Francis X. Rocca
Francis X. Rocca is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by Francis X. Rocca
Old law, young age
By Francis X. Rocca — February 23, 2010
Blogger Andrew Sullivan is having fun today with his discovery that the age of consent in Vatican City is only twelve years old. But as his very post makes clear, the law in question was carried over from a 19th-century Italian criminal code, which reflects the norms and mores of a still pre-industrial society. Given […]
Not gonna wait ‘til the midnight hour
By Francis X. Rocca — December 7, 2009
The Vatican has dismissed the idea that Pope Benedict’s decision to celebrate this year’s Christmas Midnight Mass two hours early reflects any worries about his health. Makes sense to us. After all, there’d be nothing to stop him from taking an extra-long afternoon nap that day. On the other hand, Moscow is two hours ahead […]
Twilight: Bigger than Jesus?
By Francis X. Rocca — November 24, 2009
Actress Kirsten Prout, who stars in the upcoming third installment of the Twilight series, has dismissed a Vatican official’s criticism of its just-released predecessor. “The Vatican pretty much condemns everything,” she told the Canadian site PopEater. “Anything bigger than the actual church is condemned a lot of the time. To have attention, and that kind […]
Canterbury comes to Rome
By Francis X. Rocca — November 23, 2009
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams concluded his visit to Rome over the weekend with what a Vatican statement called “cordial discussions” in the papal library with Pope Benedict XVI. The spritual leader of the world-wide Anglican Communion confessed to Vatican Radio after the meeting that the two had discussed some of the “awkward” side effects […]
Ex cathedra smackdown
By Francis X. Rocca — October 21, 2009
Bishops in need of assertiveness training for dealing with recalcitrant members of their flocks ought to sign up for lessons with Archbishop Chrysostomos II, leader of the Cypriot Orthodox Church. Here he is berating some monks who harassed participants at a Catholic wedding: “The Church is certainly a place for healing, and people turn to […]
“The Pope’s travel agent”
By Francis X. Rocca — September 18, 2009
RNS alumnus Stacy Meichtry, now of the WSJ, has a piece on the Vatican’s Fr. Cesare Atuire, head of the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, which “charters planes, trains, buses and ships to carry packs of tourists to Rome.”
Benedict meets Bono
By Francis X. Rocca — September 15, 2009
Irish musician and humanitarian Bono is reportedly among the hundreds of artists who will be meeting Pope Benedict XVI this November in the Sistine Chapel, where the pope will talk to them about the unity of faith and culture. Another guest will be architect Daniel Libeskind, designer of the Freedom Tower for Ground Zero. At […]
Liturgical music: the good, the bad and the guitars
By Francis X. Rocca — September 11, 2009
Oscar-winning composer Ennio Morricone disapproves of “guitars and popular songs” in church, and backs Pope Benedict’s call for more traditional music during worship. Presumably this is not what he has in mind.
Uniting body and spirit
By Francis X. Rocca — September 2, 2009
It’s bound to provoke snickers, but the London-based Catholic Truth Society is obviously sincere in including a “Prayer Before Making Love” in its new Prayer Book for Spouses.
Penitent premier?
By Francis X. Rocca — August 28, 2009
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will join a religious procession this evening that the Vatican has decreed will earn participants remission of punishment for their sins. The announcement has aroused speculation that Berlusconi is seeking forgiveness for his alleged sexual misdeeds, which have been the cause of much scandal — and amusement — over recent […]
The Vatican remembers Ted Kennedy
By Francis X. Rocca — August 26, 2009
Following the death of Eunice Kennedy Shriver two weeks ago, Pope Benedict sent her family a warm letter praising a “woman of ardent faith and generous public service” for “her many labors, particularly on behalf of those who are physically and mentally challenged.” Perhaps survivors of Shriver’s brother, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who died yesterday, […]
More liturgical turnarounds?
By Francis X. Rocca — August 26, 2009
As our friend David Gibson reported last week, the Catholic bishop of Tulsa has announced that priests celebrating Mass in his cathedral must henceforth do so facing the altar in the pre-Vatican II style. Now a respected Italian journalist reports that the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship (where American Archbishop Joseph Augustine Di Noia was […]
The Vatican remembers Paul is Dead
By Francis X. Rocca — August 24, 2009
The livelier feel of L’Osservatore Romano over the last three years owes much to the Vatican newspaper’s expanded and increasingly friendly coverage of contemporary secular culture — or at least Baby Boom culture — including pop music. In the latest example, an entire page of tomorrow’s edition is devoted to the 40th anniversary of the […]
More guidlines for future priests
By Francis X. Rocca — August 20, 2009
The Vatican’s education office, which in recent years has issued controversial documents on the use of psychological testing in seminaries and the admission of students with “homosexual tendencies,” will soon have more to say on the formation of future priests. Archbishop Jean-Louis Bruguès, secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, says that a “brief, forceful […]
Zeffirelli pans the Pope
By Francis X. Rocca — August 20, 2009
In a characteristically colorful interview with the New York Times, Franco Zeffirelli faults the bookish Pope Benedict XVI for not being “larger than life.” “When they elected him, I felt the church was making an image error,” says the veteran opera and film director. “Catholic is another thing … It’s open, it’s theatrical, it’s flashy.”
