Radio Vatican (unofficial) - Podcasts

Our Professor of Fine Arts, Breda Ennis shines the spotlight on the saved in Michelangelo's depiction of the Last Judgement ... 00:13:09:12

The General Councillor of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, Father Joseph Roesch tells of the dedication of a shrine to Divine Mercy in the Philippines ... 00:12:11:18

PAPAL RENDEZ- VOUS - We bring you Pope Benedict XVI's words to pilgrims in St Peter's square this Wednesday. Lydia O'Kane... MERCY AT MINDANAO - The General Councillor of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, Father Joseph Roesch tells of the dedication of a shrine to Divine Mercy in the Philippines ... SISTINE GOODIES - Our Professor of Fine Arts, Breda Ennis shines the spotlight on the goodies in Michelangelo's depiction of the Last Judgement ... 00:28:57:36

(24 Sep 08 - RV) Pope Benedict told the faithful gathered for his weekly general audience today that Christianity ''is not borne from a myth, but rather from a meeting with the person of Jesus." Lydia O'Kane reports... Making the most of the Rome's September Wednesday General moved out of doors to the familiar surroundings of St Peter's Square. Pope Benedict travelled by helicopter joining the thousands of pilgrims and tourists who had gathered to see him. Following on from his catecheses of previous weekly the Holy Father again on Wednesday focused on the life of St Paul and his relationship with the Twelve Apostles. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul speaks of his visits to Jerusalem where he consulted Peter, James and John, reputed to be the 'pillars' of the Church. Paul's mission to the Gentiles needed to be confirmed and guaranteed by those who had been disciples of Jesus during his earthly life, and they offered to him and to Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. Paul

(24 Sep 08 - RV) In Japan, Taro Aso took power as prime minister today, two day's after taking over the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party. He is preparing to lead the party into new elections later this year. Suzy Hodges has this report... 00:01:39:98

(24 Sep 08 - RV) Members of the United States Congress  are expected to make significant changes to the Bush administration's emergency $700 billion financial bailout plan. We spoke to Kishore Jayabalan, the Director of the Rome office of the Acton Institute for the Study of  Religion and Liberty... 00:02:11:47

The United Nations General Assembly opened yesterday with speeches by leaders from around the world, including George W. Bush of the United States and Nicolas Sarkozy of France.One of the topics being discussed by the General Assembly is the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to halve extreme poverty, reduce child mortality rates, and  fight disease epidemics such as AIDS and Malaria by 2015. The goals are a long way off from being achieved.  The President of Caritas Internationalis is Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez of Honduras. He told Charles Collins both the developed and developing worlds must do more to make progress... 00:01:37:10

(24 Sep 08 - RV) North Korea has expelled U.N. monitors from its plutonium-making nuclear plant, accelerating moves to restart an atom bomb project it had renounced under a disarmament-for-aid deal. Linda Bordoni reports... 00:01:58:08

Dear Brothers and Sisters, In today's catechesis we turn again to the life of Saint Paul and consider his relationship with the Twelve Apostles. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul speaks of his visits to Jerusalem where he consulted Peter, James and John, reputed to be the 'pillars' of the Church. Paul's mission to the Gentiles needed to be confirmed and guaranteed by those who had been disciples of Jesus during his earthly life, and they offered to him and to Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. Paul passed on the living tradition that he had received: the words of Jesus at the Last Supper, his death and resurrection, and his appearances to Peter and to the Twelve. Paul emphasizes that Jesus died 'for our sins', he offered himself to the Father in order to deliver us from sin and death. And now that Jesus has risen from the dead, he is living in his Church and in the Eucharist, where we continue to encounter him. Just as Paul's teaching is rooted in his experience on the roa

(24 Sep 08 - RV) The United States Supreme Court granted a stay of execution to a convicted murderer due to be put to death Tuesdaynight amid doubt over his guilt and appeals for clemency from people around the world, including Pope Benedict. We have this report... 00:01:48:67

(10 Sept 08 - RV)Oil prices edged just slightly higher today after OPEC vowed to abide by its quotas but decided not to take the more dramatic step of slashing production targets. Prices rose by more than a dollar after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting ended in the pre-dawn hours in Vienna, Austria. The price of oil has gone down due to a global economic slump which has reduced its demand. James Lussier is Managing Director of Capital Alpha Partners in Washington DC. He says in the near future there will be less reliance oil. 00:01:43:66

