https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The 2025 Jubilee year of Catholic celebrations drew over 33 million pilgrims to Rome, the Vatican said on Monday, as the last of the faithful passed through the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica. https://www.thelocal.it/20260106/two-pope-catholic-jubilee-draws-33-million-pilgrims-to-rome Tue, 06 Jan 2026 10:11:07 +0100 two-pope-catholic-jubilee-draws-33-million-pilgrims-to-rome Pope Leo XIV called on the Italian Church to develop a "culture of prevention" on clerical child sex abuse, after critics said nothing had changed in 30 years. https://www.thelocal.it/20251121/pope-urges-italian-church-to-change-culture-on-abuse-prevention Fri, 21 Nov 2025 09:35:26 +0100 pope-urges-italian-church-to-change-culture-on-abuse-prevention Victims of paedophile priests on Tuesday unveiled a campaign for Italy to hold an independent investigation into abuse carried out on the Vatican's doorstep. https://www.thelocal.it/20220215/now-or-never-victims-of-italys-predator-priests-push-for-abuse-inquiry Tue, 15 Feb 2022 13:15:46 +0100 now-or-never-victims-of-italys-predator-priests-push-for-abuse-inquiry There was worrying news on Wednesday for superstitious Italians. https://www.thelocal.it/20201217/bad-omen-dismay-in-italy-as-blood-of-naples-saint-fails-to-liquefy Thu, 17 Dec 2020 12:01:54 +0100 bad-omen-dismay-in-italy-as-blood-of-naples-saint-fails-to-liquefy A fugitive who disguised herself as a nun has been caught by police after spending two years hiding out in convents in northern Italy. https://www.thelocal.it/20200214/italian-police-catch-fake-nun-hiding-out-in-convents Fri, 14 Feb 2020 10:48:05 +0100 italian-police-catch-fake-nun-hiding-out-in-convents Pope Francis on Friday again spoke out against assisted suicide and euthanasia, days before a top Italian court is to examine the thorny question in the largely Roman Catholic country. https://www.thelocal.it/20190920/pope-decries-euthanasia-as-italian-court-considers-assisted-suicide-law Fri, 20 Sep 2019 17:03:32 +0200 pope-decries-euthanasia-as-italian-court-considers-assisted-suicide-law Italy's education ministry caused an outcry by offering teachers the chance to take exorcism courses. https://www.thelocal.it/20190218/exorcism-italian-teachers-offered-training-course-on-correct-practice Mon, 18 Feb 2019 12:25:39 +0100 exorcism-italian-teachers-offered-training-course-on-correct-practice Pope Francis said Saturday that silence on sexual abuse can "no longer be tolerated" as he ordered an investigation into Vatican archives concerning former archbishop of Washington Theodore McCarrick, who resigned in July. https://www.thelocal.it/20181007/pope-says-church-can-no-longer-tolerate-silence-on-abuse Sun, 07 Oct 2018 05:18:10 +0200 pope-says-church-can-no-longer-tolerate-silence-on-abuse Pope Francis on Friday accepted the resignations of two more bishops from Chile, which is investigating more than 100 cases of sexual abuse by the clergy, the Vatican said. https://www.thelocal.it/20180921/pope-accepts-resignations-of-two-more-chilean-bishops-vatican Fri, 21 Sep 2018 15:15:00 +0200 pope-accepts-resignations-of-two-more-chilean-bishops-vatican Pope Francis is on the side of victims of more than 300 "predator" priests in the United States who are accused of abusing over 1,000 children across seven decades, the Vatican said Thursday. https://www.thelocal.it/20180817/pope-on-side-of-victims-of-us-predator-priests Fri, 17 Aug 2018 11:15:00 +0200 pope-on-side-of-victims-of-us-predator-priests Pope Francis declared 35 new saints on Sunday, nearly all of them martyrs drawn from the bloody history of Catholicism's spread in Latin America. https://www.thelocal.it/20171016/pope-francis-names-new-saints Mon, 16 Oct 2017 11:16:59 +0200 pope-francis-names-new-saints A controversial trial of two investigative journalists and three others involved in the latest Vatican leaks scandal began on Tuesday with judges rejecting an appeal for the charges against one of the reporters to be dismissed. https://www.thelocal.it/20151124/vatican-court-throws-out-objections-to-trial-of-journalists Tue, 24 Nov 2015 17:30:35 +0100 vatican-court-throws-out-objections-to-trial-of-journalists A gathering of bishops intended to reshape Catholic teaching on the family kicks off Sunday against a backdrop of controversy over the thorny and divisive issue of homosexuality. https://www.thelocal.it/20151004/gay-row-overshadows-catholic-church-synod Sun, 04 Oct 2015 13:43:28 +0200 gay-row-overshadows-catholic-church-synod An Italian newspaper has outraged the Catholic Church after a reporter went undercover to confession and published articles detailing advice her confessors had given her. https://www.thelocal.it/20150313/bishops-blast-paper-over-confession-articles Fri, 13 Mar 2015 17:11:57 +0100 bishops-blast-paper-over-confession-articles A new film about Pope Pius XII has sparked controversy over claims the pontiff saved 800,000 Jews from the Nazis during the Second World War. https://www.thelocal.it/20150302/film-claims-italian-pope-saved-800000-jews Mon, 02 Mar 2015 18:29:00 +0100 film-claims-italian-pope-saved-800000-jews The Catholic Church in Italy from Sunday will implement new guidelines against child sex abuse that have proved controversial because they impose a "moral duty" but no legal obligation to report allegations to the police. https://www.thelocal.it/20140405/italian-bishops-to-apply-disputed-anti-abuse-rules-2 Sat, 05 Apr 2014 12:20:40 +0200 italian-bishops-to-apply-disputed-anti-abuse-rules-2 Pope Francis will create his first batch of cardinals on Saturday, with nine of the 19 coming from South America, Africa and Asia. https://www.thelocal.it/20140222/pope-moves-away-from-europe-for-new-cardinals Sat, 22 Feb 2014 10:16:00 +0100 pope-moves-away-from-europe-for-new-cardinals A council of cardinals set up by Pope Francis to advise him on Vatican reforms began its latest meeting on Monday to discuss how to overhaul the Catholic Church's scandal-hit bureaucracy and finances. https://www.thelocal.it/20140217/tension-as-vaticans-g8-meets-to-revamp-bank Mon, 17 Feb 2014 18:50:20 +0100 tension-as-vaticans-g8-meets-to-revamp-bank The Vatican on Friday criticized a damning UN report on the Catholic Church's handling of child sex abuse cases, saying it had "grave limits" and accusing UN committee members of following "prejudiced" views. https://www.thelocal.it/20140207/vatican-hits-back-at-prejudiced-un-sex-abuse-report Fri, 07 Feb 2014 16:07:00 +0100 vatican-hits-back-at-prejudiced-un-sex-abuse-report The UN's damning report on the Vatican's handling of child sex abuse cases has turned up the pressure on the Catholic Church to convince a sceptical international community it has adopted a zero-tolerance approach. https://www.thelocal.it/20140206/vatican-under-scrutiny-after-un-sex-abuse-report Thu, 06 Feb 2014 15:16:00 +0100 vatican-under-scrutiny-after-un-sex-abuse-report