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 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 On Friday afternoon, during a visit to the "school of peace", Pope Leo XIV sought to encourage the young people on the ship to listen in "a world that is increasingly prone to violence, hatred and separation". https://www.thelocal.it/20251018/pope-leo-visits-ship-sailing-the-mediterranean-to-promote-peace Sat, 18 Oct 2025 14:57:59 +0200 pope-leo-visits-ship-sailing-the-mediterranean-to-promote-peace The Vatican said Friday its anti-sexual abuse commission would work more closely with its evangelization branch in order to better protect minors, including training bishops from dioceses far from Rome. https://www.thelocal.it/20230422/popes-commission-against-minor-abuse-to-train-bishops Sat, 22 Apr 2023 11:54:50 +0200 popes-commission-against-minor-abuse-to-train-bishops Pope Francis expressed his pleasure at being once again among his flock on Wednesday as he delivered his weekly general audience in public for the first time in six months. https://www.thelocal.it/20210512/pope-resumes-public-audience-after-six-months-of-coronavirus-closure Wed, 12 May 2021 14:03:03 +0200 pope-resumes-public-audience-after-six-months-of-coronavirus-closure Pope Francis proclaimed vaccines an "essential tool" in ending the pandemic in his Easter Sunday address and urged their swift rollout to the world's poorest countries. https://www.thelocal.it/20210404/pope-calls-for-a-quicker-vaccine-rollout-in-italys-easter-sunday-message Sun, 04 Apr 2021 15:51:29 +0200 pope-calls-for-a-quicker-vaccine-rollout-in-italys-easter-sunday-message Pope Francis held a scaled down 'Way of the Cross' service on Friday in a quiet St. Peter's Square due to Italy's lockdown measures. The poignant procession saw children take the spotlight to share their dreams and fears. https://www.thelocal.it/20210403/children-lead-the-way-in-italys-reduced-good-friday-service Sat, 03 Apr 2021 13:02:03 +0200 children-lead-the-way-in-italys-reduced-good-friday-service Pope Francis unable to celebrate New Year's masses Thursday evening and Friday morning at St Peter's Basilica because he is suffering from sciatica, the Vatican announced. https://www.thelocal.it/20210101/bout-of-sciatica-forces-pope-to-skip-new-years-masses-vatican Fri, 01 Jan 2021 10:10:01 +0100 bout-of-sciatica-forces-pope-to-skip-new-years-masses-vatican 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 Pope Francis on Saturday granted his first group audience since the Vatican's coronavirus lockdown was lifted to doctors and nurses from Lombardy, the Italian region hit hardest by the pandemic. https://www.thelocal.it/20200621/pope-thanks-medics-in-first-group-audience-since-lockdown Sun, 21 Jun 2020 12:59:41 +0200 pope-thanks-medics-in-first-group-audience-since-lockdown A new on-demand service, VatiVision, that has been dubbed the "Netflix of the Vatican", was due to be launched on Monday in Italy, broadcasting films, series and documentaries with Christian messages, before an eventual rollout to eight other countries. https://www.thelocal.it/20200606/netflix-of-the-vatican-launches-on-italian-tv Sat, 06 Jun 2020 08:53:54 +0200 netflix-of-the-vatican-launches-on-italian-tv The Vatican unseals the archives of history's most contentious popes on Monday, potentially shedding light on why Pius XII stayed silent during the extermination of six million Jews in the Holocaust. https://www.thelocal.it/20200302/will-archives-reveal-why-ww2-pope-stayed-quiet-on-holocaust Mon, 02 Mar 2020 11:10:46 +0100 will-archives-reveal-why-ww2-pope-stayed-quiet-on-holocaust Pope Francis will gather Catholic bishops at the Vatican Sunday to champion the isolated and poverty-struck indigenous communities of the Amazon, whose way of life is under threat. https://www.thelocal.it/20191005/vatican-to-shine-light-on-amazons-indigenous-communities Sat, 05 Oct 2019 12:59:08 +0200 vatican-to-shine-light-on-amazons-indigenous-communities Vatican Radio is to start broadcasting a weekly news bulletin and podcast in Latin, the Holy See's official but slowly disappearing language. https://www.thelocal.it/20190606/hebdomada-papae-the-popes-new-podcast-in-latin Thu, 06 Jun 2019 16:12:11 +0200 hebdomada-papae-the-popes-new-podcast-in-latin Pope Francis reiterated on Saturday that abortion is unacceptable, saying its use amounted to the hiring of a "paid killer." https://www.thelocal.it/20190525/pope-condemns-abortion-as-use-of-paid-killer Sat, 25 May 2019 19:07:01 +0200 pope-condemns-abortion-as-use-of-paid-killer A cardinal who carries out acts of charity in the name of the pope has restored electricity to a building occupied by 150 families after they were cut off, Italian media reported Sunday. https://www.thelocal.it/20190512/popes-alms-giver-breaks-police-seal-to-return-power-to-rome-families Sun, 12 May 2019 17:59:58 +0200 popes-alms-giver-breaks-police-seal-to-return-power-to-rome-families Pope Francis is being urged by experts to take greater care when referring to "hypocritical" Pharisees, a stereotype that fuelled centuries of bad blood between Catholics and Jews. https://www.thelocal.it/20190512/pope-francis-warned-off-anti-semitic-pharisee-stereotype Sun, 12 May 2019 13:12:45 +0200 pope-francis-warned-off-anti-semitic-pharisee-stereotype Pope Francis on Sunday called for the evacuation of refugees held in detention camps in Libya, particularly women and children, as fighting there escalates. https://www.thelocal.it/20190428/pope-appeals-for-evacuation-of-refugees-in-libya-camps Sun, 28 Apr 2019 17:50:28 +0200 pope-appeals-for-evacuation-of-refugees-in-libya-camps Pope Francis arrives in Morocco on Saturday for a visit which will see him meet Muslim leaders and migrants ahead of a mass with the country's minority Catholic community. https://www.thelocal.it/20190330/pope-visits-morocco-to-meet-migrants-boost-dialogue Sat, 30 Mar 2019 12:37:50 +0100 pope-visits-morocco-to-meet-migrants-boost-dialogue Pope Francis has rejected the resignation of French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who was handed a six-month suspended sentence this month for failing to report sex abuse by a priest under his authority, the cardinal said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20190319/pope-rejects-resignation-of-french-cardinal-in-sex-abuse-cover-up Tue, 19 Mar 2019 16:56:23 +0100 pope-rejects-resignation-of-french-cardinal-in-sex-abuse-cover-up Pope Francis has warned that the positive values of sport are being polluted by doping and corruption as he met Saturday with members of European and African cycling federations. https://www.thelocal.it/20190310/pope-francis-doping-and-corruption-polluting-sport Sun, 10 Mar 2019 10:42:35 +0100 pope-francis-doping-and-corruption-polluting-sport