Pope Francis didn’t set up the meeting; it was arranged by papal nucio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the Vatican’s envoy to the US, who was sent to the States by former Pope Benedict XVI to keep him from meddling in Vatican City politics. Archbishop Viganò turns 75 in a few months and is expected to be “retired” by the current pontiff.
“In its latest attempt to keep up with the times the Vatican has married one of its oldest traditions to the world of social media by offering ‘indulgences’ to followers of Pope Francis’ tweets.
The church’s granted indulgences reduce the time Catholics believe they will have to spend in purgatory after they have confessed and been absolved of their sins.”
More:
“Vatican offers ‘time off purgatory’ to followers of Pope Francis tweets,” Tom Kington, The Guardian
And for His Holiness:
“The Complete Guide to Twitter Lingo,” Amy-Mae Elliot, Mashable
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Attention job seekers: There is a vacancy in Vatican City. Pope Benedict XVI announced that he will leave office on February XXVIII. While rare, Papal resignation is allowed under Article 1 Canon 332 §2 of the Code of Canon Law. Catholic scholars are unclear about the pension and health insurance benefits.
The sixth and last Clericus Cup is underway, the annual football contest between seminarians in the colleges of Vatican City. This will be the final year of the competition. Just as the championship series began, the Church and Sport Section of the Pontifical Council for the Laity gave the contest last rites, citing a decline in sportsmanship, a loss of mission, and the rise of naughty Latin chanting from the sidelines.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi commemorated the work of his predecessor, Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, in a ceremony at the Vatican yesterday. Mr. Berlusconi met with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone to mark the anniversary of the 1929 Lateran Treaty establishing 109-acre Vatican City within Rome. That’s the same Cardinal Bertone who urged “everyone, especially those who hold a position of public responsibility […] to commit themselves to a more robust morality, a sense of justice and legality.” The two officials may have shaken hands, and it is unclear whether the Cardinal wiped his off afterwards.
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