(10 Sept 08 - RV) North Korea denied today that leader Kim Jong Il is seriously ill. North Korea's second in command Kim Yong Nam, said there was 'no problem' and a senior diplomat also said reports about Kim Jong Il's health were «not true.» Speculation has intensified that Kim may have taken ill after he missed a parade yesterday commemorating the communist state's founding 60 years ago. In South Korea President Lee Myung-bak convened an emergency meeting today in Seoul to discuss the situation with senior aides. Journalist Frank Smith who is based in South Korea, says that despite media speculation, some analysts have been cautious about reading into the situation too much. 00:01:48:38

(10 Sept 08 - RV) Scientists in Geneva today started up a huge particle-smashing machine aimed at re-enacting the conditions of the "Big Bang" that created the universe. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the largest and most complex machine ever made and the platform for what experts say is the largest scientific experiment in human history. Today was the first attempt to circulate a particle beam around the 27km of the LHC. The collider is operated by the European Organisation for Nuclear Research - better known at CERN. The Revrd Dr David Wilkinson is an astrophysicist and is a Christian Theologian at Durham Unversity in the UK. 00:02:16:15

(10 Sept. 2008 - RV) From the English newsdesk, I'm Chris Altieri. Pope Benedict XVI has sent a message to the people of France, ahead of his scheduled visit to the country this weekend. Linda Bordoni reports... At the conclusion of his weekly General Audience this Wednesday, Pope Benedict sent a special message of greeting to the "beloved nation" of France. The Holy Father is scheduled to travel to France this weekend, and said he intends to go to France as a 'messenger of peace and fraternity'. The Pope is going to France to mark the 150th anniversary of the Marian apparitions at Lourdes. Up PBXVI down under... The Pope Benedict XVI recalled France's 'generous tradition of welcome and tolerance.' The Holy Father also praised solidity of France's Christian faith, as well as France's great human and spiritual culture'. Pope Benedict also said that he would bring special prayers for the sick and suffering, as well as for peace in the world when he visits the healing sanctuary at Lou

(10 Sept. 08 - RV) Before heading to the Paul VI audience Hall for his weekly General Audience this Wednesday, Pope Benedict XVI delivered a homily at the end of a funeral Mass for the former president of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, Cardinal Antonio Innocenti. Ordained in 1938 in Florence, the man who would become Cardinal Innocenti served as a parish priest during World War II, and was arrested for his work to save deportees. After the war, Pope Pius XII called him to Rome and a career in the Curia. He served for most of the 1950s and 1960s in the papal Nunciature in Switzerland. Paul VI appointed him nuncio to Paraguay in late 1967. In 1973, became the secretary of the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, and in 1980, he became nuncio to Spain. Pope John Paul II made Innocenti a cardinal in 1985, and appointed him Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, a post he was to hold until he passed the mandatory retirement age of seventy-five in 1991. Up PBX

(10 Sept. 08 - RV) Pope Benedict held his weekly General Audience today in the Paul VI audience hall. In his catechesis, the Holy Father returned to the life and legacy of St. Paul the Apostle, concentrating on Saint Paul's view of what it means to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. Speaking in English to the faithful, the Holy Father said even though St. Paul was not one of the original 12 disciples, Paul nevertheless claims the title of Apostle for himself because he was chosen and transformed by the grace of God, and shared the three principal characteristics of the true apostle. The first is to have seen the Lord and to have been called by him. One becomes an apostle by divine vocation, not by personal choice. The second characteristic also underlines the divine initiative: an apostle is someone who is sent and therefore acts and speaks as a delegate of Christ, placed totally at his service. The third characteristic is dedication to the work of proclaiming the Gospel and founding

THE BERNADETTE STORY: Listen to the first episode in our radio drama narrating the story of the peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous, the protagonist of the extraordinary events at Lourdes 150 years ago....... 00:09:43:25

LOVE OF LOURDES: In the run-up to Pope Benedict's visit to the renowned Marian Shrine an English bishop and a parishioner in his diocese tell us what makes Lourdes so special...... 00:14:02:66

LOVE OF LOURDES: In the run-up to Pope Benedict's visit to the Marian Shrine an English bishop and a parishioner in his diocese tell us what makes Lourdes so special.. THE BERNADETTE STORY: Listen to the first episode in our radio drama narrating the story of the poor peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes, to whom Our Lady appeared in 1858.... PAPAL AUDIENCE: Pope Benedict continues his catechesis on the figure of St. Paul and what it means to be an apostle of Jesus..... 00:28:58:66

(09 Sept 08-RV) Participants of the Sydney World Youth Day marked the 50th day since the end of the event with a reunion - on-line.Charles Collins has this report.. 00:03:15:41