Latest news with #HolySee
CTV News
an hour ago
- Business
- CTV News
Vatican strikes solar farm deal to become the world's first carbon-neutral state
A view of the antennas of the Vatican Radio, which beams the Pope's words around the world, is seen in Santa Maria di Galeria, on the outskirts of Rome, on April 11, 2001. (AP Photo/ Gregorio Borgia) ROME — Italy agreed Thursday to a Vatican plan to turn a 430-hectare (1,000-acre) field north of Rome, once the source of controversy between the two, into a vast solar farm that the Holy See hopes will generate enough electricity to meet its needs and turn Vatican City into the world's first carbon-neutral state. The agreement stipulates that the development of the Santa Maria Galeria site will preserve the agricultural use of the land and minimize the environmental impact on the territory, according to a Vatican statement. Details weren't released, but the Vatican will be exempt from paying Italian taxes to import the solar panels, but won't benefit from the financial incentives that Italians enjoy when they go solar. Italy, for its part, can use the field in its accounting for reaching European Union clean energy targets. Any excess electricity generated by the farm beyond the Vatican's needs would be given to the local community, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not public. Vatican officials have estimated it will cost under 100 million euros (US$114 million) to develop the solar farm, and that once it is approved by the Italian parliament, the contracts to do the work could be put up for bids. Vatican foreign minister Archbishop Paul Gallagher signed the agreement with Italy's ambassador to the Holy See, Francesco Di Nitto. The Italian parliament must approve the arrangement since it has financial implications for the territory, which holds extraterritorial status in Italy. The Santa Maria Galeria site has long been the source of controversy because of electromagnetic waves emitted by Vatican Radio towers located there since the 1950s. The once-rural site some 35 kilometres (20 miles) north of Rome is dominated by two dozen short- and medium-wave radio antennae that transmit news from the Catholic Church in dozens of languages around the globe. Over the years as the area became more developed, residents began complaining of health problems, including instances of childhood leukemia which they blamed on the electromagnetic waves generated by the towers. The Vatican denied there was any causal link but cut back the transmissions. Pope Francis last year asked the Vatican to study developing the area into a vast solar farm, hoping to put into practice his preaching about the need to transition away from fossil fuels and find clean, carbon-neutral energy sources. Pope Leo XIV visited the site in June and affirmed that he intended to see Francis' vision through. Leo has strongly taken up Francis' ecological mantle, recently using a new set of prayers and readings inspired by Pope Francis' environmental legacy. In the 1990s at the height of the controversy over the radio towers, residents sued Vatican Radio officials, claiming the emissions exceeded the Italian legal limit, but the court cleared the transmitter. In 2012, the Vatican announced it was cutting in half the hours of transmission from the site, not because of health concerns but because of cost-saving technological advances in internet broadcasting. ___ Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press
Hamilton Spectator
9 hours ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Vatican strikes solar farm deal to become the world's first carbon-neutral state
ROME (AP) — Italy agreed Thursday to a Vatican plan to turn a 430-hectare (1,000-acre) field north of Rome, once the source of controversy between the two, into a vast solar farm that the Holy See hopes will generate enough electricity to meet its needs and turn Vatican City into the world's first carbon-neutral state. The agreement stipulates that the development of the Santa Maria Galeria site will preserve the agricultural use of the land and minimize the environmental impact on the territory, according to a Vatican statement. Details weren't released, but the Vatican will be exempt from paying Italian taxes to import the solar panels, but won't benefit from the financial incentives that Italians enjoy when they go solar. Italy, for its part, can use the field in its accounting for reaching European Union clean energy targets. Any excess electricity generated by the farm beyond the Vatican's needs would be given to the local community, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not