Jezebel: Vatican

The Pope Baptizes Sixteen Lucky Babies in the Sistine Chapel

Cassie Murdoch — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:25:00 EST

Pope Benedict XVI baptizes a child at the Vatican Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012. The pope baptized 16 babies in the splendor of the Sistine Chapel. Some of the infants looked at him wide-eyed after he poured water from a golden shell-shaped dish over their forehead, as Benedict administered the sacrament Sunday, welcoming them formally by name into the Catholic church. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano) More »

Fox News Apologizes To Jews After Insinuating They Killed Jesus

Cassie Murdoch — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 22:45:00 EST

If you thought Fox News was going to take a break from being completely obnoxious for the holidays, you were sadly mistaken. In a move that can only be described as asinine, Fox Latin America put up a poll on Facebook asking their followers who they thought was responsible for the death of Jesus Christ. Here were the three possible answers: Pontius Pilate, the Jewish People, or the High Priests. More »

Marriage Is Not a Right, Says Pope

Lauri Apple — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:00:36 EST

Pope Benedict XVI doesn't think people can claim any "right to a nuptial ceremony." Also, he thinks better premarital counseling could help avoid a "vicious circle" of invalid marriages. Unsure on the first part, but minimizing risk sounds good. Thoughts? More »

Vatican Sensibly Declares Ordaining Women As Bad As Pedophilia

Irin Carmon — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:07:52 EDT

The Catholic Church failed to prevent gay marriage in Argentina, but it's still fighting mightily on another front: ordaining women. Today, it classified attempting to ordain women as being as bad as "clerical sex abuse of minors, heresy and schism." More »

Bristol Palin: Telling Mom About The Baby Was "Harder Than Labor"

Katy Kelleher — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:40:00 EDT

• In a recent interview, Bristol Palin describes breaking the news about her pregnancy to her mother as being really, really painful. She also has this to say about her role as an advocate for abstinence: More »

Women March In 3-Day Priesthood Party

Katy Kelleher — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:20:00 EDT

"While the hierarchy spends their time covering up scandals and throwing major celebrations for themselves, Catholic women are working for justice and making a positive difference in the world," said a protester at Tuesday's march on the Vatican. [AP] More »

Catholic Church: Condom Machines In School "Trivialize Sexuality"

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:40:00 EST

The Vatican denounced a Rome high school for becoming the first Italian school with condom vending machines in bathrooms. Officials installed the machines after finding 40% of Italian teenage girls use no contraception and 20% use the withdrawal method. [Newser] More »

Away In A Manger

Anna Holmes — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:10:00 EST

[Vatican City, December 13. Image via Getty]

Vatican Reaffirms Compassion Is For Fetuses, Not Children

Megan Carpentier — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:30:00 EDT

The Vatican issued a "clarification" to comments by Monsignor Rino Fisichella that Brazilian Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho should have tried some compassion in the case of the 9-year-old rape victim who had an abortion. In short: Fuck compassion. [Time] More »

Vatican Archbishop Defends Abortion For 9-Year Old Brazilian Girl

Hortense Smith — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:30:00 EDT

Archbishop Rino Fisichella has come out in defense of the 9-year-old girl who received an abortion after being raped by her stepfather, stating that her life was in danger due to the pregnancy. More »

Vatican: Washing Machine Has Done More To Liberate Women Than Pill, Work

Sadie Stein — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:30:00 EDT

On International Women's Day, the Vatican's newspaper observed: "Some say the pill, some say abortion rights and some the right to work outside the home. Some, however, dare to go further: the washing machine." More »

Italy Divided Over Woman In Coma

Hortense Smith — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 13:30:00 EST

38 year old Eluana Englaro of Italy has been in a coma for the past 17 years. Her family is now attempting to pull her feeding tubes, but the Italian government is not allowing it. More »

Vatican Calls Obama "Arrogant" For Reversing Global Gag Rule

Hortense Smith — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 12:30:00 EST

Not everyone has been swept up in Obamamania as of late: the Vatican has released a statement condemning the President for reversing the "global gag rule," and lifting a ban on overseas abortion funding. More »

