Full Coverage: Vatican City State (Holy See)

28.04.2008 Hundreds of Chileans have announced their intention to leave the Catholic Church following the Vatican's involvement in a local constitutional ruling to ban free contraception.

18.04.2008 Pope Benedict's papacy is "the 'greenest' ever," writes Gary Gardner, emphasizing that the religious leader actively embraces both environmental and social sustainability.

23.08.2007 Amnesty International sets out its policy on sexual and reproductive rights following a clash with the Vatican over abortion for rape victims, which the Vatican opposes.

14.06.2007 Amnesty International today fought off a Vatican cardinal's injunction to Catholics not to donate to the organisation and stood by the rights of women and girls to be free from threat, force or coercion as they exercise their sexual and reproductive rights.
+ Vatican cardinal calls on Catholics to stop funding Amnesty

14.06.2007 Catholics should stop donating to human rights group Amnesty International because of its new policy advocating abortion rights for women if they had been raped, were a victim of incest or faced health risks, a Vatican cardinal said yesterday.

03.05.2006 The Catholic Church is considering endorsing the use of condoms by married couples in which one partner has HIV/AIDS.

03.02.2005 Without condoms death can be transmitted during sex just as life can, said Cardinal Georges Cottier, the most senior Vatican official to question the Catholic ChurchÂ’s stance on condom use.

20.10.2003 A 300,000 strong multi-ethnic crowd gathered at St Peter's Square for the beatification ceremony of Mother Teresa, who takes a step closer to sainthood.

22.10.2002 Some organisations have begun to question the Vatican's status at the United Nations, where it is the only religious body that can vote in UN conferences and therefore influence international decisions affecting people of all faiths, says Shravanti Reddy.

24.04.2002 United States cardinals are meeting at the Vatican in a bid to resolve a paedophilia scandal that is threatening to engulf the US Catholic establishment.

21.06.2001 Governments must shrug off "moral squeamishness" over the way HIV is transmitted if they are to make real headway at next week's United Nations conference on HIV/AIDS, says a leading human rights group.

22.02.2001 Pope John Paul has put a lasting stamp on the worldwide Catholic establishment by boosting the chances of the next Pontiff coming from the developing world in the selection this week of his elite group of cardinal electors.

12.01.2001 A key Council at the Vatican has issued a call for total cancellation of unpayable debts including those owed to the international financial institutions

23.11.2000 Four thousand politicians from around the world called for further action to cut the debts of the world's poorest countries when they met for the 'Jubilee of Parliamentarians' hosted by Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.

15.03.2000 A coalition of over 450 women's and human rights groups worldwide, spearheaded by Catholics For a Free Choice, has launched a campaign calling for a review of the Holy See's status at the United Nations.