Frances X. Rocca
Frances X. Rocca is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by Frances X. Rocca
Vatican condemns popular infertility treatments
By Frances X. Rocca — December 13, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ The Vatican’s highest doctrinal body on Friday (Dec. 12) condemned advanced infertility treatments and contraception technologies and reaffirmed its strong prohibition of embryonic stem cell research. The long-awaited document, “Dignitas personae” (“The dignity of a person”), was released by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the […]
Pope urges global solidarity in annual peace message
By Frances X. Rocca — December 12, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ Disarmament, trade liberalization, and wider access to medicines for the treatment of AIDS are among the most effective ways of fighting global poverty, Pope Benedict XVI said Thursday (Dec. 11) in a statement released by the Vatican. “Fighting Poverty To Build Peace” is the title of this […]
U.S.-Vatican relationship to shift under Obama White House
By Frances X. Rocca — November 27, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ In the 24 years since the U.S. and the Holy See established full diplomatic ties, relations have never been closer or warmer than during the administration of President George W. Bush. The two sides broke over the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, but Bush’s personal esteem […]
Pope tells Muslims that violence is `unacceptable’
By Frances X. Rocca — November 7, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ More than two years after a lecture by Pope Benedict XVI provoked outrage across the Islamic world, Muslim and Catholic leaders on Thursday (Nov. 6) ended a three-day summit to pursue closer relations between their two faiths. The official theme of the meeting was “Love of God, […]
Vatican says seminaries should screen for gay priests
By Frances X. Rocca — October 31, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ The Vatican on Thursday (Oct. 30) recommended that Catholic seminaries test certain applicants for psychological traits _ including “deep-seated homosexual tendencies” _ that could render them unsuitable for the priesthood. The statement appears in a new document, “Guidelines for the Use of Psychology in the Admission and […]
Secular group challenges Catholic Church’s hold on Italian life
By Frances X. Rocca — October 28, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ Pope Benedict XVI frequently decries what he sees as the widespread godlessness of European society. But for a small group of citizens in the pope’s own backyard, at least one European country is still not godless enough. Italy’s Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics (UAAR), the country’s […]
Pope defends wartime pontiff on Judaism’s holiest day
By Frances X. Rocca — October 10, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service < VATICAN CITY _ Pope Benedict XVI marked the 50th anniversary of the death of Pope Pius XII on Thursday (Oct. 9), praying that the World War II-era pontiff would reach the next step on the road to sainthood, and defending him against charges that he did too little to […]
50 years on, wartime pope overshadows Catholic-Jewish talks
By Frances X. Rocca — October 3, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ Next Thursday (Oct. 9), Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate a special Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Pope Pius XII. The fact that Oct. 9 this year coincides with Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, is ironic, since […]
Vatican to consider role of Scripture in Catholic life
By Frances X. Rocca — September 26, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ When Pope Benedict XVI recites the opening verses of Genesis on Italian national television next Sunday (Oct. 5), he will kick off a marathon reading of the entire Bible by some 1,500 people over six days _ and do something that would have been unthinkable even a […]
Pope on missionary trip to largely secular France
By Frances X. Rocca — September 12, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ During a four-day visit to France beginning on Friday (Sept. 12), Pope Benedict XVI will make a pilgrimage to one of Catholicism’s most popular shrines, Lourdes, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. At the same time, the pope will make a kind of missionary excursion to […]
RNS Daily Digest
By Frances X. Rocca — August 21, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ When a group of Joseph Ratzinger’s former students congratulated him on the day after his 2005 inauguration as Pope Benedict XVI, the new pontiff greeted them with a piece of happy news. “The first thing he said to us was, `We will continue the Schulerkreis,”’ recalled the […]
Vatican keeps a watchful eye on Anglican bishops
By Frances X. Rocca — July 17, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ As the bishops of the worldwide Anglican Communion meet for the first time in a decade in England this month, they will be joined by two high-ranking members of the Catholic Church. Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Vatican office that deals with other Christian churches, and […]
Pope may face hostile welcome in Australia
By Frances X. Rocca — July 11, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ The last time Pope Benedict XVI traveled overseas, to the United States in April, he received a warm and reverent welcome, and went home more popular than when he arrived. This Saturday (July 12), Benedict travels to Australia for what will be only the fourth papal visit […]
Conservative U.S. archbishop to head Vatican high court
By Frances X. Rocca — June 28, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke was named Friday (June 27) to head the Catholic Church’s highest court, a move that places an outspoken conservative in an important if not highly visible post. Burke, 59, will be the first American to serve as prefect of the Supreme Tribunal […]
Cleaning St. Peter’s Needs a Careful, Acrobatic Touch: 925 words, with optional trim to 800
By Frances X. Rocca — June 27, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ As the tomb of the first pope and the principal church of most of his 264 successors, St. Peter’s Basilica is Roman Catholicism’s greatest shrine. It’s also a treasure trove of artistic riches, with works by such artists as Michelangelo, Raphael and Bernini. At over 600 feet […]
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