Mumbai Still Burning, World Still Turning

Megan Carpentier — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST

The fighting that began Wednesday in Mumbai is continuing today. Nearly 200 people have been confirmed dead so far, with almost 300 others injured. Militants are still fighting and holding (and killing) hostages in the Taj Mahal hotel and in a Jewish community center. [NY Times, Huffington Post, NY Times]
Barack Obama has issued a statement condemning the attacks. [Washington Post]
The Iraqi Parliament has passed the Status of Forces Agreement, which could have us out by 2010, but will have us out no later than 2012. [Washington Independent]
In other news, former First Lady Barbara Bush has been moved out of the ICU following surgery to repair a perforated stomach ulcer. [CNN]

But Doesn't The Bush Administration Care About The Nation's Heroin Addicts?

Moe — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:30:00 EDT

Society has a drug problem, if numbers like these are any indication (and they are). I mean, don't get me wrong, drugs are an excellent way for consumers to waste time, but add to that the snitch-killing and the crop dusting and the weapons stockpiling and the car detailing and wiretapping and the condom swallowing and the fact that determined junkies will figure out how to fatally overdose on legal cancer drugs anyway and you start to think, hey now let's just call this a day, DEA. But is that why the Bush Administration, according to yesterday's Times Magazine, appears to have given up on the Drug War in Afghanistan? Or is it just like, what the fuck else are they going to grow there? That and how Gabriel Garcia Marquez's plan to eradicate the Colombian coke trade didn't work out so well, plus sundry other dour observations and musings on the meaninglessness of with me and Megan after the jump. More »

Thoughts On The Roman Catholic Womenpriests…

Moe — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:20:00 EDT

You know that's two words, right? Why not "Women Priests"? Did something happen where like you ordered nine hundred tote bags for Take Your Daughter To Work, It's One Of The Perks Of Getting Excommunicated Day or something and they all came back saying "womenpriests" because whoever took the order was, like, some flaky Wiccan chick or some shit and you just decided to go with it? Anyway, since all the Catholic females I know are too busy using abortion as a birth control method I am heartened to hear there are still some that are bothering to enlist secret bishops in their bid for Vatican equality and fight the power from…exile in Boston. [Boston Globe] More »

How In The Name Of Jesus Did Raffaello Follieri Get People To Believe Him?

Moe — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:00:00 EDT

It occurred to me at a party last night that you could be heading into some serious social occasions this weekend without a full grasp of how fucking awesome Anne Hathaway's ex-boyfriend is, and I can't let that happen because it is the feelgood story of the summer because it's literally impossible not to come away with it imbued in the sense of your own of intellectual superiority. I'll explain! Raffaello Follieri is an Italian ex-convict's son who came to the United States a few years back and met, through a lawyer friend, a sleazy billionaire supermarket magnate named Ron Burkle. The year was 2005. The Orange County Archdiocese had just agreed to pay a record $100 million pedophile settlement and all across the country Catholic churches were trying to sell off their rectories and lyceums and school properties and whatnot. So Raffaello comes in and tells Burkle he has first dibs on all of it. Why? Because he's the CFO of the Vatican. At 26 years old. Does the Vatican even have a CFO? Who knows, right, maybe that sort of thing would be public information if it weren't the Vatican we were talking about. More »

God Bless Ridiculous Fashion Folk, Every One Of Them

Jennifer — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:30:00 EDT

God bless Vivienne Westwood for being so undeniably herself. Says the fashion designer-cum-philosopher: "I'd like to do less, but there are people dependent on me now. My thing has always been, just let me finish this pair of trousers and then I can read my book. We've all got to wear something, I suppose. So my advice would be to buy quality. Choose well. I think there's a certain status in seeing someone wearing the same thing over and over again." [Vogue UK]

Calling Britney 'Crazy': A Way To Keep Our Jobs? Or Lose Them? So Confused

Jennifer — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 19:05:22 EDT

Apparently posting up photos of Britney Spears and labeling her "crazy" is illegal. Does this mean we're part of some sort of underground economy? [E!]