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Pope Francis on Friday said divorced and separated couples should not be excluded from Church activities, raising speculation once again the pontiff may one day lift a Church ban on divorcees receiving Holy Communion.
Rome, February 7 - The fate of Premier Enrico Letta's left-right coalition government is set to be decided in the next two weeks after the new leader of his centre-left Democratic Party (PD), Matteo Renzi, further racked up the pressure on the shaky administration.
Italy is threatening to sue the credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's for failing to value its historical and cultural treasures. The country that bequeathed the world Dante, da Vinci and an enviable vision of La Dolce Vita, thinks financial analysts would not have issued a damaging credit downgrade against Italy if they had paid more attention to its cultural wealth than its spiralling budget deficit.
The head of Italy's largest party laid out his plan for a leaner and weaker Upper House on Thursday. Matteo Renzi, leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), said that the reformed Senate of Italy's parliament will have 150 members, according to a draft reform drawn up after he reached a deal with centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi last month.
Frida Kahlo's life story and place in art history are the focus of two separate exhibits - and a major joint effort - between museums in Rome and Genoa this year. From March 20 to August 31, Rome's Scuderie del Quirinale will analyze the revered Mexican painter's relationship with artistic movements of her time, from Mexican Modernism to European Surrealism.
A sharply critical United Nations panel accused the Vatican on Wednesday of putting its reputation and interests above those of children who had been sexually abused by priests. It called on the Vatican to immediately remove all known or suspected molesters from their posts and report them to civil authorities.
The Queen is to meet Pope Francis for the first time on a visit to the Vatican in April, the British embassy in Rome has announced. The meeting – the first between the supreme governor of the Church of England and the leader of the Roman Catholic church since 2010 – will take place as part of a wider visit to Rome.
A young Irish man has become the first person ever with Down Syndrome to do a brief internship as a journalist with Vatican Radio. Michael Gannon spent January 13 to January 24 at the English desk of the broadcaster. "It was an important experience for us," said Sean Patrick Lovett, head of the English-language programs. "It forced us to see reality from a different perspective.
Three daunting facts confront anyone interested in buying one of Amedeo Modigliani’s distinctive elongated portraits. They tend to have multimillion price tags; they are a favorite of forgers; and despite an abundance of experts, no inventory of his works is considered both trustworthy and complete. Christian Parisot, for instance, the author of one catalog and the president of the Modigliani Institute in Rome, is due in court this week in Rome on charges that he knowingly authenticated fake works.
The judge who sentenced Amanda Knox to 28½ years for the murder of her British roommate was widely criticized Monday for suggesting Knox's former boyfriend might have escaped guilt by trying to pin the murder on Knox.