Author – The Durango Herald

Returning vacationers drive Italy’s surge in COVID-19 cases

ROME – With thousands of travelers being tested at Italy’s airports and some ports, the nation where Europe’s COVID-19 outbreak began registered a seventh straight day of increasing new infe...

DATE: Aug 24, 2020 | CATEGORY: Travel

Raphael fever hits Italy but art isn’t immune from virus

ROME – The paintings, drawings, tapestries and sketches in the most ambitious exhibition of Renaissance superstar Raphael’s works are collectively insured for 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) ...

DATE: Mar 5, 2020 | CATEGORY: Travel

After bishops call for married priests, pope urges new ways

VATICAN CITY – On the heels of a landmark call by Amazon region bishops for married men to become priests, Pope Francis on Sunday exhorted Catholics to be open to fresh ways of evangelizatio...

DATE: Oct 28, 2019 | CATEGORY: Religion

Amid sex abuse scandals, Vatican upholds confession secrecy

VATICAN CITY – Amid pedophile clergy scandals, the Vatican has declared “unacceptable” any efforts by politicians or lawmakers to force priests to violate their sacred obligation to keep sec...

DATE: Jul 1, 2019 | CATEGORY: Religion

Pope: Vatican next year to open archives on wartime Pius XII

VATICAN CITY – Declaring that the church “isn’t afraid of history,” Pope Francis said Monday he has decided to open up the Vatican archives on World War II-era Pope Pius XII, who has been cr...

DATE: Mar 4, 2019 | CATEGORY: Religion

Quake from Mount Etna volcano jolts Sicily, sparks panic

ROME – An earthquake triggered by Mount Etna’s eruption jolted eastern Sicily before dawn Wednesday, injuring at least 10 people, damaging churches and houses on the volcano’s slopes and pro...

DATE: Dec 26, 2018 | CATEGORY: Travel

Pope decries that ‘wealthy few’ feast on what belongs to all

VATICAN CITY – Championing the cause of the poor, Pope Francis on Sunday lamented that “the wealthy few” enjoy what, “in justice, belongs to all” and said Christians cannot remain indifferen...

DATE: Nov 19, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion

Pope’s remedy to those seeking scandal: prayer and silence

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis on Monday recommended silence and prayer to counter those who “only seek scandal,” division and destruction in what appeared to be an indirect response to allegat...

DATE: Sep 3, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion

Pope to 14 new cardinals: Defend the dignity of the poor

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis gave the Catholic Church 14 new cardinals Thursday, exhorting them to resist any temptation toward haughtiness and instead embrace “the greatest promotion” they c...

DATE: Jun 29, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion

Pope and Macron meet at Vatican, discuss migration

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis and French President Emmanuel Macron held lengthy private talks at the Vatican Tuesday to discuss immigration and to reflect on Europe’s prospects amid growing ch...

DATE: Jun 27, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion

Pope on Epiphany: Don’t make money, career your whole life

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis on Saturday advised against making the pursuit of money, a career or success the basis for one’s whole life, urging in his Epiphany remarks to also resist “inclin...

DATE: Jan 9, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion

Subway digging uncovers ‘Pompeii-like scene’ in Rome

ROME – Digging for Rome’s new subway has unearthed the charred ruins of an early 3rd-century building and the 1,800-year-old skeleton of a crouching dog that apparently perished in the same ...

DATE: Jun 26, 2017 | CATEGORY: Nation & World