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 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 A decree on training for Roman Catholic priests published on Wednesday stresses the obligation of sexual abstinence, as well as barring gay people and those who support "gay culture" from holy orders. https://www.thelocal.it/20161208/supporters-of-gay-culture-cannot-become-catholic-priests-pope Thu, 08 Dec 2016 11:06:34 +0100 supporters-of-gay-culture-cannot-become-catholic-priests-pope Pope Francis declared on Monday that all priests would have the right to forgive abortion, making permanent a temporary measure put in place for the Vatican's jubilee year. https://www.thelocal.it/20161122/pope-francis-grants-priests-the-right-to-forgive-abortion Tue, 22 Nov 2016 10:03:57 +0100 pope-francis-grants-priests-the-right-to-forgive-abortion An Italian priest, arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of sexually abusing a minor, allegedly told his victim that he would go to hell if he spoke out about the abuse. https://www.thelocal.it/20160615/alleged-paedophile-italian-priest-told-victim-he-would-go-to-hell Wed, 15 Jun 2016 14:24:04 +0200 alleged-paedophile-italian-priest-told-victim-he-would-go-to-hell The Vatican on Friday defended the Catholic Church's action on paedophile priests, saying popes Francis and Benedict XVI had "courageously" tackled the issue but admitted there was still much to be done in many countries. https://www.thelocal.it/20160304/vatican-admits-still-much-to-do-to-stop-paedophile-priests Fri, 04 Mar 2016 18:28:02 +0100 vatican-admits-still-much-to-do-to-stop-paedophile-priests An Italian organization seeking to bring paedophile Catholic priests in Italy to justice has developed a detailed map showing all reported cases from the last 10 years. https://www.thelocal.it/20160303/hundreds-of-italian-paedophile-priests-outed-in-shocking-map Thu, 03 Mar 2016 17:15:58 +0100 hundreds-of-italian-paedophile-priests-outed-in-shocking-map Pope Francis on Friday admitted that he himself was "scared" of some of the neurotic and unstable people who became Catholic priests. "I keep away from them. They bite!" he said. https://www.thelocal.it/20151121/pope-scared-of-neurotic-unstable-priests Sat, 21 Nov 2015 09:35:31 +0100 pope-scared-of-neurotic-unstable-priests The Vatican allegedly sends gay priests to a monastery in northern Italy “to be cured”, Italian media reported. https://www.thelocal.it/20151006/gay-priests-sent-to-italy-monastery-to-be-cured Tue, 06 Oct 2015 14:52:03 +0200 gay-priests-sent-to-italy-monastery-to-be-cured An Italian man and his French female accomplice have been arrested in the southern French city of Toulon for allegedly robbing retired nuns and priests whose addresses they obtained from a church directory. https://www.thelocal.it/20140923/italian-robbed-retired-nuns-and-priests Tue, 23 Sep 2014 17:31:00 +0200 italian-robbed-retired-nuns-and-priests Pope Francis's hints about a possible opening on the issue of married priests, which followed an open letter by 26 women who said they were in love with clergymen living in Italy, are sowing confusion in the Vatican and among Catholic reformists and conservatives alike. https://www.thelocal.it/20140716/popes-hints-on-married-priests-trouble-vatican Wed, 16 Jul 2014 11:45:00 +0200 popes-hints-on-married-priests-trouble-vatican Italian police dressed as priests have ensnared two would-be blackmailers who were threatening to publish wiretaps of an erotic conversation with a clergyman, local media reported. https://www.thelocal.it/20140623/police-wore-priest-garb-to-catch-erotice-tape-blackmailers Mon, 23 Jun 2014 10:18:00 +0200 police-wore-priest-garb-to-catch-erotice-tape-blackmailers A UN anti-torture watchdog on Monday began a two-day grilling of the Vatican over its efforts to stamp out child sex abuse by priests. https://www.thelocal.it/20140505/un-watchdog-grills-vatican-over-child-abuse Mon, 05 May 2014 14:27:05 +0200 un-watchdog-grills-vatican-over-child-abuse Pope Francis held a mass on Friday to celebrate the sainthood of Pierre Favre, an early Jesuit priest the pontiff has said particularly inspired him. https://www.thelocal.it/20140103/pope-calls-on-jesuits-to-change-the-world Fri, 03 Jan 2014 14:11:00 +0100 pope-calls-on-jesuits-to-change-the-world As Italy endures its worse recession in more than 20 years, more and more Italians are seeking help from the church. https://www.thelocal.it/20130724/italians-turn-to-priests-in-times-of-strife Wed, 24 Jul 2013 18:15:00 +0200 italians-turn-to-priests-in-times-of-strife