News from the Vatican

Pope Francis, in a message to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, highlights the importance of inclusion and active participation for those with disabilities. He also denounces the throwaway culture, which affects the most vulnerable.

"Why should we be anxious about money, fame, success, all of which will fade away? Why should we waste time complaining about the night, when the light of day awaits us?" he asked.

St, Andrew and St. Peter were brothers and are the example of fraternity between East and West.

Memory, not nostalgia, helps Christians work for God's kingdom, pope says

As 13 men prepare to become Cardinals on Saturday, Covid-19 restrictions promise to make the event slightly unusual, though not unprecedented.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who was forced to resign due to allegations of financial malfeasance, filed a lawsuit against an Italian magazine, claiming it ruined his reputation, which resulted in him losing his chance at becoming pope.

"Discrediting the other only succeeds in destroying the possibility of finding agreements that help alleviate the effects of the pandemic in our communities, especially on the most excluded," the pope said.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu said Wednesday he is taking legal action against an Italian media outlet for publishing “unfounded accusations” against him.

Valentina Rotondi, a social scientist with training in applied economics and econometrics, is a part of the Central Organizing Committee of "The Economy of Francesco". She talks about her long-term aims and expectations for the event.

As part of its long-running efforts to respect the environment and reduce its use of resources, the Vatican said it was gradually trying to replace all its service vehicles with an all-electric fleet.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In more than seven years as leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has issued numerous new laws and guidelines for handling accusations of clerical sexual abuse and its cover-up by church officials.

Although dogged for years by rumors of sexual impropriety, Theodore E. McCarrick was able to rise up the Catholic hierarchical structure based on personal contacts, protestations of his innocence and a lack of church officials reporting and investigating accusations, according to the Vatican summary of its report on the matter.

The Vatican on Tuesday will release its report into the rise and fall of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the once-influential American cardinal who was defrocked by Pope Francis in 2019 after a Vatican investigation confirmed decades of rumors that he was a sexual predator.

Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, substitute secretary for general affairs in the Vatican Secretariat of State, is pictured in Maputo, Mozambique, in this Sept. 5, 2019, file photo. Archbishop Parra is one of three members on a joint commission established by Pope Francis to transfer the administration and control of the Vatican Secretariat of State's assets to two separate Vatican bodies.

Then-Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick attends a Mass in Rome in this April 13, 2018, file photo. The Vatican announced Nov. 6 that its long-awaited report on former Cardinal McCarrick will be released on at 2 p.m., Nov. 10, 2020, Rome time.

Pope Francis establishes a commission that within the next three months will implement the plans the Pope himself indicated to the Secretary of State in a letter last August. The funds of the Secretariat of State will be controlled by the Secretariat for the Economy.