Vatican

Encouraging Catholics to participate in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Francis also announced that before the assembly of the Synod of Bishops opens in early October, there will be an ecumenical prayer vigil in St. Peter’s Square.

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne is pushing ahead with the Cologne University of Theology, but opposition is growing.

“Mature themes aside, ‘A Samurai in the Vatican’ is free of objectionable material and makes for highly informative and educational viewing. Teens as well as grown-ups will profit from learning about the important episode in diplomatic and religious history the show seeks to rescue from oblivion.”

The Vatican Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life and the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network have a gift for families for the month of October, which is traditionally dedicated to the rosary.

“In-the-pew Catholics and other people of goodwill will find it affirming of the positive role that religion can play in the public square.”

Four years after “The Vatican Cookbook” became a best-seller by revealing the secrets of the papal palate, authors David Geisser and Thomas Kelly have a sequel geared specifically for the holiday season in “The Vatican Christmas Cookbook.”

Pope Francis has extended the authority of the Eastern Catholic patriarchs to their faithful living in the countries of the Arabian Peninsula.

When Vatican communication leaders met virtually with U.S. and Canadian Catholic journalists and communication leaders June 30, they urged the group to keep up their work, think of new ways to have a broader reach and not get weighed down by society’s current polarization.