From the Vatican

The protection and preservation of human dignity must extend into the digital realm, the Vatican said in a new document on human dignity.

Any Vatican employee, contractor or consultant to the Holy See will have a designated path for reporting suspicious spending, including a dedicated email address to send information to, the Vatican decreed.

The Catholic Church formally "repudiates those concepts that fail to recognize the inherent human rights of Indigenous peoples, including what has become known as the legal and political 'doctrine of discovery,'" a Vatican statement said.

With most of the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic removed, Pope Francis is scheduled to return to a full slate of public liturgies in December and January.

In an unusual move, the Vatican issued a public statement of regret, essentially accusing the Chinese government of violating its agreement with the Vatican over the appointment of Catholic bishops.

The Nativity scene that will sit under a 98-feet-tall silver fir tree in the middle of St. Peter's Square this year will feature 19 life-sized figures carved in cedar by artisans in the northeastern Italian town of Sutrio.

The Vatican released a new policy consolidating the investment portfolios of all offices and keeping all current and future investments in line with the social doctrine of the Catholic Church.

Donations to the annual Peter's Pence collection, which supports the work of the Roman Curia and funds the charitable activity of the pope, held steady in 2021, but the total still was significantly lower than in 2018, the Vatican said.