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 Pope Francis' traditional Christmas Eve mass will be held two hours earlier than normal to abide by Italy's coronavirus curfew, the Vatican revealed on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.it/20201210/pope-to-hold-christmas-midnight-mass-at-730pm-due-to-virus-curfew Thu, 10 Dec 2020 18:34:37 +0100 pope-to-hold-christmas-midnight-mass-at-730pm-due-to-virus-curfew Italian police in Spoleto said on Friday they had found the presumed thief who stole a church relic containing the blood of the late Pope John Paul II. https://www.thelocal.it/20201114/italian-police-seize-man-suspected-of-stealing-pope-john-pauls-blood Sat, 14 Nov 2020 09:12:08 +0100 italian-police-seize-man-suspected-of-stealing-pope-john-pauls-blood The Vatican on Monday reminded priests they should not be charging fixed prices for celebrating weddings and funerals - a common practice in parts of Italy. https://www.thelocal.it/20200721/pope-warns-italys-priests-to-stop-charging-for-weddings-and-funerals Tue, 21 Jul 2020 10:51:12 +0200 pope-warns-italys-priests-to-stop-charging-for-weddings-and-funerals Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican reopened to visitors on Monday after being closed for over two months under Italy's lockdown orders to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. https://www.thelocal.it/20200518/italy-reopens-churches-and-resumes-mass Mon, 18 May 2020 13:07:25 +0200 italy-reopens-churches-and-resumes-mass Mass, baptisms, weddings and funerals in Italian churches will be reinstated from May 18th, provided those attending abide by a set of anti-coronavirus rules, the Italian government said on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.it/20200507/italys-churches-to-reopen-to-the-public-for-mass-from-may-18th Thu, 07 May 2020 17:39:22 +0200 italys-churches-to-reopen-to-the-public-for-mass-from-may-18th French prosecutors said Friday they had asked the Vatican to lift the diplomatic immunity of its envoy to France who is under investigation for alleged sexual assault. https://www.thelocal.it/20190316/france-demands-vatican-lift-envoys-immunity-over-abuse-probe Sat, 16 Mar 2019 09:46:35 +0100 france-demands-vatican-lift-envoys-immunity-over-abuse-probe UPDATED: Pope Francis on Sunday compared the sexual abuse of children to human sacrifice as he addressed the Catholic Church's top bishops at the end of a landmark summit to tackle paedophilia. https://www.thelocal.it/20190224/pope-francis-landmark-vatican-child-abuse-summit Sun, 24 Feb 2019 10:59:24 +0100 pope-francis-landmark-vatican-child-abuse-summit A top Catholic cardinal admitted on Saturday that Church files on priests who sexually abused children were destroyed or never even drawn up, a move which allowed paedophiles to prey on others. https://www.thelocal.it/20190223/cardinal-admits-church-files-on-paedophile-priests-destroyed Sat, 23 Feb 2019 12:07:40 +0100 cardinal-admits-church-files-on-paedophile-priests-destroyed 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 The roof of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami, a historic church built on the remains on an ancient prison on Rome's Capitoline Hill, caved in suddenly on Thursday, causing severe damage but no injuries. https://www.thelocal.it/20180830/historic-church-roof-collapses-in-rome-san-giuseppe-dei-falegnami Thu, 30 Aug 2018 20:44:53 +0200 historic-church-roof-collapses-in-rome-san-giuseppe-dei-falegnami Italian police are investigating after €36,000 in cash was found inside the confession booth of the Santa Maria delle Grazie alle Fornaci church in Rome. https://www.thelocal.it/20180608/italy-money-left-in-church-confessional-santa-maria-grazie-alle-fornaci Fri, 08 Jun 2018 17:04:42 +0200 italy-money-left-in-church-confessional-santa-maria-grazie-alle-fornaci Milan police have arrested a 19-year-old man who impersonated a priest in order to gain entry to an area of Milan's cathedral reserved for clergy. https://www.thelocal.it/20170905/19-year-old-arrested-for-impersonating-a-priest-to-visit-milans-duomo-for-free Tue, 05 Sep 2017 17:11:57 +0200 19-year-old-arrested-for-impersonating-a-priest-to-visit-milans-duomo-for-free A bishop in Sicily has banned known mafia criminals from acting as godfathers at baptisms in churches in his diocese. https://www.thelocal.it/20170317/mafia-godfathers-cant-be-church-godfathers-bishop-rules Fri, 17 Mar 2017 17:56:42 +0100 mafia-godfathers-cant-be-church-godfathers-bishop-rules Pope Francis said in an interview published on Thursday that the church may consider ordaining married men who could potentially then work in remote areas faced with a shortage of priests. https://www.thelocal.it/20170310/married-men-could-soon-become-priests-says-pope Fri, 10 Mar 2017 08:33:34 +0100 married-men-could-soon-become-priests-says-pope An Italian priest will likely lose his role after allegations that he organized orgies on church property. https://www.thelocal.it/20170203/italian-priests-likely-suspended-over-orgies-in-the-rectory Fri, 03 Feb 2017 12:57:24 +0100 italian-priests-likely-suspended-over-orgies-in-the-rectory An earthquake measuring 3.8 magnitude hit the central Italian town of Amatrice on Sunday morning, causing further collapses in the town's historic centre. https://www.thelocal.it/20170130/tremor-in-amatrice-knocks-down-church Mon, 30 Jan 2017 09:52:30 +0100 tremor-in-amatrice-knocks-down-church Pope Francis on Wednesday denounced killing in God's name as "satanic" as he held a mass in Rome to honour Jacques Hamel, the French priest whose throat was slit by jihadists in July. https://www.thelocal.it/20160914/pope-says-religious-killing-is-satanic Wed, 14 Sep 2016 21:48:10 +0200 pope-says-religious-killing-is-satanic Pope Francis on Monday announced plans for a worldwide day of prayer for the victims of sexual abuse, in line with a proposal from his child protection panel. https://www.thelocal.it/20160912/catholic-church-announces-prayer-day-for-abuse-victims Mon, 12 Sep 2016 18:25:56 +0200 catholic-church-announces-prayer-day-for-abuse-victims The Bishop of Mallorca has been removed from his post by the Vatican after complaints that he had conducted an "improper relationship" with his married secretary. https://www.thelocal.it/20160908/vatican-fires-mallorca-bishop-over-affair-with-secretary Thu, 08 Sep 2016 16:10:17 +0200 vatican-fires-mallorca-bishop-over-affair-with-secretary Pope Francis on Tuesday appointed a special commission to study the possibility of women becoming deacons in a potentially historic opening on a vexed issue for the Catholic Church. https://www.thelocal.it/20160802/papal-commission-to-consider-female-deacons-in-church-vatican Tue, 02 Aug 2016 14:27:26 +0200 papal-commission-to-consider-female-deacons-in-church-vatican