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Families from five continents are meeting in Milan for the 7th World Meeting. It will be these same families that will welcome Benedict XVI on Friday afternoon, 1 June, upon his arrival in the capital of Lombardia.

The participating families – coming from 100 countries including Guinea Bissau, one of the poorest countries, and even Australia from the other side of the world – are not only enlivening the Pastoral Theological Congress’ work at MiCo (Fieramilanocity) and in several places in the city and  various neighbouring dioceses in Lombardia, but are actively participating in all initiatives, such as the “Congress of children”, uniting the youngest participants… Read more »

Pope Benedict XVI met with Archbishop Paul Cremona O.P. and with Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Mercieca, together with some of the Maltese priests who work at the Holy See.  These are (from left) Mons Alfred Xuereb, the Pope’s Secretary; Mons Charles J. Scicluna, Promoter of Justice at the Congregation of the Faith; Mons Frans Bonnici, Director at the Pontifical Office for Priestly Vocations; Fr Patrick Incorvaja, from the Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura… Read more »

Monsignor Victor Grech, a pioneering figure in Caritas Malta, has been jointly nominated by MEPs Louis Grech and Simon Busuttil for the European Citizens’ Prize.

The European Citizens’ prize is an award organised by the European Parliament each year to recognize the exceptional achievements of European citizens in fostering closer integration among EU citizens and promoting the values found in the EU’s Charter of fundamental rights… Read more »

Pope Benedict XVI met Archbishop Paul Cremona O.P. and Bishop Mario Grech during a private audience on the first day of the ad Limina visit with respect to the diocese of Malta and the diocese of Gozo.  This meeting was held last Monday in the Pope’s study at the Apostolic Palace, at the Vatican.

In his initial comments to the media, Archbishop Cremona said that he spoke to the Pope about the family and the up-bringing of children, and the necessity of the transmission of faith from one generation to another as an integral part of family life.  … Read more »

Syria massacre

Pope Benedict XVI joined the international community in condemning a massacre in Syria, and he called for Christian and Muslim leaders in the country to guide their faithful in prayer and collaboration to restore peace and calm. The massacre in Houla May 25-26 left about 108 people dead, including 49 children and 34 women. The U.N. Security Council May 27 condemned the massacre of civilians and, while not pinning all the blame on the Syrian government, it accused the government of inappropriately using heavy weapons in a residential area… Read more »

Bologna earthquake

The Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” released a communique announcing that, “following the earthquake of recent days, which wrought destruction particularly in the territory of the ecclesiastical circumscriptions of Carpi, Mantua, Modena-Nonantola and Ferrara-Comacchio, the Holy Father, through the Pontifical Council ‘Cor Unum’, has decided to send a special contribution of 100,000 euro, to be shared among the dioceses affected by the calamity, to aid the Catholic Church’s assistance activities in favour of the victims… Read more »

Pope's Butler, Paolo Gabriele

The Pope’s butler has been formally named as a suspect in the Vatican’s inquiry into a series of media leaks from the Catholic Church’s top levels.

Vatican magistrates accused Paolo Gabriele, 46, of illegal possession of confidential documents.  A series of leaks, dubbed Vatileaks, has revealed alleged corruption, mismanagement and internal conflicts.

Last month, Pope Benedict XVI set up a special commission of cardinals to investigate the leaks… Read more »