public. Vatican officials have estimated it will cost under 100 million euros ($114 million) to develop the solar farm, and that once it is approved by the Italian parliament, the contracts to do the work could be put up for bids. Vatican foreign minister Archbishop Paul Gallagher signed the agreement with Italy's ambassador to the Holy See, Francesco Di Nitto. The Italian parliament must approve the arrangement since it has financial implications for the territory, which holds extraterritorial status in Italy. The Santa Maria Galeria site has long been the source of controversy because of electromagnetic waves emitted by Vatican Radio towers located there since the 1950s. The once-rural site some 35 kilometers (20 miles) north of Rome is dominated by two dozen short- and medium-wave radio antennae that transmit news from the Catholic Church in dozens of languages around the globe. Over the years as the area became more developed, residents began complaining of health problems, including instances of childhood leukemia which they blamed on the electromagnetic waves generated by the towers. The Vatican denied there was any causal link but cut back the transmissions. Pope Francis last year asked the Vatican to study developing the area into a vast solar farm, hoping to put into practice his preaching about the need to transition away from fossil fuels and find clean, carbon-neutral energy sources. Pope Leo XIV visited the site in June and affirmed that he intended to see Francis' vision through. Leo has strongly taken up Francis' ecological mantle , recently using a new set of prayers and readings inspired by Pope Francis' environmental legacy . In the 1990s at the height of the controversy over the radio towers, residents sued Vatican Radio officials, claiming the emissions exceeded the Italian legal limit, but the court cleared the transmitter. In 2012, the Vatican announced it was cutting in half the hours of transmission from the site, not because of health concerns but because of cost-saving technological advances in internet broadcasting. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
The Independent
13 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
Anglican convert to receive one of the Pope's biggest honours
Pope Leo XIV has bestowed one of the Catholic Church 's highest honours on St. John Henry Newman, declaring the influential 19th-century Anglican convert a "doctor" of the church. The rare designation, announced on Thursday, recognises Newman as a unifying figure across both Anglican and Catholic traditions. The Vatican confirmed that Pope Leo had approved the recommendation from the Holy See's saint-making office during an audience with its prefect, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, with the formal declaration expected soon. This decision marks one of the most significant acts of Leo's nascent papacy and holds personal resonance for him, given Newman's profound admiration for St. Augustine of Hippo, the foundational inspiration for Leo's own Augustinian religious order. The esteemed title of "Doctor of the Church" is reserved for individuals whose theological writings have profoundly served the universal church. In the 2,000-year history of the Church, only three dozen figures have been granted this honour, including revered saints such as Augustine, St. Francis de Sales, and St. Teresa of Avila. Newman's path to being declared a doctor has been exceptionally quick, after Pope Benedict XVI beatified him during a visit to Britain in 2010. Pope Francis made him a saint in 2019, with then- Prince Charles in attendance. Newman, a theologian and poet, is admired by Catholics and Anglicans alike because he followed his conscience at great personal cost. When he defected from the Church of England to the Catholic Church in 1845, he lost friends, work and even family ties, believing the truth he was searching for could only be found in the Catholic faith. Newman was one of the founders of the so-called Oxford Movement of the 1830s, which sought to revive certain Roman Catholic doctrines in the Church of England by looking back to the traditions of the earliest Christian church. But he gave up a brilliant academic career at Oxford University and the pulpit of the university church to convert to Catholicism. As a Catholic, he became one of the most influential theologians of the era, bringing elements of the Anglican church into his new faith tradition. He died in Britain in 1890.
Reuters
a day ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Could the Palestinians become a full member of the United Nations?
