Vatican defends Pope Francis’ actions during Argentina’s ‘Dirty War’
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican swiftly rejected accusations that Pope Francis sided with the brutal Argentinian government in the 1970s when he was a Jesuit leader.
Author Archives: Alessandro Speciale
About Alessandro Speciale
Alessandro Speciale has been covering the Vatican since 2007 and started writing for Religion News Service in 2011. Born in Rome, he studied literature at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, and journalism at City University, London. He has appeared as an expert on Vatican affairs on CNN, BBC World and Al Jazeera English.
Stories
Pope Francis’ first day hints at a change in papal style
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Not only is he the first Latin American and the first Jesuit to serve as pope, but Pope Francis seems bent on shaking the ritualized world of Vatican traditions and taboos.
Pope Francis has a long to-do list, and it starts with the Curia
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Naming yourself after St. Francis of Assisi is one thing. Running the Vatican is another. And taming the Vatican bureaucracy is likely to be one of Pope Francis’ most difficult assignments.
Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio elected as Pope Francis
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as Pope Francis on Wednesday after only two days of voting in the conclave tasked with choosing a successor to Pope Benedict XVI.
Black smoke: First day of conclave ends without new pope
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Black smoke from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel signaled that the first day of the conclave ended without the election of a new pope.
Vatican makes final preparations for papal conclave
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI’s former personal secretary will return to Rome to assist the opening of the papal election in the Sistine Chapel, highlighting the unprecedented situation created by the resignation of a living pope.
Sistine Chapel plays a key role in electing a new pope
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The tradition of voting for the new pontiff in the Sistine Chapel dates back to the Renaissance, but the location of the voting didn’t become a fixed feature of the conclaves until the 19th century — and only with John Paul II’s rules did the Sistine Chapel become the official theater of papal elections.
Vatican goes high-tech to ensure conclave secrecy
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The high-tech defenses the Vatican is deploying for next week’s conclave are so impressive that it will be a miracle if even the Holy Spirit can slip in to the Sistine Chapel to do its job.
Vatican: Conclave to start on Tuesday
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The conclave to pick a new pope will begin on Tuesday, an apparent compromise between cardinals who wanted to get things going and those who wanted more time to size up potential contenders.
The papal election timeline: Coffee, cocktails, then conclave
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Because the closed-door conclave doesn’t allow cardinals to do much talking to each other, they’re taking their time getting started to allow the electors to size up the candidates.
