Italy
The US needs an ambassador to the Holy See
By Thomas Reese — March 24, 2021
(RNS) — Joe Biden will soon be the first Catholic president to nominate an ambassador to the Holy See, something that in earlier days would have been anathema to American Protestants who feared the papacy’s political and religious power.
Italy’s Epiphany witch is a needed sign of pandemic-era hope
By Antonio Pagliarulo — January 6, 2021
(RNS) — The pandemic showed us that our seemingly secure routines can disappear in a few days. Le Befana shows us how to adapt with grace.
For Italy’s Muslims, few places to pray and fewer places to bury COVID-19 dead
By Lorenzo Bagnoli — August 12, 2020
(RNS) — As the pandemic proceeded, the building of Islamic cemeteries became a front in a populist culture war.
Vatican Museums used to be an overcrowded ‘hell,’ say tour guides. COVID-19 may change that.
By Claire Giangravé — July 8, 2020
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Guides hope socially distanced tourism will bring an end to overcrowding at Vatican attractions.
With caution and concern, Catholic Masses scheduled to resume in Italy
By Claire Giangravé — May 7, 2020
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — For the first time since March 9, when the Italian government enacted a nationwide lockdown to limit the spread of the pandemic, Catholic faithful will be able to attend Mass with priests in places of worship starting May 18.
Rome’s parks buzz as Italy eases COVID-19 restrictions, with Masses coming soon
By Claire Giangravé — May 4, 2020
(RNS) — According to the bishops' official news outlet, Masses will be open to the public sometime in the last week of May.
The loneliness pandemic: The elderly in ICUs battle coronavirus and solitude
By Claire Giangravé — April 20, 2020
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Many elderly, less nimble with modern means of communication, are particularly at risk of feeling alone.
As pandemic spreads, Italy’s south turns to Pope Francis, saints
By Claire Giangravé — April 2, 2020
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Positive coronavirus cases have started to grow in Italy’s very religious south, where high levels of unemployment and organized crime complicate the application of stringent rules to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
Did an Italian priest really give up his respirator for a younger patient?
By Claire Giangravé — March 24, 2020
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The Rev. Giuseppe Berardelli was known as someone who gave of himself for others.
Catholic Cardinal Burke says faithful should attend Mass despite coronavirus
By Claire Giangravé — March 21, 2020
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Cardinal Raymond Burke said that if supermarkets remain open then so should churches.
Pope Francis and Italian bishops call Italians to recite the rosary to end the pandemic
By Claire Giangravé — March 19, 2020
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Italian Catholic bishops have called for a public recitation of the rosary and prayers for health care workers.
Despite coronavirus, in Italy communion is stronger than quarantine
By Claire Giangravé — March 17, 2020
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — For the past three days now, my entire neighborhood has emerged from balconies and windows to sing together. People I have never spoken to before now greet me every day at six in the evening.
Fleeing coronavirus and finding our mortality
By Tara Isabella Burton — March 3, 2020
(RNS) — Our reaction to the coronavirus threat is also a statement about our need for control: our bodies, our world.
Pew study finds continued support in Western Europe for paying church taxes
By Tom Heneghan — April 30, 2019
PARIS (RNS) — Despite a noted lack of attendance on Sundays, Western Europeans don't mind paying to keep established churches open, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center.
In Kenya, locals debate a boom in witch doctor tourism
By Tonny Onyulo — October 10, 2018
MOMBASA, Kenya (RNS) — Tourists normally come for snorkeling and lounging on sun-splashed beaches, but lately many come to seek the counsel of witch doctors about illnesses, runs of bad luck or bad marriages.
