Its ancient library holds more than 180,000 manuscripts and 1.6 million books, and it describes its secret archive, which packs priceless documents onto 80km of shelving, as “one of the most important research centers in the world.”
The Vatican’s reputation as a font of knowledge was further boosted when Joseph Ratzinger, a former academic and prolific writer, was elected as pope.
That is why eyebrows were raised when the Vatican resorted to Wikipedia when it released potted biographies of 22 new cardinals who were appointed on Jan. 6.
The biographies, sent to journalists, were cut and pasted from Wikipedia’s Italian--language site without attribution, but questions were asked when many of the archbishops were described as Catholic — a statement recalling the frequently asked question: “Is the pope Catholic?”
In a tone that does not exactly match the Vatican’s style, Willem Jacobus Eijk, archbishop of Utrecht, is described as having a “strong tendency to conservatism, specially regarding abortion and homosexuality, which has made him one of the most talked about religious men in the country.”
The Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said that the biographies were carefully labeled as “unofficial” and said the decision to use Wikipedia was a temporary measure driven by haste.
“Since then we have been putting up official bios on our site,” he said.
However, the use of Wikipedia seems in line with the pope’s approval of the Internet.
After he was criticized in 2009 for being in the dark over Bishop Richard Williamson’s claim that the Nazis did not use gas chambers, he wrote: “In future at the Holy See, we must pay more attention to that source of news.”
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese