Vatican City

VATICAN CITY, March 6 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday rejected Russia's use of the term "special military operation" for its invasion of Ukraine, saying the country was being battered by war and urging an immediate end to the fighting.

"In Ukraine, rivers of blood and tears are flowing. This is not just a military operation but a war which sows death, destruction and misery," the pope said in his weekly address to crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square.

VATICAN CITY, March 1 (Reuters) - The defence at a Vatican corruption trial failed definitively on Tuesday to have charges against their clients dropped and the judge ordered it to begin in earnest with the questioning of a cardinal.

Court President Giuseppe Pignatone issued a slew of rejections of defence motions and objections that had built up during the previous eight hearings of the trial, which began in July.

ROME (AP) - The Vatican is offering its services for any negotiation aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s No. 2 official, told several Italian newspapers in an interview published on Monday, that “even though what we feared and what we hoped wouldn’t happen did happen, there is always space for negotiation.”

He noted that the Holy See, “offering its willingness to facilitate dialogue with Russia, is always ready to help the parties to get back on that path.”

VATICAN CITY, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Pope Francis bemoaned Italy's plunging birthrate on Sunday, warning that the decline represented a threat to the future of the country.

Births in Italy last year hit their lowest level since the unification of the nation in 1861, the national statistics office said this month, with the figure falling for a 12th consecutive year. 

"The demographic winter is a real worry, at least here in Italy," the pope said in his weekly address in front of St. Peter's Basilica.

VATICAN CITY, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Cardinal Peter Turkson, seen by some as a candidate to become the first African pope in about 1,500 years, has abruptly offered his resignation from a key Vatican department, sources familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

Turkson, 73, from Ghana, has been a key adviser to Pope Francis on issues such as climate change and social justice, and is the only African to head a Vatican department.

According to the Vatican sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the pope has yet to decide whether to accept the resignation.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday made an impassioned plea to end the practice of returning migrants rescued at sea to Libya and other unsafe countries where they suffer “inhumane violence.”

Francis also waded into a highly contentious political debate in Europe, calling on the international community to find concrete ways to manage the “migratory flows” in the Mediterranean.

“I express my closeness to the thousands of migrants, refugees and others in need of protection in Libya,″ Francis said. ”I never forget you, I hear your cries and I pray for you.”

VATICAN CITY, July 3 (Reuters) - A prominent Italian cardinal was among 10 people sent to trial in the Vatican on Saturday charged with financial crimes including embezzlement, money laundering, fraud, extortion and abuse of office.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu, formerly a senior official in the Vatican administration, as well as two top officials at the Vatican's Financial Intelligence Unit will go on trial on July 27 over a multi-million euro scandal involving the Vatican's purchase of a building in one of London's smartest districts.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday received VIP treatment at the Vatican, getting a private tour of the Sistine Chapel before he sat down for closed-door talks with Pope Francis.

Blinken was the first high-level official of President Joe Biden’s administration to have a private audience with the pontiff.

There was no immediate details from either side about the discussions in the Apostolic Palace.

VATICAN CITY, June 24 (Reuters) - The last time a U.S. secretary of state visited the Vatican, the diplomatic sparks flew and Pope Francis declined to receive Mike Pompeo.

When Antony Blinken meets the pope and top Vatican officials on Monday, the new secretary of state's visit will put relations between Washington and Holy See on a new footing.

It will also set the scene for a visit to the pope by Joe Biden, only the second Catholic U.S. president, expected for October.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis urged Americans on Sunday to shun violence, seek reconciliation and “protect democratic values” following the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol building by supporters of President Trump that left five people dead.

“I repeat that violence is self-destructive, always. Nothing is gained by violence and so much is lost,” the pope said in his Sunday address.