VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has expressed his concern about the presence of "fashionable" homosexuality among the clergy of the Catholic Church, moving away from his previous more liberal statements on the matter, Corriere della Sera reports.
Francesca Halliwell
ROME - The Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office has placed dozens of people, including art critic and MP Vittorio Sgarbi, under investigation on suspicion of art forgery. The Preliminary Investigation Judge put two individuals under house arrest, and banned two gallery owners from carrying out professional activity.
30 Nov 2018
Patrick Middleton
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis entertained the possibility of selling disused, empty Italian churches to raise money for the poor in his address at the Episcopalian Conference, Il Messaggero reports on Friday.
“In the past few years, many churches have become redundant, due to the lack of believers or clergy, or a changing distribution of the population in cities and rural areas,” the pontiff said in his address. “This must be welcomed in the Church, not with anxiety, but as a sign of the times,” he emphasised.
30 Nov 2018
Italian Chamber of Deputies severs ties with Egyptian counterpart after Regeni investigation failure
Francesca Halliwell
ROME – After yet another disappointing meeting between Italian and Egyptian investigators to examine Giulio Regeni's murder, Chamber of Deputies President Roberto Fico has declared Italy will severe all relations with the Egyptian Parliament. According to a report by Il Fatto Quotidianno, the Conference of Presidents unanimously agreed with Fico’s announcement, though the Italian government and Prime Minister Conte have yet to voice their approval. Laura Boldrini, former President of the Chamber of Deputies, revealed the executive “is not complicit” in the decision.
30 Nov 2018
John Phillips
ROME – The ambassadors of Armenia and Lebanon to Italy joined respected Lebanese correspondent Talal Khrais and dozens of colleagues at a reception this week marking 30 years of distinguished reporting from his base at the Foreign Press Association in the Eternal City.
In his three decades as a Rome-based scribe, Mr Khrais has become a point of reference for expertise on the constellation of complex relations between Italy and the Middle East.
29 Nov 2018
Patrick Middleton
ROME – Inter Milan struggled against a revived Tottenham side in London in the Champions League, while Napoli’s win at home to Red Star brought them one step closer to the last 16 of the European competition.
29 Nov 2018
Francesca Halliwell
ROME - According to a a report published recently by the Italian National Statistics Institute (ISTAT), there were 45 thousand fewer births in 2017 than in 2014, and 120 thousand fewer than in 2008. This stark decrease has been attributed to “structural changes” in the Italian population, for the number of women between the ages of 15 and 49 fell by 900 thousand between 2008 and 2017.
28 Nov 2018
Francesca Halliwell
ROME - A Palestinian man has been arrested in Macomer, a town in Sardinia, on suspicion of planning to carry out a chemical attack on army barracks. According to reports, Alaji Aminun had been intending to contaminate drinking water with rat poison. The 38-year-old man, suspected to have ties with Islamic State, had left his house and entered his van when he was suddenly stopped by Italian State Police.
28 Nov 2018
Patrick Middleton
ROME – Yet another defeat in AS Roma’s shambolic opening to the season left fans fuming at the Stadio Olimpico, even though other results guaranteed the Italian side’s place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
28 Nov 2018