Pope Francis Condemns Rome's 'Moral Decay'

Pope Francis lashed out at political corruption, joblessness and
Europe's low birth rates

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Rome's prostitution and queues of people outside a soup kitchen are signs of moral decay, the Pope has said, in an attack on society in which he said people find pets easier to deal with than children

Pope Francis has condemned the "moral decay" of the city of Rome, citing the child prostitutes that ply their trade and the busy soup kitchens of the Italian capital.

In a broadside against declining moral standards in the West, the Pontiff cited the darker sides of the streets of his adopted home as an example of modern society's failings.

Despite it being the home of the Vatican, Pope Francis said, "The Eternal City, which should be a beacon to the world, is a mirror of the moral decay of society."

In a wide-ranging interview with Rome daily Il Messaggero, he also lashed out at political corruption, joblessness and Europe's low birth rates. He claimed that many Europeans found many it easier to own pets than raise children.

"This," he said, "is another phenomenon of cultural decay, because affectionate relationships with animals are easier and more controllable. An animal is not free, while having a child is complicated." » | Tom Kington, Rome | Sunday, June 29, 2014

Independence from Rome! Venice Floating Away Unnoticed as Crimea Steals Show

While the Crimean referendum tops world media headlines, an attempt at secession is going on in Veneto, Italy, with its major city Venice. But as it is being virtually ignored by media, people in Europe are hardly aware of what's happening next door.

Queen to Meet Pope Francis in Rome

The Queen made her third visit to the Vatican in 2000

BBC: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are to visit Rome later this year for an audience with Pope Francis, Buckingham Palace has said.

The royal couple will also have a private lunch with Italian president Giorgio Napolitano.

The one-day trip in April was originally planned for last year but was postponed when the Queen fell ill.

The BBC's royal correspondent Peter Hunt said the Queen's "relaxed" meeting with the Pope will be at his residence.

He added that the Queen would not wear black or a veil, as she has done on three previous visits to the Vatican in deference to convention.

In 1980, the Queen dressed entirely in black, with a tiara holding a cascade veil in place, to meet Pope John Paul II in Rome, just as she had done on her visit to Pope John XXIII in 1961.

And in 2000, the Queen wore black again and a hat with a veil.

This was despite royal tradition that female members of the Royal Family do not wear black. » | Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Pope May Have Snuck Out At Night to Give Alms to Poor, Vatican Hints

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Vatican's alms-giver suggests Pope Francis may have accompanied him on night time missions

He is known to have sent money to struggling pensioners and poverty-stricken immigrants but Pope Francis may have taken his charity efforts one step further, secretly sneaking out of the Vatican at night incognito to distribute alms to the poor.

The Jesuit Pope ventured out unannounced when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires to meet the homeless on the streets of the Argentine capital, and now comes the suggestion – couched in a familiar Vatican mix of opacity and reading-between-the-lines - that he has been doing the same thing in Rome.

The intriguing possibility emerged from an interview with Konrad Krajewski, an archbishop and trusted confidante of the Pope who is the Vatican "Almoner" or alms-giver – a little-known but centuries-old post that involves distributing some of the Holy See's vast wealth to the poor and marginalised. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Friday, November 29, 2013

My comment:

This pope is remarkable! He is living his life as close to Jesus' life as is possible. He is an object lesson to us all. – © Mark

This comment appears here too.

Rome: Italian Anti-austerity Protesters Clash with Police

EURONEWS: ROME (Reuters) – Demonstrators clashed with Italian police on Saturday as tens of thousands marched through Rome to protest against unemployment, government cuts and big construction projects they say take money away from social services.

Hooded protesters turned over garbage bins in front of the Economy Ministry and set several of them on fire. Using sticks and clubs, they attacked police in riot gear. The police charged and chased demonstrators up side streets.

The hooded demonstrators, who infiltrated a mostly peaceful protest, threw smoke bombs, eggs and bottles at the ministry and broke the window of a nearby bank. Police said 15 of the most violent protesters were arrested and two policemen were injured.

