Pope Francis will travel to Thailand from November 20-23, and then to Japan on November 26, the Vatican says

Pope Francis kicks off Africa tour in violence-hit Mozambique
The pope is expected to be welcomed by tens of thousands during his visit

Pope Francis to visit poor of Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius
The pope's decision to visit two of the most impoverished countries in the world is seen as an act of solidarity from a cleric who was a frequent presence in the shantytowns of Argentina

Pope Francis to create 13 new cardinals in October
The appointments come as the Argentine pontiff gradually shapes a less European college of cardinals

First bishop ordained in China under Vatican deal
Under the terms of the deal agreed in September last year, both Beijing and the Vatican will now have a say in appointing Catholic bishops

Vatican opens burial chambers in hunt for princesses and missing teen
(UPATED) The Vatican said the the ossuaries were found last week under the floor of the Pontifical Teutonic College after the shock discovery that the bones of the princesses had disappeared from two tombs in the Teutonic Cemetery

Pope Francis appoints new Vatican spokesman
Matteo Bruni, who has worked in the Holy See Press Office since 2009 and coordinated the press on the pontiff's international trips since 2013, takes over from interim spokesman Alessandro Gisotti

Missing teen mystery deepens as Vatican dig reveals empty graves
(UPDATED) 'The last thing I expected was to find empty tombs,' says Emanuela Orlandi's brother Pietro, who has never stopped hoping to find his sister alive

Pope Francis tells migrant mass 'no one exempt' from helping
The Pope says 'the weakest and most vulnerable must be helped...This is a tremendous responsibility, from which no one is exempt'
