As Chinese President Xi Jinping continues to tighten the Communist Party’s grip on religious practice, more and more Christians are opting out of the official, state-recognized church and heading underground. Some six million Catholics have refused to join churches recognized
After the horrendous jihadists attacks in Brussels Monday, Rome has declared a maximum terror alert in view of the impending Easter celebrations when more than 150,000 pilgrims and tourists are expected to descend upon the Vatican. Vatican security was already
The State Department has warned U.S. citizens traveling in Europe that terrorist groups “continue to plan near-term attacks throughout Europe” and advises them to be especially cautious during upcoming “religious holidays.” On Tuesday, Italian counterterrorism forces in Naples arrested suspected
A radical Canadian imam called for Muslims to “look forward” as “Rome will be conquered,” in a Friday sermon posted on the Internet on Feb. 16 and translated by the Middle East Monitoring Research Institute (MEMRI).
On Wednesday Pope Francis greeted lead actor Joseph Fiennes and other members of the cast and production staff of Risen, a new film depicting the story of Jesus after the resurrection, seen through the eyes of a Roman tribune who
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has asked people to pray for victims of recent storms, flooding and other bad weather in the United States, Britain and South America. During his public audience Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square, Francis told
In its latest video, the Islamic State portrays its vision of the end of the world culminating in an epic battle with the West waged in Rome.
JERUSALEM – The global Jews for Jesus organization has denounced the Vatican for its recent pronouncement instructing the Catholic Church to refrain from to converting Jews to Christianity, saying that the Vatican is pandering to Jewish leaders. David Brickner, the
In anticipation of the millions of pilgrims expected to come to Rome during the Jubilee Year, Rome authorities have initiated a counterterrorism program designed to instruct taxi drivers in the art of recognizing suspicious activities that could signal terroristic intent.
Historical souvenir vendors from the oldest Roman Jewish families took to the streets this week in protest of new regulations that forbid street vendors from selling their wares near the Vatican. Though ostensibly a security measure, the vendors—called urtisti—see the
Italian counterterrorism forces are taking no chances of an incident for the opening of the holy door of Saint Peter’s Basilica on December 8 and have prohibited the transport of fuel and natural gas in the city, as well as ammunition, weapons, and toxic gases.
Virtually every newspaper in Italy had the California shooting splashed across its front page Thursday, often in tandem with pieces on the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), as Italians grapple with the possibilities of violent Islamist assault on their own territory.
In a surprise early morning police raid Tuesday, some 60 Italian cops in riot gear, accompanied by police dogs, entered a refugee welcome centre in Rome asking to see the papers of those staying there, and arrested 27 undocumented individuals from Maghreb,
In a public manifestation in Rome on Saturday, several hundred Muslims came from all over Italy to protest the actions of the Islamic State, calling it a “cancer” and insisting that it did not represent the position of Islam.
For the second time in just three days, the U.S. Embassy to Italy has alerted American citizens to a serious security threat, this time regarding an “armed individual” at large on the streets of Rome.
ROME — The State Department is warning that St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Milan’s cathedral and La Scala opera house, as well as “general venues” like churches, synagogues, restaurants, theaters and hotels have been identified as “potential targets” in those
The left-wing of Catholicism just concluded a two-year campaign to convince the universal Church to change its teachings on marriage, divorce, communion, and homosexuality.
Embroiled in a financial scandal and hemorrhaging support from members of his own party, the mayor of Rome, former surgeon Ignazio Marino, resigned Thursday evening, saying that he only had “the best interests of Italy’s capital” at heart.
The German reformer Martin Luther, who once said that the Church of Rome was “the most lawless den of thieves, the most shameless of all brothels, the very kingdom of sin, death and hell,” will now have a square named after him in the Eternal City.
Roman mayor Ignazio Marino has said the city has become too “overcrowded”, as it is now a major destination for the thousands of migrants flowing into the country from beyond the Mediterranean. One fifth of all migrants entering Italy now end up
Adding to Rome’s worst July heat wave in recorded history is a series of delays on public transportation due to strikes, along with no union agreement for the upcoming Jubilee Year in which some 33 million pilgrims are expected to visit the Eternal City.
