Fully automated and autonomous lethal weapons systems must be banned now before they become a reality in tomorrow’s wars, a Vatican representative said. The development of robotic weapons or “killer robots” will provide “the capacity of altering irreversibly the nature of warfare, becoming more detached from human agency, putting in question the humanity of our […]
Read More...
Pope Francis praised the freedom, albeit “undisciplined”, of a child who climbed on stage on Wednesday to play during the pontiff’s general audience. The Swiss Guards and Vatican gendarmes stood by and gamely let six-year-old Wenzel Wirth run around the Holy Father as monsignors read out his catechism lesson in various languages in the Vatican […]
Read More...
Legalising gambling fuels addictions, creating more and more compulsive gamblers, and using the industry as a source of tax revenue is unethical, said a major Vatican office. ‘The legalisation of gambling, even when it is supported by the intention of unmasking its criminal management, exponentially increases the number of pathological players,’ said an introductory note […]
Read More...
World-renowned tenor Russell Watson has hinted that a blessing he received in the post from St John Paul II – which now hangs on his kitchen wall – is the reason he is still alive today, after surviving not one, but two brain tumours. The Salford-born UK classical singer received the blessing in the post […]
Read More...
A 4.5 tonne Christmas tree was put up in St Peter’s Square on Thursday morning. The 23 metre high tree travelled from the northern Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, more specifically, from Pordenone. The Christmas tree, along with a life-sized nativity scene (which this year is being sculpted from sand) have been tradition since […]
Read More...
Antimicrobial resistance poses a “great challenge” to global public health and puts the most vulnerable in our society at risk, said Cardinal Peter Turkson, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. “Our time is running out, and we must act to initiate and animate the necessary behavior change to strengthen awareness and action […]
Read More...
In another example of the “diplomacy of art,” the Vatican inaugurated a landmark exhibit of “spiritual” masterpieces from Moscow’s famed Tretyakov Gallery and other state galleries in Russia. Some of the pieces, particularly a number of precious icons, have never been shown before outside of their home galleries, Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican Museums, […]
Read More...
Plans are underway for a solemn opening in February of the sainthood cause of Father Pedro Arrupe (pictured), superior general of the Jesuits from 1965 to 1983. Jesuit Father Arturo Sosa, the current superior, informed Jesuits yesterday that the cause “has been set in motion in the Vicariate of Rome, the place of his death” […]
Read More...
As workers were getting St Peter’s Square ready for this year’s Nativity scene, nearby a large mobile health care facility was set up and running to serve the city’s homeless and poor. About two dozen men and a few women were sitting or standing in a spacious area, quietly waiting their turn or filling out […]
Read More...
The sacraments are gifts from God that are given freely and are not a way for the church to fill up its coffers to cover expenses, Pope Francis said. “Sometimes,” he said, “I have seen – not here in Rome, but in another area – I saw a list of prices” for the sacraments, the […]
Read More...
© Copyright The Catholic Universe 2018 - Web Design and Development by Livetech