Latest news with #TheHolySee
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pope Leo plans to give a virtual address in his hometown of Chicago – at the same time as Trump's military parade
God-fearing patriots will now have a choice to make on Saturday between watching Donald Trump's military and birthday parade, and a special address by Pope Leo XIV. The pontiff has announced plans to screen a video message and mass in his hometown of Chicago at the same time that the president's multi-million dollar party will be happening in Washington, D.C. Tickets for the event, which is to be held at the Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox (Pope Leo's favorite team), are being sold online at $5 each. As of Wednesday the 40,000-sea stadium was almost entirely sold out. A prayer service, which is reportedly directed at young people of the world, begins at 2:30 p.m local time and mass will be held at 4:00 p.m. Both will be live streamed. Some 700 miles away in Washington, D.C., the atmosphere will be somewhat different. Trump's military parade is set to feature around 6,600 Army troops and military equipment such as a WWII-vintage B-25 bomber, a P-1 fighter and Huey helicopters used in the Vietnam War, as well as 25 M1 Abrams tanks, 28 Stryker armored vehicles, and four Paladin self-propelled artillery vehicles. Leo was elected to become The Holy See last month, and prior to his ascension was known to have disagreed with the president and vice president J.D. Vance in social media posts published while still a cardinal. The papacy has also criticized anti-immigrant rhetoric such as the comments from the Trump administration, though has not named the president specifically. In a mass on Sunday, held in St. Peter's Square, Leo criticized the surge of nationalist political movements in the world and prayed for reconciliation and dialogue. 'Where there is love, there is no room for prejudice, for 'security' zones separating us from our neighbors, for the exclusionary mindset that, tragically, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms,' he said. On the American west coast, violent clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement continued in Los Angeles following heavy-handed raids by immigration authorities. Trump later ordered 4,000 state national guardsmen to be mobilized to assist policing of the protests, as well as 700 active duty U.S. Marines. Prior to becoming pope, Leo also voiced opposition to the treatment of El Salvadorian immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the Trump administration claimed was part of the MS-13 gang – which was not proven. The administration later admitted Abrego Garcia's deportation was an 'administrative error' and was later forced by a U.S. court to facilitate his return. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele called the decision 'preposterous.' In response, Leo reposted a link to an article by a bishop, who was born in El Salvador, asking, 'Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?'
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Black smoke vs. white smoke: What does each color mean during conclave?
As the papal conclave begins on Wednesday, May 7, onlookers from around the world will watch for smoke in Vatican City, eager for the first update on who will be the next leader of the Catholic Church. On the morning of May 7, more than 130 cardinals − the Catholic Church's most senior officials − will gather to vote on who they believe should be the next pontiff, succeeding Pope Francis. While this process is held in secrecy, the rest of the world is informed on the group's daily decisions by white or black-colored smoke funneled from the top of the Sistine Chapel. Black smoke indicates a non-conclusive answer, and white smoke indicates that a new pope has been selected. The first smoke signal is expected to occur on the evening of Wednesday, May 7. Here's what to know about the black and white smoke used during a papal conclave. More: A conclave like no other: How papal pick gathering is different this year More: How accurate is the movie 'Conclave' about the election of a new pope? What is a papal conclave? A papal conclave is an election of a new pope, conducted by the College of Cardinals − bishops and Vatican officials selected by the pope. The cardinals are tasked with voting for one of their colleagues to take over the role of pontiff. As of May 5, 135 cardinals are eligible to vote in the conclave, according to The Holy See's College of Cardinals Dashboard. During the conclave, the cardinals are sequestered, and cannot communicate with the "outside world." Before voting, the cardinals discuss the needs and challenges facing the Catholic Church. They then gather in St. Peter's Basilica to invoke the guidance of the Holy Spirit on who should be the successor, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Cardinals leave the Vatican after a College of Cardinals' meeting, on May 2, 2025 in Rome, Italy. Funeral rites for the late Pope Francis are held for nine days after his burial as he is mourned and celebrated by the faithful. During this time, the Vatican prepares for the process to elect a new Pope, known as the Conclave, which must begin within 15 to 20 days of the Pope's death. For the actual election, the cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel, take an oath of secrecy and seal the church's doors. Each cardinal votes by secret ballot. He says a prayer and then drops his ballot in a large chalice, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. If one candidate does not receive a two-thirds majority vote, another election is held. This process is repeated until one candidate has received the necessary votes. The longest conclave in history lasted nearly three years (34 months) with the election of Pope Gregory X in 1271, according to EWTN Vatican. On the flip side, Pope Francis was elected just one day after the conclave began in 2013. What does the black and white smoke mean during a conclave? File photo: White smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City on March 13, 2013. Black and white smoke is used to represent the cardinals' decisions each day, as they are sequestered and cannot share this news directly. If one candidate doesn't receive the necessary two-thirds vote, the ballots are burned in a stove with a mixture of chemicals to produce black smoke. The black smoke indicates more voting is ahead. If a candidate is selected, the final round of ballots are burned with chemicals to produce white smoke. What time are the smoke signals? There isn't an exact timing for the smoke signals that occur during a conclave, but experts use past conclaves to make educated guesses. On May 7, it is likely the cardinals will only conduct one round of voting, as the majority of the day will be spent taking care of introductory business, including a special sermon led by one of the church's top officials, Matthew Gabriele, a medieval studies professor at Virginia Tech, previously told USA TODAY. White or black smoke could be expected around 7-8 p.m. local time (1-2 p.m. ET). The Sistine Chapel's chimney will soon be used to display the smoke from burnt ballots during the conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor. If a final decision isn't made the first day, people can expect the next smoke signal to be shared mid-morning the next day, Thursday, May 8. The cardinals can fit up to four rounds of voting in one day, if one candidate is not selected. If this is the case, Gabriele said smoke signals will occur around mid-morning, noon, mid-afternoon and evening. In 2013, during the conclave in which Pope Francis was elected, the first black smoke signal was spotted at about 7:41 p.m. local time, America Magazine reported. Where does the smoke come from? The black and white smoke comes from a cast iron stove inside the Sistine Chapel. One of the stoves is used to burn the cardinals' ballots and the other is to send puffs of black or white smoke up above. Furnaces and chimney pipes are installed at the Sistine Chapel ahead of the conclave at the Vatican on May 2, 2025. What chemicals are mixed with the ballots to produce black and white smoke? During the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis, the black smoke was produced using a mixture of potassium perchlorate, anthracene (a component of coal tar) and sulfur. The conclave used a combination of potassium chlorate, lactose and chloroform resin to create the white smoke. What happens once a candidate is chosen? Once a candidate has received two-thirds of the cardinals' votes, accepts the position and chooses his papal name, the senior cardinal deacon announces him from the balcony of St. Peter's balcony before the new pope steps out to face the crowd. Editor's note: This story has been updated to add a new link. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pope smoke explained: What black and white means during 2025 conclave
The Independent
01-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Why the Vatican gave unprecedented health updates on Pope Francis
The Vatican issued twice-daily medical briefings during Pope Francis' lengthy hospitalisation as a deliberate strategy to 'counter disinformation' about his condition, The Independent has been told. As Pope Francis battled pneumonia in the final weeks of his life, his doctor held twice-daily press conferences —an unusually transparent move for such a high-profile figure. The Vatican's goal: to 'spread official news' and 'counter disinformation' surrounding his health. 'We confirm that the intent of the conferences is to spread official news. Especially on the occasion of the illness, when the Pope was hospitalised at the Gemelli, official information was obviously also necessary to counter disinformation' The Holy See told The Independent. Conspiracy theories about the health of high-profile figures are on the rise, most recently after the Princess of Wales ' cancer diagnosis and false claims about President Lula's hospitalisation in Brazil last year. 'This is a classic sort of case of prebunking' Benjamin Shultz, a researcher at The American Sunlight Project told The Independent. 'It's to get ahead of the curve and work in front of the rumours instead of catching up to them' he added. Prebunking is a preventative strategy designed to proactively counter false narratives before they spread. It involves equipping people with accurate information about potential misinformation, enabling them to better recognise and resist falsehoods. 'It disarms conspiracy theories before they emerge by closing the information gap. There is no room for speculation' Ben added. And it seems to have worked—little to no misinformation circulated about the Pope's condition, according to Ben Shultz. 'I think, you know, to an extent it worked. There was nothing really crossing my desk that I saw that was conspiratorial or misinformed about his health.' he said. 'I can't think of another example where twice a day, you know, one leader's press team has done a press conference. But I think it's a good blueprint' he added. In 2017 t he Vatican was forced to deny that former Pope Benedict XVI was close to death after rumours about his health were circulated on social media. The reports claimed the former pontiff's personal secretary, Georg Ganswein, had described the former leader of the Catholic Church as "like a candle that fades slowly". The quotation that had been circulated was actually taken from a 2016 interview with Mr Ganstein, published in Italian magazine BenEssere. Pope Francis, who had previously been the target of AI-generated disinformation, had long warned about the dangers of false narratives and synthetic images and videos—particularly their potential to worsen what he called a growing 'crisis of truth.' In January, the Pope wrote a message addressed to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, calling on political, economic, and business leaders to exercise vigilant oversight over the development and deployment of AI technologies. "AI can now generate results that are nearly indistinguishable from human work," Francis cautioned, "raising serious questions about its influence on public discourse and the erosion of truth." The Vatican's shift in communication strategy raises a pressing question: in an age of rampant online falsehoods and an ever-changing social media landscape, could radical transparency be our strongest defence—demonstrating that more communication might, in fact, mean less misinformation?
ABC News
24-04-2025
- ABC News
Pope Francis was given a box full of 'abuse, corruption, dark dealings'
Just 10 days after Pope Francis was appointed head of the Catholic Church, he received an ominous gift from his predecessor — a large white box. The then-76-year-old Pope Francis flew to the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo to meet with Pope Benedict XVI, who was just a month into his retirement. There was an auspicious air to the meeting. Sexual assault support lines: It was the first time two popes had met each other in more than 600 years. The last recorded meeting had been in 1294, when the retired would-be hermit Pope Celestine V met his successor, Pope Boniface VIII — Celestine was executed less than a year later. Pope Benedict XVI lived another nine years before dying of lung disease in 2022. "Everything is in here," he told the newly appointed Pope Francis, as the two sat across from one another in the palace library. The box between them on the table contained documents relating to what Pope Francis later described as the church's most painful abuse stories — "cases of abuse, corruption, dark dealings, wrongdoings". "I have arrived this far, taken these actions, removed these people, now it's your turn," Pope Benedict told him. Reports of abuse accelerating before Pope Francis's election By the time Pope Benedict stepped down — citing his failing health — several high profile Catholics had been calling for his resignation for years. Photo shows four people stand holding a paper which says annual report The Vatican's child protection commission's first annual report found the church must do a better job of handling compensation for the victims of clergy sexual abuse. The commission said compensation went beyond money and included "a much broader spectrum of actions." Investigations into widespread church abuse and cover-ups had been receiving significant media attention since the mid-1990s. Reports of abuse had accelerated. From The Holy See stated in 2009 that 'somewhere between 1.5 per cent and 5 per cent of the Catholic clergy' had been involved in sexual abuse cases. "The church is very conscious of the seriousness of the problem," it said. Pope Benedict had inherited an avalanche of sexual abuse cases from his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, who didn't believe or simply ignored credible complaints of sexual abuse by priests for years. Pope Benedict was left dealing with a moral catastrophe. In 2013 Loading YouTube content In January of the same year, This was the scene as Jorge Mario Bergoglio emerged to the waiting world as Pope Francis, the new head of the Catholic Church. Church secrecy keeping abuse cases private After his death, questions about how Pope Francis has handled abuse within the church remain. Oxford University historian Dr Miles Pattenden said the secrecy surrounding the issue made it more difficult to gauge. Loading Twitter content "One of the problems with assessing how he's gone about handling it is that we don't really know what's said and done in private," he said. "[The white box] typifies the problem for the church that many things necessarily have to remain confidential. "That's why Benedict handed the materials over to him personally. "On the other hand, that lack of transparency is also a problem for the church because it leads to accusations of cover-ups, the church not caring and so on. 'And it's very difficult for any leadership of any organisation to get the balance right between disclosure, accountability and confidentiality.' Experts said Pope Francis led a "change in tone" for the church. ( Getty/ Vatican Media ) In his autobiography, Pope Francis said he felt he was "being called to take responsibility for all the evil committed by certain priests" from the very beginning of his papacy. "Even if just one case of abuse were discovered in the Church, it would be monstrous enough on its own," he said, adding any measures to seek forgiveness would never be enough. "This is our disgrace and our humiliation." " [The] echo of the silent scream of those little children who have found torturers in their father figures and spiritual guides will shake those hearts that have been anaesthetised by hypocrisy and power. " Despite the "significant" change in tone, experts told the ABC Pope Francis's handling of abuse was not always "wise". Dr Pattenden said while he sympathised with the pope's "dilemma", his judgement had "been shown to be unwise" on repeated occasions. "His demeanour and his tone has in some ways been better than Benedict XVI, who was accused of being insufficiently compassionate towards victims," he said. Photo shows An older man looks sternly ahead while sitting in his office. The Catholic Church has won a High Court appeal against rulings it is vicariously liable for the actions of a priest who allegedly sexually abused a five-year-old in 1971, sparking calls for change. "Francis has met with victims, has been more open and emotional about the subject, which I think has been a welcome change of tone to a lot of people. "On the other hand, there are a number of specific cases where Francis has proved to be or been accused of being inadequate in his response to very, very serious allegations." 'Serious questions to answer' when it comes to abuse cases Pope Francis's handling of abuse scandals was marred by controversy and repeated apologies. In 2014, he instituted the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, meant to safeguard children and "vulnerable persons" from sexual abuse and help handle cases. That same year, The priest was found guilty of sexually abusing children and sentenced to prison two years later. In 2015, Loading YouTube content In both cases, Pope Francis would later state he had made "grave errors" and mishandled the situation. At a summit in 2019, he promised to "spare no effort" when it came to bringing abusers within the church to justice. Also in 2019 he abolished 'pontifical secret' — a church law which kept sensitive information strictly confidential — in an effort to increase transparency surrounding abuse. The same year, McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, had faced repeated reports of sexual misconduct spanning decades before a 2017 Vatican investigation found he had abused adults and children. Pope Francis denied accusations he knew of the allegations as early as 2013. "I knew nothing, obviously, of McCarrick," he told Vatican News. A 450-page Vatican report found Pope Francis was only aware of allegations relating to adults, and believed his predecessors had already dismissed them. A Vatican report into sexual abuse by former US cardinal Theodore McCarrick was deeply critical of the previous pope John Paul II. His stance on McCarrick changed when a former altar boy came forward with more accusations in 2017. In 2022 he was again forced to defend himself, this time for Pope Francis had rejected past accusations about Zanchetta and given him a powerful role in the Holy See's treasury, which removed him from Argentina. Zanchetta was later sentenced to four and a half years in prison for sexual abuse of seminarians. Later that year he did not strip a French cardinal of his privileges, even after the man admitted to abusing a 14-year-old girl. In January, the Vatican concluded its investigation into Pope Francis ordered the case against him to be reopened, but Rupnik continued to design logos for major church gatherings and met privately with the pope. Rupnik's art has featured in church buildings globally and was seen on the wall in Pope Francis's apartment as recently as January this year. An independent tribunal into his conduct was yet to begin. Dr Pattenden told the ABC: "There are these various cases where Francis has serious questions to answer and answers have not been forthcoming." "And in that sense he hasn't really moved on from the problems that the church was accused of under Benedict XVI or John Paul II." A change in tone lacking 'rigour' to handle church abuse The church is still failing to deal with sexual abuse cases adequately, according to the Vatican's child protection commission. In its first report last October, the commission criticised the Vatican office tasked with handling complaints as being slow and secretive. 'The [Asia Oceania] Regional Group notes challenges in accurately identifying and addressing the true scale of abuse within Church institutions,' they said. "[This is] due to a pervasive culture of silence, a reluctance to report abuse, and a general lack of education and awareness concerning safeguarding practices," they said. Photo shows An older man in a suit speaks as Pope Francis looks on. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo's blistering welcome speech at the start of Francis's visit was one of the most pointed ever directed at the pope during a foreign trip. Asked about Pope Francis's legacy when it came to sexual abuse, Dr Pattenden told the ABC the change in tone hadn't come with a "greater rigour" within the church. "One problem is that sexual abusers are sadly always going to be with us, so it's very unlikely that any large organisation like the Catholic Church is ever going to be completely free [of them]," he said. "But if the church does continue to improve its efforts, then Francis should be given some credit for that. " I think [improvement] depends a very great deal on who the next pope is and what his priorities are. " "In some jurisdictions, like Australia, a great deal of pressure is already being put on the church … but that's not the case all around the world. "There's plenty of scope for further scandals to emerge in different places."
Indianapolis Star
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
What is the Swiss Guard, the military body sworn to protect the pope?
The Swiss Guard is a military body tasked with protecting the pope. 135 men make up the Swiss Guard. Swiss Guard recruits must be a single man between the age of 19-30 who is a practicing Catholic and Swiss citizen. Swiss Guard recruits train for about two months before they start work. As the late Pope Francis greeted thousands of guests in Vatican City on Easter Sunday, the Swiss Guard was not far, watching over the pontiff as it has done for more than 500 years. At the age of 88, Pope Francis died on the morning of Monday, April 21. The pontiff had spent the better part of the year at Rome's Gemelli University Hospital battling various health issues before he ultimately succumbed to a stroke and irreversible heart failure. Francis' funeral will be held at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) on Saturday, April 26 in St. Peter's Square, a ceremony that will draw countless worshipers and leaders from across the globe. President Donald Trump shared on Monday that he will attend the funeral. As the world prepares for a day of both solace and celebration, here's a better look at the Swiss Guard, the independent military corps that's been protecting the Catholic pope since the 1500s. What is the Swiss Guard? The Pontifical Swiss Guard, more commonly referred to as just the Swiss Guard, is a military body made up of Swiss men whose main task is to monitor the safety of the pope. Specifically, the Swiss Guard accompanies the pope to public appearances, guards Vatican City and protects the College of Cardinals during a conclave (the election of a new pope), according to The Holy See. The Swiss Guard reports directly to the pontiff. How long has the Swiss Guard been around? The Swiss Guard was established in 1506 by Pope Julius II, according to The Holy See. From 2025, that's 519 years ago. How many people are in the Swiss Guard? The Swiss Guard is made up of 135 men, according to The Holy See. How do you get into the Swiss Guard? The Swiss Guard isn't just for anybody. Candidates for the Swiss Guard must be a man between the age of 19 and 30 who is a practicing Catholic and Swiss citizen, according to the official Swiss Guard website. A candidate must also have "impeccable health," determined by medical examinations and "impeccable reputation." A Swiss Guard candidate must have completed a CFC apprenticeship or have a maturity certificate, which help verify an individual's faith, and have completed a military recruit school. At the time of joining the guard, a candidate must be single. To be eligible for marriage, a guard must be at least 25 years old and have served for five years and commit to another three, the official Swiss Guard website states. Finally, a candidate must be prepared to commit to the guard for at least 26 months − that's 2 years and 2 months. What type of training does the Swiss Guard receive? Basic training for the Swiss Guard is typically two months long. For the first month, recruits train with the Ticino Cantonal Police at the Swiss Police and Army Training Center in Isone, Switzerland. Here, the recruits learn firefighting, first aid, shooting, personal safety, self-defense, tactical behavior and the notions of law, the official Swiss Guard website states. For the second month, recruits train at the Pontifical Swiss Guard Headquarters in Vatican City. They learn proper saluting, individual and group formations, guard changes and how to handle the halberd, a weapon used throughout the 13th to 16th centuries that combines an ax blade with a spike or hook. Recruits also learn Italian, if they aren't already fluent. What do the Swiss Guard wear? The Swiss Guard hardly blends in with its traditionally "loud" attire. The most recognizable uniform worn by the Swiss Guard is the gala uniform, which features blue, red and yellow stripes down the entire ensemble. During different events, the guards will add white gloves, a black helmet and/or the halberd. Editor's note: This story has been updated to add a new photo gallery.
