(Vatican Radio) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II turned ninety on Thursday. The last time she came to the Vatican it was to meet Pope Francis together with her husband Prince Philip on the 3rd of April 2014. It was an informal meeting which marked her first encounter with this Pope. One which was a far cry from the formality of her first encounter with a Pope in the Vatican.To mark this special birthday Veronica Scarisbrick steps back in time and shares with you echoes of the first visits of the Queen to the Vatican: The first time Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II crossed the threshold of the Vatican it was 1951, she was still a Princess and the Pope to receive her in audience was Pius XII. Former Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor was studying for the priesthood at the Venerable English College at the time and shares his memories of this special moment with Philippa Hitchen: “When I met her afterwards she said she was ...
(Vatican Radio) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II turned ninety on Thursday.The last time she came to the Vatican it was to meet Pope Francis together with her husband Prince Philip on the 3rd of April 2014. It was an informal meeting which marked her first encounter with this Pope. One which was a far cry from the formality of her first encounter with a Pope in the Vatican.
To mark this special birthday Veronica Scarisbrick steps back in time and shares with you echoes of the first visits of the Queen to the Vatican:
The first time Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II crossed the threshold of the Vatican it was 1951, she was still a Princess and the Pope to receive her in audience was Pius XII. Former Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor was studying for the priesthood at the Venerable English College at the time and shares his memories of this special moment with Philippa Hitchen: “When I met her afterwards she said she was quite terrified, Buckingham Palace is all very well but it doesn't compare with the Vatican..."
The second time she was received in audience by a Roman Pontiff it was 1961, this time the Pope was John XXIII who's soon to be canonised by Pope Francis. Rosminian Father John Charles-Roux once shared with Veronica Scarisbrick his memories of that event which took place in the context of the renaissance splendour of the papal court of the time. A splendour which according to him Pope John seemed to enjoy as he says: "...he used the room of the Tronetto ' which Pius XII never used...when he received the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh there was a display of the court that amazed all the English people. The Queen and the Duke came back absolutely thrilled by the display of that Renaissance Court in its full splendour..."
In this programme Veronica Scarisbrick also brings you an article written by the late John Grigg, then still Lord Altrincham who on the contrary describes an audience with John XXIII as more homely than regal: "Pope John XXIII makes even an audience in Saint Peter's seem like an intimate family occasion, a party thrown by a benign old man for the innumerable children who look for security, comfort and guidance. Pope John has the demeanor of a good country priest with bubbling zest and bonhomie with no airs or graces. Borne in the 'sedia' with thousands of applauding votaries he responds to their enthusiasm in kind. They love him, he obviously loves them.....He does not suggest by his manner that he is any nearer to the heavenly mysteries than they are. He settles back comfortably in his chair and talks to the vast crowd around him for all the world as if he were talking to one old friend by his fire side. this spontaneity warms the heart as studied and exalted rhetoric never can..."
The pro-life flag from the Pro-Life Flag Project (www.prolifeflag.com). / Credit: Pro-Life Flag Project (www.prolifeflag.com)Toronto, Canada, Apr 25, 2024 / 12:50 pm (CNA).The International Pro-Life Flag will not fly over Toronto Catholic schools this May.Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) trustees voted against an April 23 motion proposed by trustee Michael Del Grande that the pro-life flag fly outside all schools and the Catholic Education Centre during the month of May, just as the board voted to fly the Pride flag in June.Del Grande's motion was defeated at the April 23 board meeting when only Garry Tanuan supported Del Grande's motion. The eight other board members in attendance and the two student trustees opposed his proposal.Though Del Grande could not muster enough backing from his colleagues, his plan, which would have also directed all TCDSB schools to teach an exclusively pro-life curriculum on May 9, the day of the National March for Life, garnered bois...
null / ShutterstockCNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 10:52 am (CNA).Following a recent Vatican declaration on human dignity, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales condemned medical and social transgenderism while encouraging a "sensitive" response in a pastoral reflection released on Wednesday.The Vatican's doctrinal office came down strongly against gender ideology, stating that "all attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference between man and woman are to be rejected."The Catholic bishops of England and Wales followed the Vatican's lead in their April 24 statement, "Intricately Woven by the Lord," which encouraged rooting pastoral care in "acceptance … of the body as created." "We cannot encourage or give support to reconstructive or drug-based medical intervention that harms the body," they wrote. "Nor can we legitimize or uphold a way of living that is not respectful of the truth and vocation of each man and each woman, called to ...
null / ShutterstockCNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 11:30 am (CNA).Louisiana State Police have obtained a new search warrant to collect documents from the Archdiocese of New Orleans as part of an ongoing investigation into Church abuse in that state.State police spokesman Jacob Pucheu confirmed to CNA on Thursday that the bureau had obtained the warrant as part of its investigation into "numerous complaints of child sexual abuse" leveled at the archdiocese. The inquiry was first launched in 2022, he said."As part of the ongoing investigation, on Monday, April 22, 2024, SVU investigators obtained an additional search warrant to collect information and documents from the Archdiocese of New Orleans," Pucheu told CNA."The archdiocese is cooperating with investigators to fulfill the terms of the search warrant," he said. "This investigation remains ongoing with no further information available at this time."Pucheu declined to directly provide a copy of the warrant, saying that "since it is...