In another area along the demonstration route, police defused a large firework with a bullet inside, which they said could have caused serious damage had it gone off. » | Naomi O’Leary | Sunday, October 20, 2013

Tunisian Salafist Kamel Zarouq Talks about Future Conquest of Andalusia, Rome, and Jerusalem | The Internet - April 30, 2013

The Pope Holds Good Friday Mass in the Vatican - Live
Watch live as Pope Francis presides over his first Good Friday observances as pontiff, which will culminate in a torch-lit procession at Rome's Colosseum and prayers for peace in the Middle East.

Read the article here | Good Friday, Friday March 29, 2013

Le pape Benoît XVI appelle l'Église à se "réorienter"
LE POINT: Des dizaines de milliers de fidèles sont venus assister à l'avant-dernier angélus du pape dimanche, place Saint-Pierre.


Le pape Benoit XVI appelle l'Église à se "renouveler" et à se "réorienter" au moment où des dizaines de milliers de fidèles se dirigeaient dimanche vers la place Saint-Pierre pour assister à son avant-dernier angélus avant son départ le 28 février. Les forces de police ont fermé à la circulation la Via della Conciliazione, la large avenue qui mène au Vatican, alors que selon des estimations des autorités locales, l'affluence pourrait atteindre les 100 000 personnes au moment où le pape se montrera au balcon de la loge centrale de ses appartements, à 12 heures. » | Source AFP | dimanche 17 février 2013

TAGES ANZEIGER: «Wir werden dich vermissen» : Zehntausende haben Papst Benedikt XVI. auf dem Petersplatz zugejubelt. Dieser sprach zum vorletzten Mal den Sonntagssegen. Inzwischen sind die ersten Kardinäle aus dem Ausland im Vatikan eingetroffen. » | ses/mw/sda/AP | Sontag, 17. Februar 2013

Rome Turning into 'Wild West' of Violent Crime
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The murder of an immigrant bar owner and his nine-month old baby girl during a botched robbery has shocked Rome, prompting warnings that the city of La Dolce Vita is turning into a "Wild West" of violent crime.

Zeng Zhou, 31, a Chinese immigrant, and his baby daughter, Joy, were killed by the same bullet when two thieves demanded the takings from the bar he ran in the capital's grimy Tor Pignattara district on Wednesday night.

The bullet passed through the baby's head and then struck her father in the heart, killing both of them instantly.

His 27-year-old wife, Zeng Lia, was stabbed in the attack and is being treated in hospital.
She told police that one of the gunmen had yelled "I'll kill you like a dog" at her husband when he refused to hand over thousands of euros in cash.

The double murder was the 36th killing in the city in the past 12 months – up from 25 in 2010.

The killings were "an offence to the Eternal City" and risked turning the Italian capital into "an immense favela where shoot-outs happen as they did in the Wild West," said La Stampa, one of the country's most respected daily newspapers. "In one year, Rome seems to have spun out of control."

The violence has spread from the graffiti-clad sink estates on the outskirts of the city to the tourist-friendly piazzas and cobbled streets of the centre. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Friday, January 06, 2012

Protesters in Rome Burn Cars, Break Windows
Protests inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement have become violent in Rome as 'black block' militants smash shop windows and set fire to two cars.

Comment here
THE TIMES: Rome riots in global ‘day of protest’ against corporate greed » | Sadie Gray | Saturday, October 15, 2011 [£]

Un proche du clan Ben Ali a été arrêté à Rome

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: L'arrestation de Moez Trabelsi est la première arrestation à l'étranger d'un proche du clan Ben Ali depuis la fuite le 14 janvier de l'ex-président après 23 ans d'un pouvoir sans partage.

Le neveu de Leïla Trabelsi, l'épouse du président tunisien déchu Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, a été arrêté ce jeudi à Rome sur instruction d'Interpol, a indiqué le ministère tunisien de la Justice.

Il s'agit de la première arrestation à l'étranger d'un proche du clan Ben Ali depuis la fuite le 14 janvier de l'ex-président après 23 ans d'un pouvoir sans partage.

Moez Trabelsi est l'objet d'un mandat d'amener émis par la justice tunisienne. Interpol a fait procéder à son arrestation jeudi vers 3H (2H GMT) à Rome, a déclaré le porte-parole du ministère Kadhem Zine El Abidine.

L'organisation policière internationale a émis une notice rouge pour le jeune homme poursuivi dans plusieurs affaires de corruption et soupçonné de blanchiment d'argent, a-t-il précisé. » | AFP | Jeudi 06 Octobre 2011

Libya: Oil Minister Confirms Defection in Further Blow to Gaddafi
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Col Muammar Gaddafi's Libyan regime suffered another blow on Wednesday when Shokri Ghanem, its oil minister and former prime minister, ended weeks of speculation and announced he had turned on the dictator.

Mr Ghanem appeared alongside the Libyan ambassador to Rome, who has also defected, to condemn the "daily spilling of blood" and "unbearable" spiral of violence in the country.

However, he said it was too early to say whether he would work with the opposition National Transitional Council in Benghazi.

He also denied suggestions, repeated by Libyan government officials, that he had timed his move so that he could represent the opposition at a key summit of the international oil cartel, OPEC, in Vienna next week.

Mr Ghanem disappeared from public view after first leaving Libya two weeks ago.

A former prime minister who had overseen the reopening of relations with the West, he did not have the historic personal relationship with Col Muammar Gaddafi of Moussa Koussa, the foreign minister who defected in March.

But his knowledge of the workings of the regime and in particular the state oil company, which he ran, could provide important information.

At a news conference in Rome, he said oil production in Libya was coming to a halt because of the international embargo. "Very little is being produced, because of the UN embargo and the fact that foreigners have fled for reasons of security," he said. (+ video) » | Nick Squires, Rome and Richard Spencer in Tripoli | Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Pope Shuts Down Rome Monastery for 'Questionable Behaviour' of Monks
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Pope has shut down a 500-year-old Rome monastery and kicked out its monks after it gained notoriety for hosting a performance by a lap dancer-turned-nun and welcomed celebrities such as Madonna.


Benedict XVI ordered the closure of the monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem (Santa Croce in Gerusalemmme), which holds some of the Roman Catholic Church's most prized relics, because of "financial and liturgical irregularities", a Vatican spokesman told The Daily Telegraph.

Around 20 Cistercian monks will be transferred to other monasteries around Italy, after it was found that their "lifestyles" were "not in keeping" with Church doctrine, bringing to an end a monastic presence on the site that dates back five centuries.

They reportedly demonstrated "questionable behaviour and a lack of moral discipline" – a possible allusion to homosexual relations, which the Church regards as a sin.

The historic monastery is attached to the Church of the Holy Cross, which was founded in 320AD by the mother of the Emperor Constantine, St Helena, who is said to have brought back the relics from the Holy Land.

In recent years it has established a reputation for publicity-seeking stunts and the courting of wealthy celebrities, including Gloria Estefan and Madonna. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Thursday, May 26, 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Relics held at Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem: The Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem – known in Italian as Santa Croce in Gerusalemme – holds some of the Roman Catholic Church's most prized relics. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Thursday, May 26, 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: History of the Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem: The history of the Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, one of Rome's best known basilicas, stretches back nearly 2,000 years. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Thursday, May 26, 2011

Italians Evacuate Rome Over 'Big One' Fears
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Italians are fleeing Rome todayover fears a giant earthquake is coming following a seismologist's 1915 prediction that "the big one" will strike on May 11, 2011.

Businesses have reported requests from one in five people to have time off work and many are also keeping children away from school and heading to the beach or country for the day.

Romans are taking it so seriously that local newspapers have even been publishing survival guides with tips of what to do – if – the ground starts to tremble.

The panic has been fanned by Facebook, Twitter and text messages around a prediction by Raffaele Bendani [sic], a seismologist who forecast in 1915 that a "big one" would hit Rome on Wednesday.

He is also said to have predicted other earthquakes which hit Italy during the last hundred years before his death in 1979. » | Nick Pisa, Rome | Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Berlusconi-Sieg löst Straßenschlachten in Rom aus
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Kurz nachdem Ministerpräsident Silvio Berlusconi im italienischen Parlament zwei Misstrauensvoten gewonnen hat, sind in Rom heftige Krawalle ausgebrochen. Hunderte Demonstranten lieferten sich Straßenschlachten mit der Polizei, mindestens 40 Menschen wurden verletzt.

Rom - Nach den Vertrauensvoten der beiden Kammern des italienischen Parlaments für Ministerpräsident Silvio Berlusconi haben landesweit Zehntausende Regierungs-kritiker gegen das Abstimmungsergebnis protestiert. Nach Angaben von Organisatoren der Demonstrationen gingen allein in Rom rund 100.000 Menschen auf die Straße. Einige warfen mit Farbbeuteln und Feuerwerkskörpern auf die Gebäude der beiden Parlamentskammern, Abgeordnetenhaus und Senat.

Bei den Protesten kam es zu heftigen Krawallen: Eine Gruppe von mehreren hundert Demonstranten lieferte sich im historischen Stadtzentrum Straßenschlachten mit der Polizei. Demonstranten zündeten drei selbstgebaute Sprengsätze in einer Gasse in der Nähe des Parlaments. Andere bewarfen die Beamten mit Eiern und Farbe. Auf der zentralen Via del Corso gingen zahlreiche Schaufenster zu Bruch. >>> ore/dpa/AFP | Dienstag, 14. Dezember 2010

Spiegel Online Video hier abspielen
THE GUARDIAN: Riots break out in Rome after Silvio Berlusconi survives confidence votes: Hooded protesters set up flaming barricades as police baton-charge demonstrators in several parts of capital's historic centre >>> John Hooper, Rome | Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Michelangelo's Last Judgment Figures 'Based on Male Prostitutes'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The muscular figures in Michelangelo's Last Judgment fresco in the Sistine Chapel were based on male prostitutes he encountered in homosexual bathhouses and brothels, an Italian art historian has claimed.

Elena Lazzarini, a researcher from Pisa University, believes the enormous fresco is replete with homosexual imagery, including a man being dragged into Damnation by his testicles and kisses and embraces between male figures.

She has explored the theory in a new book, claiming that Michelangelo drew much of his knowledge of male anatomy from his frequent visits to gay brothels and 'Turkish baths' in 16th century Italy.

"The virile male bodies are inspired by the physiology of labourers engaged in physical exertion, with taut muscles, strenuous exertion and pain etched into the expression on their faces," said Miss Lazzarini.

She said it was well documented that Michelangelo, who is believed by many historians to have been homosexual, frequented bathhouses and steam rooms tucked away in Rome's maze of cobbled alleyways.

"The bathhouses had many rooms where people could take hot and cold baths and massages. "And then there were other, secluded rooms, places of promiscuity and both male and female prostitution." >>> Nick Squires in Rome | Friday, November 12, 2010

Gaddafi Hosts 20 Italian Models on All-expenses-paid Trip
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Around 20 Italian models drank warm camel's milk and stargazed in the Sahara Desert on a two-week all expenses paid trip to Libya which was hosted by Muammar Gaddafi, it emerged on Friday.

Women arrive for a meeting with Muammar Gaddafi at a Libyan cultural centre in Rome back in August. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
The women said they were treated "like queens" by the Libyan leader but encountered no evidence of so-called "bunga-bunga" sex parties.

The phrase has become part of Italy's national vocabulary after it was claimed that Silvio Berlusconi learned of the "harem-style rituals" from his friend, Col Gaddafi, and hosted similar soirées at his mansion near Milan.

The aspiring starlets stayed in five-star hotels and resorts, riding on camels and posing for pictures in front of giant posters of Col Gaddafi and the Italian prime minister. They were among several hundred showgirls who were recruited over the last 12 months by a Rome-based agency, Hostessweb, to meet Col Gaddafi during his visits to Italy.

He subjected them to rambling lectures on the superiority of Islam and the wisdom of the Koran before issuing an open invitation to visit Libya.

The women who took up the offer said they shared a breakfast of camel's milk and palm dates with the Libyan leader and that sex games were definitely not on the agenda. "The truth is that he treated us as queens," said Clio Evans, 24, an Anglo-Italian actress who has visited Libya on several occasions. "We sat in a tent and joked and laughed for ages." Miss Evans' father is from Yorkshire. >>> Nick Squires in Rome | Friday, November 12, 2010

The Cracks Are Now Showing in the Church of England
THE TELEGRAPH: A parish in Kent is shifting allegiance to Rome and, with many more likely to follow, Anglicanism is feeling the strain. Tim Ross reports.

