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Before he was fired by Pope Francis over another issue, Becciu was one of the most powerful men in the Vatican. The Vatican sold the building last year, taking an estimated loss of about 140 million euros. The others on trial include several Vatican employees and two outside brokers who the Vatican has accused of extortion. He asked the court to confiscate 172 million euros of Mincione's assets and 71 million euros of Torzi's. At the time of Becciu's firing, he was also stripped of what the Vatican then said were his "rights associated with being a cardinal".

Persons: Becciu, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, Pope Francis, Alessandro Diddi, Diddi, Raffaele Mincione, Rene Bruelhart, Tommaso Di Ruzza, Cecilia Marogna, Phil Pullella, Andrew Heavens, Toby Chopra, Alison Williams Organizations: VATICAN CITY, Vatican, of State, Vatican's Financial Intelligence, Thomson Locations: London, Vatican, Swiss, Mali, al Qaeda

☆ Abortion is ancient history and that matters today
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

This long view of abortion matters, according to Mary Fissell, a professor of the history of medicine at Johns Hopkins University. That’s because assumptions about how abortion was viewed in the past color present-day arguments about abortion rights. Abortion opponents portray the rights granted by Roe v. Wade and legal access to abortion as an historical aberration, according to Fissell, which is not accurate, historians say. Earliest references to abortionThe first written references to abortion are contained in an ancient Egyptian papyrus written about 3,500 years ago. For most of history, abortion has not been an issue about the fetus, like it is today, but rather about women’s behavior.

Persons: Mary Fissell, Roe, Wade, ”, Fissell, “, Dobbs, it’s, Lysistrata, Aristophanes, —, Lisa Briggs, Briggs, Pliny the Elder, ” Briggs, It’s, Maeve Callan, Callan, ’, Saint Brigid, Patrick, Brigid, Peter Morrison, God, ” Callan, “ quickening, Pope Sixtus V, Pope Gregory XIV Organizations: CNN, Johns Hopkins University, US, Jackson, Health Organization, Cranfield University, British Museum, “, Simpson College, AP, quicken Locations: United States, Dobbs v, Rome, Cyrene, Libya, Iowa, Medieval Ireland, Ireland, Leixlip, Kildare

☆ Ron DeSantis is quiet about his Catholic faith, but it could be his secret weapon to court voters away from Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Tiffany Stanley | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Ron DeSantis rarely mentions the specifics of his religion, faith, or practice of it. Ron DeSantis delivers remarks during the Project Opioid conference at First Presbyterian Church in Orlando on Aug. 20, 2019. Ron DeSantis and his wife Casey stand during the Pledge of Allegiance at a campaign event, Wednesday, May 31, 2023, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Ron DeSantis and his wife, Casey, bow their heads during a prayer at a campaign event, Wednesday, May 31, 2023, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Ron DeSantis speaks during a campaign event, Tuesday, May 30, 2023, in Clive, Iowa.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, wouldn't, —, Joe Burbank, Brian Burch, Burch, DeSantis, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Biden, He's, Nate Hochman, Hochman, Maria Sullivan, Casey, Charlie Neibergall, Sullivan, Piers Morgan, there's, that's, Phelan M, Paul Harvey, Cary McMullen, John F, Kennedy, El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz, Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Wenski, heartburn, US Sen, Joni Ernst, David Polyansky, Ted Cruz, Bob Vander Plaats, Vander Plaats, John Stemberger, Stemberger, we've, Trump, Mike Pence, Tim Scott, Pat Robertson, Michael Binder, Tom O'Shields Organizations: Catholic, Service, Florida Gov, First Presbyterian Church, Orlando Sentinel, DeSantis, GOP, New York, Our Lady Star, Republican, Gov, AP, Lourdes Catholic School, The, Catholic Church, El Paso Bishop, Miami Archbishop, Florida Conference of Catholic, US, Policy Council, Trump, University of North, Lilly Endowment Inc Locations: Florida, GREENVILLE, S.C, Iowa, South Carolina, Orlando, Tallahassee, DeSantis, Catholic Church, Northeast Florida, Cedar Rapids , Iowa, Dunedin , Florida, Ohio, Galilee, Israel, Tampa , Fla, Lakeland , Florida, California, Texas, Des Moines , Iowa, Clive , Iowa, University of North Florida, Greenville, Easley , South Carolina

Rome CNN —Pope Francis was recovering well in a Rome hospital on Thursday, the day after the 86-year-old had abdominal surgery that renewed health fears. “This wasn’t an urgent surgery,” Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the surgeon who operated on Pope Francis, said at a press conference. Pope Francis, seated in a wheelchair, attended a weekly general audience at the Vatican on June 7. Pope’s fragile healthThis operation is the latest in a series of health scares surrounding Pope Francis. Medical sources say that the intervention was likely related to the surgery Francis underwent in 2021, which removed half of his colon.

