Cardinal Pietro Parolin Archives

En route to Colombia, Pope addresses U.S., Venezuelan leaders
- Global Church, Pope in Colombia
- September 6, 2017
Both the United States and Venezuela were among the countries to which Pope Francis sent telegrams while passing over their airspace en route to Colombia on Wednesday. As is customary, Francis avoided commenting on political developments in either country, but it’s likely people in both may have been hoping he’d offer up a special prayer.
READ MORE
Turmoil in Venezuela to vie for Pope’s attention in Colombia
- Associated Press, Global Church, Pope in Colombia
- September 1, 2017
Pope Francis has repeatedly expressed concern about events in Venezuela and is kept briefed on the country’s deteriorating political and economic situation by the Vatican’s secretary of state, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was the papal ambassador in Caracas between 2009 and 2013.
READ MORE
Efforts to mend China-Vatican rift seem stalled over bishops
- Associated Press, Global Church
- September 1, 2017
China and the Vatican have had no formal relations for nearly seven decades, since Beijing ordered Chinese Catholics to cut ties with the Holy See soon after the foundation of the Communist state in 1949. Years of persecution followed, until Mao Zedong’s death 40 years ago led to the reopening of churches and freeing of imprisoned priests, some for decades, under the party’s anti-foreign and anti-religious policies. Popes from John Paul II onward have expressed hope for restoring diplomatic ties.
READ MORE

Pope’s top aide calls ISIS threats to Rome ‘worrying’

August 26, 2017

Pope Francis’s top aide, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, acknowledged on Saturday that seeing a recently published video from ISIS threatening Rome and calling on lone wolves to attack the Vatican, “one cannot avoid worrying.” However, he added, the video did not lead the Holy See to raise security levels.

Vatican reality check: It may not be partisan, but it’s definitely political

Analysis

August 26, 2017

While he was in Russia this week, the Vatican’s top diplomat said the Holy See is not identified with any “particular political position” — ironically, one day after Pope Francis took a position on citizenship by birth with clear political relevance in Italy right now. In truth, when Vatican officials say they’re not “political,” what they really mean is that they’re not “partisan.”

Parolin presses Russia to give back churches taken by the Soviets

Vatican

August 25, 2017

Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s top diplomat, also said that during his meetings with both religious and civil authorities in Russia he spoke about the restitution of the Catholic Churches confiscated during the Communist era, an issue that has been a major bone of contention between the Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches, as well as between the Holy See and the Kremlin.