Shortly after eight o'clock one spring morning in 2007, an earthquake struck the parish church of St Peter in Folkestone, bringing down the gable-end of the south transept.

Three years later, the 19th-century church, which opened as a chapel for local fishermen, has caused tremors of its own, becoming the first parish in England to declare its intention to defect to Rome. Within hours of the news emerging last Friday, the Bishop of Fulham announced that he, too, will take up the Pope's offer to join a new structure within the Roman Catholic Church for disaffected Anglicans.

Some are now talking openly of an "exodus" from the Anglican Communion next year, with thousands following Folkestone's lead. The Archbishop of Canterbury, from whose back yard the revolt has sprung, can be in little doubt about the seriousness of the threat. >>> Tim Ross | Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Italie : Le propos de Kadhafi créent un malaise
Le colonel Kadhafi et Silvio Berlusconi assistent à une parade équestre des carabiniers italiens. Photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Après l’appel à la conversion de l’Europe à l’islam, le «guide» libyen demande des milliards d’euros à l’Union européenne pour stopper l’immigration clandestine. L’opposition et l’Eglise catholique, mais aussi des députés de la majorité, ont protesté

Imperturbable, le colonel Kadhafi a quitté Rome mardi après une visite de deux jours qui devait célébrer le deuxième anniversaire du «traité d’amitié» italo-libyen, mais qui au bout du compte a provoqué un véritable embarras en Italie.

Au cours de son séjour, le «Guide de la Révolution», entouré de ses «amazones» (ses gardes du corps féminins en treillis militaires), a en effet multiplié les déclarations et les initiatives provocantes. Devant un parterre strictement composé de jeunes femmes, il a lancé lundi «convertissez-vous», puis leur a conseillé de se trouver des maris libyens. Auparavant, il avait estimé que «l’islam devrait devenir la religion de l’Europe tout entière».

Se plaisant à faire attendre ses hôtes, entre deux sorties spectaculaires dans le centre historique de Rome, Mouammar Kadhafi a également suscité la stupeur lorsqu’il a réclamé lundi soir «au moins 5 milliards d’euros par an» à l’Union européenne, condition selon lui, pour «stopper», depuis les côtes libyennes «l’immigration clandestine» et «éviter une Europe noire». Dans son discours prononcé lors d’un spectacle équestre, le colonel libyen a assuré qu’il avait de ce point de vue le soutien du gouvernement Berlusconi. >>> Eric Jozsef | Mardi 31 Août 2010

Gaddafi Causes Storm in Italy After Trying to Convert Young Women to Islam
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, left, shakes hands with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Photograph: The Sydney Morning Herald
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's invitation to hundreds of young women to convert to Islam overshadowed a two-day visit to Italy intended to cement the growing ties between Tripoli and Rome.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hailed Italy's relationship with Libya at an evening ceremony on Monday attended by some of the biggest names in Italian business, many hoping to pick up lucrative contracts in the energy-rich North African state.

Gaddafi called on the European Union to provide five billion euro ($7.1 billion) a year to help fight illegal immigration.

However, the mercurial leader attracted most attention earlier in the day by summoning busloads of young women hired by a hostessing agency to a meeting at a Libyan cultural centre near the Vatican and urging them to convert to Islam.

Media reports said three women had converted, although it was not possible to verify if that was true.

"It was very interesting, the role of the woman in Libya was very interesting," Barbara Persichetti, one of the women who attended, told Reuters Television.

The event, which repeated a similar operation on a previous visit to Rome last year, led to criticism from the media and opposition and embarrassment from many in Berlusconi's own centre-right camp.

"What would happen if a European head of state went to Libya or another Islamic country and invited everyone to convert to Christianity?" asked the newspaper Il Messagero. "We believe it would provoke very strong reactions across the Islamic world."

Several commentators accused Berlusconi of sacrificing principles and dignity for the sake of trade and investment ties with Libya, whose huge sovereign wealth fund has invested heavily in Italy in recent years.

"Ever since Gaddafi arrived here, he's been taking this country for a ride, like buying women," said Stefano Pedica, a senator from the opposition Italy of Values party. ”Outdated Ideas” >>> Reuters | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

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