Persons: Rome, Rome CNN — Pope Francis, “, ”, Matteo Bruni, Francis, ” Dr, Sergio Alfieri, Pope Francis, ” Alfieri, Andreas Solaro, Alfieri, he’s “, –, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Bruni, Francis ’, Pope Francis now, Annatuli, Carina, State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Tarcisio Bertone, ’ ”, Pope Benedict XVI, Gregory XII, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: Rome CNN, Vatican, Gemelli, Reuters, Catholic, Papal, Getty, CNN, Spanish, ABC, State, Catholic Church Locations: Rome, AFP, The Prefecture, Mexico, Myanmar, Iraq, Ukraine

☆ Pope Francis doing well after first night in hospital, Vatican says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A nun kisses the hand of Pope Francis during the weekly general audience on the day he is due to undergo abdominal surgery, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, June 7, 2023. REUTERS/Yara NardiROME, June 8 (Reuters) - Pope Francis was doing well on Thursday morning after his first night in hospital following abdominal surgery, the Vatican said. "The night went well," the Vatican said in a brief statement, adding that more information would be released later in the morning. Fancis underwent a laparotomy, or open abdominal surgery, and a mesh prosthesis was used to reconstruct the abdominal wall. It is the third hospital stay for Francis since cardinals chose the Argentinian in 2013 as the first Latin American pope.

Persons: Pope Francis, Yara, Francis, Sergio Alfieri, hopsital, Alfieri, Fancis, Federica Urso, Gianluca Semeraro, William Maclean Organizations: Vatican, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: St, ROME, Rome, Portugal, Fatima, Mongolia

MEXICO CITY, June 7 (Reuters) - One million people in Mexico have opened savings accounts in Brazilian digital bank Nubank (NUN.MX) one month after the product's launch, the company said on Wednesday, with deposits amounting to 1 billion pesos ($58 million). Nubank, owned by Buffett-backed Nu Holdings , said it is now present in nine out of 10 municipalities in Mexico. Nubank announced a $330 million equity capitalization for Mexico late last year, in a bid to expand its footprint in the Latin American country. In addition to its new savings accounts, Nubank has issued 3.2 million credit cards in Mexico, a country with more than 126 million people. The bank announced last month it expects to launch digital checking accounts in the South American country by the end of 2023.

Persons: Nubank, Valentine Hilaire, Sonali Paul Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Buffett, Nu Holdings, Citi, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, Nubank's, Colombia, American

☆ Pope Francis in hospital for second abdominal surgery in two years
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Pope Francis greets a nun during the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, June 7, 2023. REUTERS/Yara NardiROME, June 7 (Reuters) - Pope Francis was admitted to a Rome hospital on Wednesday for another abdominal operation under general anaesthesia, this time to repair a hernia most likely caused by scars from surgery in 2021. The pope's medical team had decided in recent days that surgery was required because the condition was causing painful, intestinal occlusions. Francis is known to be afraid of the negative effects of general anaesthesia, which are also more common in older people. The statement said the pope would undergo a laparotomy, or open abdominal surgery, and that a prosthesis would be used to reconstruct the abdominal wall.

Persons: Pope Francis, Yara, Francis, Vatican, Keith Weir, Federico Maccioni, Crispian Balmer, William Maclean Organizations: Vatican, REUTERS, Fiat, Catholic, Argentine, Thomson Locations: St, ROME, Rome, Mongolia, Portugal, Lisbon

☆ Three Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian policeman killed in rare border crossing incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Pierre Meilhan Richard Allen Greene Salma Abdelaziz Allegra Goodwin Hadas Gold Amir Tal | Pierre Meilhan | Richard Allen Greene | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Jerusalem/London CNN —Three Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian policeman have been killed in a rare border crossing incident. They say the Egyptian policeman shot two Israeli border guards – and that when Israeli back-up arrived later, a firefight ensued that killed both the policeman and a third Israeli. The first two IDF soldiers killed were discovered dead by their lieutenant when they did not answer their radio, according to the spokesman. An ambulance leaves a military base following a deadly shootout in southern Israel along the Egyptian border on June 3, 2023. Tsafrir Abayov/APIsraeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Twitter that Israeli and Egyptian defense ministers have agreed to work together to prevent attacks along their shared border following the incident.

