Understanding Islam: Pontifical institute Fosters Study, Dialogue

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE: VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Between their morning cappuccino and their evening plate of pasta, a group of Catholic students from around the world are studying Arabic and Islam in the heart of Rome's Trastevere neighborhood.

Since 1926, the Missionaries of Africa have sponsored the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, preparing students to live and minister in the Muslim world, promoting dialogue and mutual respect.

"Catholic engagement with Islam, in the spirit and light of Vatican II, must be based on goodwill and an objective knowledge of the other tradition, and not on misconceptions and false ideas inherited from centuries of conflict and hostility," said Father Diego Sarrio Cucarella, a Missionary of Africa and director of studies at the institute, which is known by its Italian acronym, PISAI. » | Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service | Thursday, March 2, 2017

ISIS Threat to POPE: Fears for Holy Father as Terror Nuts Plot 'FINAL MASSACRE' in Rome

Pope Francis, who it is feared may be
next on ISIS's terror hit list

EXPRESS: EVIL Islamic State are plotting to kill POPE FRANCIS, the Vatican fears, after multiple propaganda videos threatening Rome were released by Daesh militants.

The Vatican has admitted it is a target for crazed jihadis due to its religious links. Any attack would send shivers across the globe.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin said recently the Vatican was considering whether to ramp up security.

He said: "The Vatican could be a target because of its religious significance.

"We are capable of increasing the level of security in the Vatican and the surrounding area.

"But we will not let ourselves be paralysed by fear."

Rome has been the subject of a number of threatening terror films released by the extremists in recent weeks.

It is thought the focus on Rome, and specifically the Vatican City, may be in response to the Pope's recent condemnation of the deadly terror attacks in Paris, as well as its status of the capital of the Catholic world. » | Joey Millar | Saturday, December 12, 2015

Crowds Gather for Popes' Double Canonisation

Thousands of people gather at the Vatican for the canonisation of two Popes Emeritus, John Paul II and John XXIII. Pope Benedict leads the unprecedented mass in which his two predecessors are declared saints of the Roman Catholic church. Foreign leaders including Robert Mugabe and Enda Kenny were present for the service

THE GUARDIAN: Popes John Paul II and John XXIII declared saints in double canonization: Hundreds of thousands gather at Rome to witness canonisation of two great figures of 20th-century Roman Catholicism » | Lizzy Davies in Vatican Vity | Sunday, April 27, 2014

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

Pope Urges Dialogue with Islam, More Help for the Poor

REUTERS.COM: Pope Francis urged the West on Friday to intensify dialogue with Islam and appealed to the world to do more to combat poverty and protect the environment.

Speaking in Italian, the new pontiff said richer countries should fight what he called "the spiritual poverty of our times" by re-forging links with God.

"How many poor people there still are in the world! And what great suffering they have to endure!" he told the diplomats in the Vatican's frescoed Sala Regia.

Some critics of the Catholic Church, which has been struggling with scandals and internal divisions, say its rejection of contraception in particular harms the poor.

Others say it does much good in the developing world, running thousands of hospitals, schools, orphanages and hospices.

Francis made his appeal in an address to diplomats accredited to the Vatican, sending a message through them to the leaders of the 180 states with which the Vatican has diplomatic relations.

He urged them to help keep religion central in public life and promote inter-religious dialogue as a catalyst for efforts to build peace.

"In this work (peace building), the role of religion is fundamental. It is not possible to build bridges between people while forgetting God," he said.

"But the converse is also true: it is not possible to establish true links with God while ignoring other people. Hence it is important to intensify dialogue among the various religions, and I am thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam."

Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, said he was grateful that many Muslim religious and civilian leaders attended his inaugural Mass on Tuesday. DIALOGUE, NOT RIVALRY » | Philip Pullella | VATICAN CITY | Friday, March 22, 2013

Arabic Spoken at Pope's Weekly General Audience for First Time

THE GUARDIAN: Vatican officials hope move will help reach more Christians and Muslims in Middle East

Arabic has made its debut as one of the official languages at Pope Benedict XVI's weekly general audiences as part of a Vatican attempt to reach out more to Christians and Muslims in the Middle East.

The Vatican is concerned about the exodus from the Middle East of Christians, many of whom leave because they fear for their safety. Christians now comprise 5% of the population of the region, down from 20% a century ago.

According to some estimates, the current population of 12 million Christians in the Middle East could halve by 2020 if security and birth rates continue to decline.

Vatican officials said that speaking Arabic during the audiences, which are broadcast live on television and radio across the world, would send a comforting message to Christians in a region that is home to many Christian holy places. » | Reuters in Vatican City | Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Pope's Butler Was Trying to Protect Benedict XVI from 'Wolves'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Italian journalist behind the Vatileaks scandal has defended the actions of the Pope's butler, saying he was trying to protect Benedict XVI from "wolves" circling around him in the Holy See.

Gianluigi Nuzzi called on the 85-year-old pontiff to pardon Paolo Gabriele, his butler, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Saturday after being found guilty by a Vatican court of stealing confidential papers from the Pope's offices.

Mr Nuzzi said a stream of cardinals and bishops approached the butler in the hope that through him they could communicate their unhappiness about the power games and intrigues that were allegedly taking place at the heart of the Catholic Church.

"Little by little Paolo Gabriele became the confidant of those who, among the bishops and cardinals, were like him torn between their sincere admiration for the Pope and concern over behind-the-scenes manoeuvring," Mr Nuzzi wrote in an article printed by newspapers in Spain, Germany and France.

The claim is key because it contradicts the Vatican's insistence that Mr Gabriele was a well-meaning but deeply misguided soul whose only collaborator was a computer expert. The technician, Claudio Sciarpelletti, is expected to go on trial next month for aiding and abetting the thefts.

Mr Nuzzi's editorial confirms the opinion of many Vatican analysts that for all its supposed transparency, the butler's trial was a cover-up and that he may have been just a small part of a much broader conspiracy. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Monday, October 08, 2012

LE MONDE: Le pape doit gracier son ancien majordome, Paolo Gabriele: Condamné à 18 mois de réclusion, Paolo Gabriele, le majordome de Benoît XVI, sera-t-il gracié par le pape ? La miséricorde de l'Evangile et de l'Eglise prévoient le pardon. J'appelle solennellement le saint père à accorder sa grâce à son ex-collaborateur, puni pour avoir soustrait des documents dont il a fait parvenir des photocopies au journaliste que je suis. Paolo Gabriele n'a violé aucun secret militaire ou diplomatique comme dans le cas de Wikileaks. Son geste est un geste de dénonciation. Il a mis sous les yeux de tous les réalités cachées du Vatican qui nuisent à l'Eglise elle-même. » | Par Gianluigi Nuzzi, journaliste italien indépendant, auteur de "Sa Sainteté" | lundi 08 octobre 2012

SÜDTIROL ONLINE: „Vatileaks“: Journalist Nuzzi bittet Papst um Begnadigung Gabrieles: Der Journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi bittet den Papst, den zu 18 Monaten Haft verurteilten früheren päpstlichen Kammerdiener Paolo Gabriele zu begnadigen. » | apa | Montag, 08. Oktober 2012

Pope’s Butler Convicted, Gets 18-month Sentence
CBS NEWS: VATICAN CITY | The pope's butler was convicted Saturday of stealing the pontiff's private documents and leaking them to a journalist, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Judge Giuseppe Dalla Torre read the verdict aloud two hours after the three-judge panel began deliberating Paolo Gabriele's fate.

The sentence was reduced to 18 months from three years because of a series of mitigating circumstances, including that Gabriele had no previous record, had worked for years for the Holy See, acknowledged that he had betrayed the pope and was convinced, "albeit erroneously." that he was doing the right thing, Dalla Torre said.

Gabriele was accused of stealing the pope's private correspondence and passing it on to journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, whose book revealed the intrigue, petty infighting and allegations of corruption and homosexual liaisons that plague the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church.

In his final appeal to the court Saturday morning, Gabriele insisted, "I don't feel like a thief," and said he leaked the pope's private correspondence out of a "visceral love" for the church and the pope.

He has said he felt the pope wasn't being informed of the "evil and corruption" in the Vatican, and that exposing the problems would put the church back on the right track. » | CBS/AP | Saturday, October 06, 2012