(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, on Sunday said Pope Francis and the Vatican have "tried very hard" to find a solution to the crisis in Venezuela, which he said must be "peaceful and democratic".Cardinal Parolin told the ANSA news agency that Vatican efforts sought "to help all without distinction" and were meant "to recall each person to their own responsibilities"."The criteria for any solution must be only the good of the people," he said.At least thirteen people were killed in Venezuela on Sunday, during which voters cast their ballots for a Constituent Assembly proposed by President Nicolás Maduro.Listen to James Blears' report: A 39-year old lawyer and candidate for the Constituent Assembly was shot to death at his home in the South Eastern town of Cuidad Bolivia. To the West in Talchira State, a thirteen-year old and a seventeen-year old, as well as a soldier, were sh...
(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, on Sunday said Pope Francis and the Vatican have "tried very hard" to find a solution to the crisis in Venezuela, which he said must be "peaceful and democratic".
Cardinal Parolin told the ANSA news agency that Vatican efforts sought "to help all without distinction" and were meant "to recall each person to their own responsibilities".
"The criteria for any solution must be only the good of the people," he said.
At least thirteen people were killed in Venezuela on Sunday, during which voters cast their ballots for a Constituent Assembly proposed by President Nicolás Maduro.
Listen to James Blears' report:
A 39-year old lawyer and candidate for the Constituent Assembly was shot to death at his home in the South Eastern town of Cuidad Bolivia.
To the West in Talchira State, a thirteen-year old and a seventeen-year old, as well as a soldier, were shot dead in separate incidents.
Seven police officers were injured and their motorcycles scorched when a homemade bomb exploded in an eastern district of the capital, Caracas.
According to polling specialists at Datanalisis, more than seventy percent of Venezuelans oppose the Constituent Assembly.
International condemnation of the vote has come from the United States, the European Union, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico.
Unabashed, President Nicolás Maduro is determined to consolidate and tighten the government's grip on power by holding this vote, which appears to be dividing rather than ruling.
Yet its powers to rewrite the Venezuelan Constitution and dissolve the opposition dominated National Assembly appear absolute.
Pope Francis on May 7, 2024, appointed Father James Mark Beckman, 61, a priest of the Diocese of Nashville, as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville. / Credit: Diocese of NashvilleRome Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 11:50 am (CNA).Pope Francis on Tuesday appointed a new bishop to the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, following former Bishop Richard Stika's resignation last year. The Holy See Press Office announced that Father James Mark Beckman, 61, will be installed as the new bishop of the diocese. The installation will occur in July. The bishopric since June 2023 has been under the care of Louisville Archbishop Shelton Fabre, who has served as apostolic administrator following Stika's departure that month.Beckman, a Tennessee native, has been a priest with the Diocese of Nashville since his ordination on July 13, 1990. He received a bachelor's degree in history from St. Ambrose College in 1984 and a master's degree in religious studies from the Catholic University ...
Singer-songwriter Garth Brooks (left), former NFL quarterback Tom Brady (right), and other celebrity guests will meet Pope Francis in an audience at Apostolic Palace on May 11, 2024, as participants in the Vatican's World Meeting on Human Fraternity. / Credit: SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images; Daniel Ibañez/CNA; TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty ImagesRome Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 12:30 pm (CNA).Garth Brooks may have friends in low places, but this Saturday he will perform at a high-level Vatican event with Nobel Peace Prize winners, business leaders, and professional athletes, including former NFL quarterback Tom Brady.Brady, Brooks, and other celebrity guests will meet Pope Francis in an audience at the Apostolic Palace on the morning of May 11 as participants in the Vatican's World Meeting on Human Fraternity.It will be the second time that the longtime quarterback for the New England Patriots has met a pope. Brady met John Paul II in 2004 after winning the Super Bowl.Brady...