Persons: –, Ohad Danan, Izhad Iluz, Lia Ben, Herzi Halevi, Israel, Tsafrir, Yoav Gallant, “, Mohamed Zaki, ” Gallant, Zaki, Gallant “ Organizations: London CNN —, Israel Defense Forces, Islamic, Staff, AP Israeli, Twitter Locations: Jerusalem, London, Egypt, Sinai, Israel

☆ Tyne Daly and Liev Schreiber to Lead Broadway ‘Doubt’ Revival
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tyne Daly and Liev Schreiber will star in a revival of “Doubt: A Parable” on Broadway this season. The play, by John Patrick Shanley, is about a nun who suspects a priest has sexually abused a student at a Catholic school. (All Broadway theaters are planning to dim the lights of their marquees for one minute at 6:45 p.m. tonight in Haimes’s memory.) Daly, who will play the nun who serves as the school principal, and Schreiber, who will play the parish priest, are both Tony winners. “Doubt” will be one of three plays staged by Roundabout on Broadway this season.

Persons: Tyne Daly, Liev Schreiber, John Patrick Shanley, Scott Ellis, Todd Haimes, Daly, Schreiber, Tony, “ Cagney, Lacey, ”, ” Schreiber, “ Ray Donovan, Glengarry Glen, Theresa Rebeck, Danny DeVito, Lucy, Kenny Leon, Williams Organizations: Broadway, Roundabout Theater Company, American Airlines Theater Locations: Glengarry Glen Ross

☆ Cate Blanchett dons habit in Australian director's conversion tale
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Alicia Powell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Newcomer Aswan Reid plays the titular 9-year-old New Boy in the film by Warwick Thornton based on his own experience of walking into a church for the first time at the age of 11. "That's a genesis for a great movie," Thornton told Reuters on Saturday, before joking: "You know, written by child and directed by a grumpy old man is probably how it worked." Blanchett's nun sets about trying to convert the boy, who can seemingly heal wounds with his touch and starts bleeding from his palms, in a magical-realist conflict of spirituality. Deborah Mailman, who plays another nun, told Reuters that the film helps viewers understand the emotional gravitas of colonization: "It actually emotionally pushes you to that point of going, 'This is what it is, this is what happened.'" Reporting by Alicia Powell Writing by Miranda Murray; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Elon Musk's super-app ambitions took an interesting turn with his first acquisition at Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The move speaks to a broader strategy Musk has hinted at of creating a US super app. While extremely popular in Asia, super apps haven't caught on in the US. There are multiple forces working against the success of a super app in the US, let alone one run by someone as polarizing as Musk. When I think of super apps, my mind goes toward pursuing users' wallets. And here's why industry experts remain unconvinced about Elon Musk's plans to turn Twitter into a super app.

☆ Buffett-backed Nubank reports record revenue on steady user growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 15 (Reuters) - Brazil's Nubank (NUN.MX) on Monday reported record revenue for the first-quarter as the digital bank benefited from steady growth in users and higher average revenue per customer. Nubank added 4.5 million customers in the first-quarter ended March 31, taking the total count globally to 79.1 million, a 33% growth from last year, the bank said. Monthly average revenue per active customer (ARPAC) increased to $8.6, expanding 30% from a year earlier on FX-neutral basis. The bank's gross profit rose 124% to $650.9 million in the reported quarter on FX-neutral basis, while total revenue nearly doubled to hit an all-time record high of $1.6 billion from a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the bank reported a net income of $182.4 million, compared with $10.1 million a year earlier.

Walmart de Mexico (Walmex) (WALMEX.MX) in April said it had bought Trafalgar, a payment app, to compete in a market dominated by Grupo Salinas' Baz, Oxxo's (FEMSAUBD.MX) Spin and MercadoPago of MercadoLibre (MELI.O). Executives at the Walmart unit expect the deal to "unlock Cashi's potential," starting with transfers, withdrawals and remittances while keeping open the option of loans and other financial services in the future. "We want to be the best financial services application in Mexico, and that requires constant investment," Marcelino Herrera, Walmex senior vice president of financial services, told Reuters. Walmart plans over $15 billion in capital expenditures for automation and alternate revenue streams in 2023, including its ad business, third-party marketplace, and deliveries. SYNERGIESWalmart has not defined fintech as a top investment priority but has poured money into it over the past year.