UNITED NATIONS, July 30 (Reuters) - Momentum seems to be building for more countries to recognize a Palestinian state in Israeli-occupied territory after France said last week it would do so in September. Britain said Tuesday it would follow suit at the U.N. General Assembly unless Israel had taken steps to ease the Gaza crisis and bring about peace. The Palestinian Authority, which represents the Palestinian people at the United Nations, where the delegation is officially known as the State of Palestine, is not a full member and has no vote in the 193-member General Assembly. Here are some details about the status of the Palestinians at the United Nations: The Palestinians are a non-member, observer state at the United Nations - the same status as the Holy See (Vatican). The General Assembly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine in November 2012 by upgrading its observer status at the world body to "non-member state" from "entity." There were 138 votes in favor, nine against and 41 abstentions. In May 2024, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly backed a Palestinian bid to become a full member by recognizing it as qualified to join and recommending the U.N. Security Council "reconsider the matter favorably." That resolution also granted the Palestinians some additional rights and privileges from September 2024 - like a seat among the U.N. members in the assembly hall. The May vote by the General Assembly amounted to a global survey of support for the Palestinian cause to become a full member - a move that would effectively recognize a Palestinian state - after the United States vetoed the step in the Security Council in April 2024. The Palestinians remain a non-member observer state as the 15-member Security Council has not acted on the General Assembly recommendation. Countries seeking to join the United Nations usually present an application to the U.N. secretary-general, who sends it to the Security Council for an assessment and vote. A council committee of the 15 members first assesses an application to see if it satisfies the requirements for U.N. membership. The application can then either be shelved or put forward for a formal vote in the Security Council. Approval requires at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the U.S., Russia, France, China or Britain. If the council approves the membership request, it then moves to the General Assembly for approval. A membership request needs a two-thirds majority to be cleared by the assembly. A country cannot join the United Nations unless both the Security Council and General Assembly approve. A U.N. Security Council committee assessed the Palestinian application for several weeks to see if it satisfied requirements for U.N. membership. But the committee was unable to reach a unanimous position and the Security Council never formally voted on a resolution on Palestinian membership. Diplomats said the Palestinians lacked the minimum nine votes needed to adopt a resolution. Even if they had won enough support, the United States had said it would veto the move. The United States, Israel's most powerful and influential ally, has said a Palestinian state can only be established through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The latest round of those negotiations broke down in 2014 and the process remains frozen, with prospects for revival dimmed further by the ongoing, devastating war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza. Under U.S. law, Washington cannot fund any U.N. organization that grants full membership to any group that does not have the "internationally recognized attributes" of statehood. The United States cut funding in 2011 for the Paris-based U.N. cultural agency, UNESCO, after the Palestinians joined as a full member.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Pope marks 50th anniversary of Cold War-era deal on security and human rights
ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday called for a renewed commitment to diplomacy to resolve conflicts as he marked the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Accords, the landmark Cold War-era agreement that ushered in a new era of security and human rights. At the end of his general audience, history's first American pope said that Aug. 1 marks the anniversary of the conclusion of the 35-nation summit in Finland that resulted in the Helsinki Final Act, which years later helped give birth to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Renewing his appeal for peace in the world, Leo said: 'Today, more than ever, it is imperative to cherish the spirit of Helsinki, persevere in dialogue, strengthen cooperation and make diplomacy the preferred way to prevent and resolve conflicts.' At the height of the Cold War detente in the 1970s, Finnish President Urho Kekkonen hosted a U.S.-Soviet summit where U.S. President Gerald Ford, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and others signed a watershed commitment to peace, East-West contacts, European security and human rights. Leo said the agreement had 'inaugurated a new geopolitical season, favoring a rapprochement between East and West. It marked a renewed interest in human rights with particular attention to religious freedom, considered one of the fundamentals of the nascent architecture of cooperation from Vancouver to Vladivostok.' With Russia's war raging in Ukraine, Leo recalled that the Holy See had sent a delegation to the Finnish summit headed by future secretary of state Archbishop Agostino Casaroli, best known for promoting and pursuing a policy of Ostpolitik, or openness and dialogue with Eastern Europe. In other comments Wednesday, Leo also expressed horror at the 'brutal' attack on a Catholic Church in eastern Congo by rebels backed by the Islamic State. At least 38 people, including 15 women and nine children, were killed in the church as they worshipped during a prayer vigil last weekend. 'While I entrust the victims to God's loving mercy, I pray for the wounded and for Christians who around the world continue to suffer violence and persecution, exhorting all those with responsibility at the local and international level to collaborate to prevent similar tragedies,' he said. Wednesday's general audience marked the resumption of Leo's weekly encounter with the faithful following a weeks-long summer break. St. Peter's Square was particularly full, given the arrival of tens of thousands of pilgrims in town for a weeklong Holy Year celebration for young Catholics. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
