VATICAN CITY (RNS) One reason why conservatives are seeking a hard-liner pope is that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger turned out to be more of a papal pussycat as Pope Benedict XVI than the watchdog of orthodoxy that he had been for decades under John Paul II.
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.
During the days before a new pope is announced, journalists gather and the Catholic community prepares inside the Vatican.
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 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 77-million-member Anglican Communion is getting a new leader. Later this month, Justin Welby will take his seat as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader to Anglicans and Episcopalians around the world. Kim Lawton was in the UK this week and spoke with Welby about this important moment in these two Christian traditions. Video [...]
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.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican has pulled the plug on daily briefings from American cardinals, fueled by growing resentment among Italian cardinals and others that the process to elect the next pope was starting to look like an American-style political campaign.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Roman Catholic cardinals will be called on to decide the start date of the conclave to elect a new pope, but they don’t seem to be in a hurry to do so.
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) Days after pulling out of the conclave to elect the next pope and vowing to fight the charges against him, disgraced Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien admitted Sunday (March 3) to inappropriate “sexual conduct.”