☆ It’s a Nun vs. AI in ‘Mrs. Davis’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( John Jurgensen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Davis,’ a nun named Simone (played by Betty Gilpin) tries to take down artificial intelligence. Photo: Sophie Kohler/PEACOCKIn the new streaming series “Mrs. Davis,” people all over the world have put their faith in artificial intelligence. A defiant nun wants to crash the system. Arriving as AI infiltrates all corners of real life, the show takes an often zany, genre-flipping approach to some weighty issues looming.

☆ Pope allows women to vote at upcoming bishops' meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Pope Francis has decided to give women the right to vote at an upcoming meeting of bishops, a historic reform that reflects his hopes to give women greater decision-making responsibilities and laypeople more say in the life of the Catholic Church. Francis approved changes to the norms governing the Synod of Bishops, a Vatican body that gathers the world's bishops together for periodic meetings, following years of demands by women to have the right to vote. At the end of the meetings, the bishops vote on specific proposals and put them to the pope, who then produces a document taking their views into account. In addition, Francis has decided to appoint 70 non-bishop members of the synod and has asked that half of them be women. He has appointed several women to high-ranking Vatican positions, though no women head any of the major Vatican offices or departments, known as dicasteries.

☆ Pope allows women to vote at bishops meeting for first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Pope Francis leaves following the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 26, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneApril 26 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, in a historic move that could lead to more inclusiveness in decision-making in the Roman Catholic Church, will allow women to vote for the first time at a global meeting of bishops in October. The revolutionary rules, announced on Wednesday, allow for five religious sisters with voting rights. The 70 priests, religious sisters, deacons and lay Catholics will be chosen by the pope from a list of 140 people recommended by national bishops' conferences. In another last year, he named three women to a previously all-male committee that advises him in selecting the world's bishops.

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery previews a stacked film slate, centered around this summer's 'Barbie'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. is offering a wide slate of films in 2023 across drama, comedy, horror and action. Warner Bros. capped its presentation with words from Peter Safran, one half of its new duo of creative leaders at DC Studios. Zaslav says he's seen "The Flash" three times and told CinemaCon audiences "it's the best superhero movie I've ever seen." He also reassured media and insiders that Warner Bros.

☆ ‘Mrs. Davis’ Review: Algorithm and Blues
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( James Poniewozik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The pilot introduces Simone (Betty Gilpin), a sister in a remote Nevada convent who has a sideline exposing dishonest magicians. Besides leaving her time for her hobby, convent life lets her avoid the reach of an omniscient A.I. Davis” in America, “Mum” in Britain, “Madonna” in Italy and so on — has not given up on Simone. Simone, Mrs. Davis believes deep in her code, is the one person equipped to carry out a mission: to find and destroy the Holy Grail. Simone agrees, hoping the quest will be a means to Mrs. Davis’s unplugging.

☆ ‘Mrs. Davis’ Review: A Nun’s Anti-AI Crusade
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Magic of the presto-chango variety always depends on distraction, but the distractions are the magic of “Mrs. Davis,” which throughout its exhilarating mix of comedy, action, obscure movie references and gothic-Catholic sleight-of-hand mounts a very plausible and therefore disturbing premise: God isn’t dead. He is just less influential than an algorithm. The algorithm is known as Mrs. Davis—or “Ma’am” in the U.K., or “Madonna” in Rome—and is the all-seeing, all-knowing, not-quite-all-merciful manifestation of artificial intelligence to whom humanity has plighted its troth in this eight-part manifestation of real intelligence from creators Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof . Mrs. Davis is, was and ever shall be—unless a heretical nun named Simone, aka Lizzie ( Betty Gilpin ), can win the bet she has made with the omniscient formulation that she calls “it” and find the Holy Grail, on which occasion Mrs. Davis has agreed to self-destruct.

☆ ‘Mrs. Davis’ Review: A Sci-Fi Nun’s Anti-AI Crusade
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Betty Gilpin Photo: PEACOCKMagic of the presto-chango variety always depends on distraction, but the distractions are the magic of “Mrs. Davis,” which throughout its exhilarating mix of comedy, action, obscure movie references and gothic-Catholic sleight-of-hand mounts a very plausible and therefore disturbing premise: God isn’t dead. He is just less influential than an algorithm. Mrs. Davis Begins Thursday, PeacockThe algorithm is known as Mrs. Davis—or “Ma’am” in the U.K., or “Madonna” in Rome—and is the all-seeing, all-knowing, not-quite-all-merciful manifestation of artificial intelligence to whom humanity has plighted its troth in this eight-part manifestation of real intelligence from creators Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof . Mrs. Davis is, was and ever shall be—unless a heretical nun named Simone, aka Lizzie ( Betty Gilpin ), can win the bet she has made with the omniscient formulation that she calls “it” and find the Holy Grail, on which occasion Mrs. Davis has agreed to self-destruct.

☆ Mexico's Banorte targets 3 mln customers for new digital bank -chairman
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Saeed Azhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) - Mexican lender Grupo Financiero Banorte (GFNORTEO.MX) is preparing to launch a digital bank late this year or in early 2024, which it hopes will add about 3 million customers, its chairman said on Tuesday. "We're expecting the last phase of approvals from the authorities," chairman Carlos Hank Gonzalez told Reuters in an interview about the new digital bank. Rafael Arana, the lender's finance chief, said the digital bank already has 200 staff, which could increase to 600 and 800 after it opens. The business will compete with Brazilian digital bank Nubank, which has aggressively expanded in Mexico and signed up 3.2 million customers. Banorte's digital bank plans to add 3 million customers after learning from its experience of offering credit card applications via mobile phones, Arana said.

☆ ‘The Wife of Bath’ Review: Chaucer’s Unfiltered Heroine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Tom Shippey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The Wife of Bath, pictured in the Ellesmere Chaucer manuscript, ca. 1400There are 32 pilgrims who set out on the journey that frames Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales,” with two more coming along later. Many of these are mere cyphers (like the five guildsmen, not differentiated), but 23 get brief descriptions in the “General Prologue,” and the same number get to tell tales. Only three of the 34, however, are female—the Prioress, her accompanying Nun, and the Wife of Bath—and though they all tell a tale, only the first and last receive a detailed description. This marked gender underrepresentation is very largely redressed by the Wife of Bath, who has stolen the show from Chaucer’s time to now, and become (nearly) everyone’s favorite character.

☆ Fact Check-Mother Theresa and Anthony Fauci are not related, and there is no evidence she trafficked children
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Claims that Anthony Fauci is the son of Mother Theresa are false, contrary to some posts on social media. Similarly, there is no evidence to support online suggestions that Mother Theresa was a child trafficker. Reuters, however, found no reports supporting the claim that she sold babies or was involved in child trafficking (bit.ly/3xuRIWY). Fauci did not respond to a request for comment when claims about his supposed relation to Mother Theresa were first debunked by Reuters in 2021. Claims that Anthony Fauci is the son of Mother Theresa, or that Mother Theresa was a child trafficker, are false.

☆ Jesuits say abuse accusations against priest highly credible, restrictions tightened
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ROME, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The Jesuit Roman Catholic religious order said on Tuesday that accusations of sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse against a prominent member were highly credible and that restrictions against him have been tightened. Father Johan Verschueren, Rupnik's superior in the religious order, posted an update on the case, which has rattled the worldwide religious order and the Vatican since it broke into the open in November. Rupnik has not spoken publicly of the accusations and Verschueren said he has declined to meet Jesuit investigators. The new restrictions particularly ban him from having any artistic activities with churches or other religious institutions, Verschueren said. He said a Jesuit investigation has determined that the alleged abuse took place from the mid-1980s until 2018.

☆ Fact Check-Unfounded claims that Mother Teresa trafficked children circulate online
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

There are no credible reports of Mother Teresa being involved with child trafficking, or “selling babies,” during her life, contrary to claims being shared by social media users online. A Reuters report that same year says the Indian government had ordered investigations into the organization following trafficking concerns (here). While there is plenty of reporting about the 2018 incident, Reuters found no reports to support the claim that Mother Teresa herself sold babies or was involved in child trafficking (bit.ly/3xuRIWY). Reuter has debunked the previously circulating claim that Mother Teresa was Fauci’s mother (here). There are no reports to support the claim that Mother Teresa was involved in child trafficking.

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