vatican

In Rome in the 1960s, the Vatican loomed large over the city, its streets intermingling with the secular neighborhoods around it.

In reality, it’s a bit of a down-the-middle thriller that flirts with tawdriness as it presents the inner workings of the highly secretive Vatican.

His brooding, rough-hewn features were recognizable worldwide, his name a rallying cry from South America to the Vatican.

Survivors are calling for reparations and for the Vatican to devise a universal system for compensation, and the Belgian parliament has opened investigations into historical Church abuse cover-ups.

Deals struck between the Vatican and Beijing in recent years appear to have left a situation where the Chinese government appoints Catholic bishops, and the Pope gives in and recognises them.