Schwarzenegger at Vatican in mission to 'terminate' fossil fuels

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Arnold Schwarzenegger came to the Vatican on Tuesday to throw his weight behind Pope Leo's efforts to encourage world leaders to address global climate change and transition away from fossil fuels. "Every single one of...

Schwarzenegger downplays Trump and backs Vatican initiative to 'terminate' global warming

VATICAN CITY – Arnold Schwarzenegger downplayed the Trump administration’s climate skepticism Tuesday and threw his weight behind the Vatican’s environmental initiative, saying individual choice, local regulations and the Catholic Church's moral...

Medbeds, ‘truths’, and fantastical science, oh my!

I woke up this morning in the Land of Oz and I can’t find my ruby slippers. While I dreamed the night away, Donald Trump’s Truth Social account posted — without comment — an AI created news report in which the president of the United States...

Vatican Observatory’s new head talks wars, galaxies, and humanity’s fate

In 1990, the future director of the Vatican Observatory was living in a refugee camp in Jordan. Fr. Richard D’Souza, S.J., the director of the Vatican Observatory. Credit: Courtesy photo. Fr. Richard D’Souza was 12 years old at the time, and his...

Vatican and Unicef speak out against online violence and abuse

AT a United Nations high-level meeting in New York, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher of the Vatican said “technology is being used to exacerbate certain forms of abuse and violence,” adding that the gravity of the violence and abuse against women...

From Nicaragua to the Vatican: China’s Diplomatic Bidding War with Taiwan

Written by Sophia Li. Image credit: 01.10 尼加拉瓜的建築 by 總統府/ Flickr, license: CC BY 2.0. In 2019, the Solomon Islands received a reported $500 million in promised Chinese investments, days before it cut ties with Taiwan and recognised Beijing. Soon...

Suffering making you feel powerless? Pope’s thoughts and response

"We risk becoming immobile, silent, perhaps sad, thinking that nothing can be done when we are faced with innocent suffering." Pope Leo had the opportunity to point out issues that he thinks are key to any discussion on the global phenomenon of...

Arnold Schwarzenegger calls Pope 'action hero' for stance on environment

Pope Leo XIV and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger shared a stage this week at the opening of the "Raising Hope for Climate Justice" conference in Castel Gandolfo. Schwarzenegger, a film star famous for his action roles in the likes of Conan the...

Catholics Must Respond to AI Threat to Authentic, Human Communication, Vatican Says

Pope Leo XIV signaled at the beginning of his pontificate that the challenge of AI would be a significant theme of his teaching. Pope Leo XIV has put a spotlight on the risks of artificial intelligence in his choice of theme for next year’s World...

Vatican Struggles Against Spread of "deepfake" Images of Pope Leo XIV

Most of the videos have received no more than a few hundred views, but some of the deepfakes have started to go viral. A 25-minute video claiming the pope has broken his silence on Charlie Kirk’s murder garnered over 445,000 views in the first...

Pope appoints Campisi as Vatican envoy to UNESCO

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Monsignor Roberto Campisi as the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to UNESCO in Paris. On 27 September it was announced that the Sicilian-born prelate, who had spent the past three years as Assessor for General Affairs in...

Vatican Struggles Against Spread of ‘Deepfake’ Images of Pope Leo XIV

The term refers to videos, photos, or audio recordings altered to show people doing or saying things they have never said or done. Did you hear what Pope Leo XIV said about Charlie Kirk or President Donald Trump? What about his thoughts on the...

Vatican: More Than 1,600 Christians Murdered for Their Faith Since the Year 2000 – Real Number Likely Much, Much Higher

Illustration created by AI using OpenAI’s DALL·E, based on user-provided description (2025). The Vatican has officially documented 1,624 Christians killed for their faith between 2000 and 2025, honoring them as modern martyrs across denominations....

Vatican rejects ‘false solutions such as abortion’ while defending women’s equality at UN

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 23, 2025 / 15:12 pm The Vatican’s secretary for relations with states, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, on Tuesday reaffirmed before the United Nations the Holy See’s commitment to promoting the dignity and equality of women but...

King Charles to meet Pope Leo during Vatican City state visit

Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our...

Today-History-Oct04

Today in History for Oct. 4: On this date: In 1535, the printing of the first English-language Bible was completed in London. In 1669, Dutch painter Rembrandt died. In 1824, the Federal Republic of Mexico was proclaimed. Today in History for Oct....

Vatican urges faithful to revive efforts for sainthood cause of Cardinal Van Thuan

Vatican City, Sep 21, 2025 / 06:00 am The beatification cause of Venerable Francis-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan is receiving renewed attention from the Vatican 50 years after he was first imprisoned by the communist government of Vietnam, according to...

A Dissident Damsel Who Defied the Red Dragon

[Editor’s Note: This is the forty-eighth in a multi-part series on the unsung heroes of Christendom.] It has been said, purportedly by G.K. Chesterton, that when people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing but in anything. Even...

Michigan’s largest star party expects thousands of stargazers, more than 50 high-tech telescopes

BRIGHTON, MI -- Calling all stargazers, this weekend dozens of telescopes will be pointed at distant planets, stars, and galaxies. Astronomy Clubs across Southeast Michigan are gathering in one spot to offer free views of the night sky. The Great...

Poverty, violence still ‘persistent issues’ affecting women, girls, top Vatican diplomat tells UN

(OSV News) — Thirty years after a landmark international document safeguarding women’s dignity, much remains to be done to ensure the well-being of women and girls worldwide, said a top Vatican diplomat. On Sept. 22, Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher...