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Pope Francis Leads Ash Wednesday Mass
Pope Francis led the world’s 1.3 billion Roman Catholics into the penitential season of lent on Ash Wednesday.
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‘Smart' Helmets Check Travelers' Temperatures at Rome Airport
Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport is using “smart” helmets to conduct temperature checks on travelers.
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Moving Videos Show Italians Singing During Coronavirus Quarantine
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the globe, people are still creating their own moments of solidarity and community.
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A Look at Italy Landmarks Before and After Coronavirus Pandemic
Italy has been hit hard by the coronavirus and has taken drastic measure to try to stop the spread. With the streets almost empty, the country’s most famous landmarks look remarkably different without tourists.
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Relic Thought to Be From Jesus' Manger Arrives in Bethlehem
A tiny wooden relic that some Christians believe to be part of Jesus’ manger arrived Saturday in its permanent home in the biblical city of Bethlehem 1,400 years after it was sent to Rome as a gift to the pope. Cheerful crowds greeted the ornately encased relic with much fanfare before it entered the Franciscan Church of St. Catherine next...
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Trial of Bay Area Teens for Rome Cop Slaying to Start in February
The lawyer of one of the two American teenagers jailed in Rome over the slaying of a Carabinieri police officer says their trial has been fast-tracked and will begin early next year.
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Pope Decries That ‘Greed of a Few' Worsens Poverty of Others
Pope Francis on Sunday decried that the “greed of a few” wealthy people is compounding the plight of the poor before sharing a meal with the jobless and the homeless that has become a tradition of his papacy. Celebrating a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica dedicated to heightening awareness about poor people worldwide, he lamented the lack of concern about...
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San Francisco Bay Area Teen's Lawyer in Italy Drops Bid for Release
The lawyer for one of two American teenagers being held in the slaying of an Italian police officer said Saturday that he has dropped a request for his client to be released. Finnegan Lee Elder’s lawyer, Renato Borzone, said in a statement that the defense still needs more time to get a full picture of what happened. He added that...
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Harry Potter Removed From Tennessee Catholic School Library
A Catholic school in Tennessee has removed the Harry Potter books from its library after the school’s priest decided they could cause a reader to conjure evil spirits. In an email obtained by The Tennessean , the Rev. Dan Reehil of Nashville’s St. Edward Catholic School said he consulted exorcists in the U.S. and Rome who recommended removing the books....
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‘Roman Holiday' Ruined? Police Enforce Sitting Ban on Steps Audrey Hepburn Made Famous
Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn perched there without a care in the 1953 film “Roman Holiday.” But the Spanish Steps in Rome are no longer a place for sitting. Enforcing an ordinance that took effect last month, police officers patrolled the famed stone staircase Wednesday to tell locals and visitors “Please, no sitting” on one of the Eternal City’s most...
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Father of San Francisco Teen Accused of Killing Italian Police Officer Issues Statement
The father of one of the two Bay Area teens accused of killing an Italian police officer has returned home after visiting his son in a Rome jail. He issued a statement Saturday evening.
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Teen's Father to Make Statement After Visit to Rome Prison
The family of one of the two California teenagers held in the Rome slaying of a police officer is looking “forward to the truth coming out and our son coming home,” an attorney for the family said Saturday.
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2 US Teens Jailed in Italy in Policeman's Killing
Two American teenagers who were classmates at a California high school spent a second night in a Rome jail Saturday after they were interrogated for hours about their alleged roles in the murder of an Italian policeman. Investigators contended in written statements Saturday that the pair had confessed to their roles in the grisly slaying. Vice Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega,...
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USA's Caeleb Dressel Breaks Phelp's World Record in 100 Butterfly
The American won his semifinal heat in 49.50 seconds — 0.32 seconds better than Phelps’ mark set at the 2009 world meet in Rome at the height of the high-tech suit era.
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Vatican Mystery Over Missing Girl Deepens; Bones Found
The mystery of the 1983 disappearance of the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican employee took yet another twist Saturday following excavations this week at a Vatican City cemetery: The Vatican said it had discovered two sets of bones under a stone manhole that will be formally opened next week. The Vatican on Thursday had pried open the tombs of two...
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Linked Protesters Block San Francisco Pride Parade Route
Multiple protesters dropped to the ground on San Francisco’s Market Street Sunday morning, halting the city’s world-famous Pride parade for about one hour as they spoke out against police and corporations being involved in Pride festivities.
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Summer Solstice 2019: What You Need to Know About the Longest Day of the Year
The summer solstice sets off the official start of summer as the Northern Hemisphere angles itself at the point in its orbit closest to the sun, causing the longest day and shortest night of the calendar year. Many cultures, both ancient and modern, celebrate the sunlight with rituals and holidays.
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‘Should I Even Be Here?' Son, Ex-Girlfriend of Allentown Priest Recall Years of Secrecy
Despite the consensual nature of Engelhardt’s relationship with Father Robert Dreisbach, she frequently referred to those days as “hell.” She didn’t reveal to her son the true identity of his father until he was 8 years old.
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Retired Pope Benedict Wades Into Clergy Sex Abuse Debate
Retired Pope Benedict XVI has published an analysis on the Catholic Church’s clergy sex abuse scandal, blaming it on the sexual revolution of the 1960s and church laws that protected priests. The essay immediately raised eyebrows, seeming to interfere with or even contradict Pope Francis’ own efforts to confront one of the most critical issues facing the church. One church...
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George Clooney Calls for Boycott of Hotels Over Anti-Gay Law
George Clooney is calling for the boycott of nine hotels in the U.S. and Europe with ties to the sultan of Brunei, which next month will implement Islamic criminal laws to punish gay sex by stoning offenders to death.