Despite repeated threats, local police seem powerless to stop tourists from taking a plunge into Roman fountains in one of Rome’s hottest summers on record.
A city ordinance banning the use of horses to pull the traditional carriages around Rome went into effect Thursday, in response to a wave of 100+ degree weather that is said to threaten the horses’s lives.
Early Wednesday morning, an anti-mafia squad seized possession of a well-known restaurant in Rome’s historic district, a block from the Pantheon, believed to be owned and operated by the Italian mafia.
A crazed Brazilian man dressed in black ran along the main road outside the Roman Colosseum Monday afternoon, brandishing a butcher knife with an 8-inch blade and screaming “Allah is great,” according to eyewitnesses.
Despite a torrential downpour, an estimated 500,000 people gathered Saturday in Rome under the banner of “Family Day,” protesting gender ideology and LGBT programs in schools and reaffirming the nature of marriage as the lifelong union of one man and one woman.
Parents from the north of Italy have organized a massive demonstration against gender ideology in schools called “Defend Our Children,” to be held this Saturday in the Saint John Lateran Square in Rome. The demonstrators will be protesting Italian educational programs that are meant to blur the sexual identity of children.
The immigration crisis affecting Italy reached boiling-point yesterday. A build-up of asylum-seekers at major train stations in both Rome and Milan led to clashes with police and calls from angry politicians demanding EU assistance. AFP reports that over the course of the week
Russian President Vladimir Putin used his trip to Italy to attempt to persuade Italian officials to end the sanctions against his country, which he claims hurt Italian businesses. He also snuggled close with disgraced politician Silvio Berlusconi.
A subway train bumped into another one ahead of it at a station in southern Rome on Friday, throwing passengers to the floor and injuring a dozen people. Passengers emerging from the station reported feeling the impact, seeing sparks and
Members of the Islamic State have been circulating disturbing photos of well-known Roman sites such as the Colosseum with handwritten cards held up in front claiming that ISIS is already present in Italy’s capital.
This past March, Pope Francis issued a surprise proclamation of a special Jubilee year of mercy to begin in December 2015, which may be dampened—planners fear—by a steady rise in predatory crimes on the streets of the Eternal City.
ROME, Italy– Throngs of marchers took to the streets of Rome on Mother’s Day to commemorate Italy’s fifth annual March for Life, a pro-life event affirming the universal right to life in opposition to state-sanctioned abortion.
Anti-government riots and violence increase in Burundi; Concerns over an all-out crisis civil war in Burundi are misplaced; Fears grow in Central Asia of an ISIS-Taliban alliance in Afghanistan
The stories vary regarding how a 20-year-old University of Iowa student fell from a bridge in Rome last January 14. What is tragically clear is that Andrew Mogni died on Easter Sunday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital from complications due to the injuries he suffered there.
Amidst the enthusiasm for the upcoming Jubilee year of 2016 proclaimed by Pope Francis, Cardinal Camillo Ruini has added a sobering note of caution. “Terrorism is the greatest threat looming over the Jubilee proclaimed by Pope Francis. You cannot ignore it after what has happened in Tunisia,” he said in an interview this weekend with the Italian daily La Repubblica.
Recent years have seen an increasing reluctance on the part of the Vatican to speak of the traditional “Just War Doctrine,” as Church officials have urged the exhaustion of diplomatic solutions before even considering the use of force. This reluctance seems now to be giving way to a grittier realism in the face of a relentless enemy with whom constructive, rational dialogue is impossible.
In an exclusive interview Wednesday, the second anniversary of his election to the papacy, Pope Francis spoke on a wide range of topics, many of which revolved around Mexico. He said that “the devil doesn’t forgive Mexico because there [the Virgin Mary] revealed her Son,” referring to the appearances of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Two young tourists from California reportedly used a coin to engrave their initials into a brick wall inside the first floor of Rome’s Coliseum and then proceeded to snap a selfie with a cell phone. Not long after, the two were apprehended by security and taken to the police station.
Italy may be preparing for military action in Libya following reports that ISIS may use the coastal North African country to stage attacks.
