Vatican

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Pope Prays for Healing After Abuse Scandal

Reassures clergy of his "spiritual closeness" in NYC

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI spent the third anniversary of his election to the papacy trying to comfort clergy still weathering the fallout from the priest sex abuse scandal, the AP reports. “I simply wish to assure you of my spiritual closeness,” Benedict said. The pontiff, addressing 3,000 people...

After Pope Meets Victims, Vatican Considers Change

Canon law, particularly on statute of limitations, evolving with sex scandal

(Newser) - Just a day after a Washington meeting where Pope Benedict XVI talked with victims sexually abused by Catholic priests, a Vatican official said the church would consider changes to canon law dictating how the church deals with such offenses, the New York Times reports. Cardinal William Levada holds Benedict’s...

Did You See What the Pope Is Wearing?!?

Benedict brings back vintage papal styles; Catholics wonder why

(Newser) - Benedict XVI is wearing some pretty flashy, and pretty old-school, outfits, and pope-watchers the world over are atwitter, the Washington Post reports. Unlike his predecessor, who “would just wear whatever was given to him,” the current pontiff is reaching into a closet that dates back hundreds of years,...

'Monumental' US Visit Ahead
 'Monumental' US Visit Ahead 
UPDATED

'Monumental' US Visit Ahead

Unprecedented presidential welcome kick off Pope's jam-packed itinerary

(Newser) - Today's arrival of Pope Benedict XVI "had the look and feel of a monumental and historic event," a CNN correspondent notes—and the six-day visit will indeed be eventful. Benedict will speak to US Catholic leadership tomorrow after a welcoming ceremony at the White House, then visit the...

Greenies Find God Might Be the Answer
Greenies Find God Might Be the Answer

Greenies Find God Might Be the Answer

Eco lobby partners with the pulpit to get through to Congress

(Newser) - How much carbon would Jesus use? Not much, say the religious communities now teaming with environmentalists to lobby Capitol Hill. As a carbon-capping bill approaches the Senate, eco-advocates hope that church partnerships will re-frame the debate, and religious leaders rail against the desecration of divine creation and the suffering of...

America May See Soft Side of Hardline Pope

Pontiff known to blend dogma with compassion

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI is a known hardliner, but Americans may see his softer side during a 5-day US tour this week, the New York Times reports. During stops at the White House, United Nations, and various churches, Benedict will touch on abortion, divorce, war, and the priest sex-abuse scandals, but...

7 Deadly Sins? Try These On for Size
7 Deadly Sins? Try These On
for Size
OPINION

7 Deadly Sins? Try These On for Size

PJ O'Rourke disagrees with Vatican, comes up with his own no-nos

(Newser) - The Vatican has released a list of seven new Deadly Sins, and satirist-curmudgeon PJ O’Rourke isn’t impressed. Writing in the Weekly Standard, O’Rourke details the updated catalogue, which includes “morally debatable experimentation,” “social inequality and injustice,” and “genetic manipulation.” Finding it...

Muslims Outnumber Catholics: Vatican

Islam is world's biggest religion with 1.3B members

(Newser) - Islam has topped Roman Catholicism as the world's biggest religion for the first time, the Vatican said today. About 1.1 billion people are still Catholic, but Muslims have pulled ahead with 1.3 billion members. “For the first time in history we are no longer at the top:...

Prominent Italian Muslim Baptized by Pope

Convert Takes Big Step at Vatican During Easter Vigil

(Newser) - Italy's best-known commentator on Islam converted to Catholicism yesterday at the Vatican, during Easter vigil, and was baptized by the Pope himself, the AP reports. Though Magdi Allam was born a Muslim, he said he "never" practiced his native religion, and made his name criticizing Islamic fanaticism, receiving death...

Pope Slams Iraq War
 Pope Slams Iraq War 

Pope Slams Iraq War

Speaks to faithful in Palm Sunday Mass

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI harshly criticized the Iraq war today at the close of a Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, the AP reports. “Enough with the slaughters. Enough with the violence. Enough with the hatred,” he said to applause from a crowd of thousands. He said...

Catholic Colleges Brace for Pope's Criticism

Free-thinking academics anticipate call to toe the line

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI’s April address to top Catholic educators is likely to be a call to observe church teachings more closely, reports the Washington Post. All but 20 of the 235 American Catholic colleges and universities are too freethinking to suit the Vatican, says one expert, and the situation...

Kidnapped Priest Found Dead in Iraq
Kidnapped Priest Found Dead in Iraq

Kidnapped Priest Found Dead in Iraq

Captors tell church Chaldean archbishop was ill before death

(Newser) - The body of the Chaldean Catholic archbishop who was abducted last month has been found in a shallow grave in northern Iraq, the BBC reports. His kidnappers contacted church officials yesterday to tell them Paulos Faraj Rahho, archbishop of Mosul, had become very sick. They reported his death later that...

Environment, Bioethics Under Vatican's Scrutiny

Church updates Catholic morality for modern, globalized life

(Newser) - Catholics must guard against "new sins" such as polluting the environment and using genetic modification, the Vatican says. Their church has updated the concept of sin for the contemporary world, paying special attention to the expanding and morally murky world of bioethics, a top official from the Apostolic Penitentiary,...

Pope to Cut Luther a Break
Pope to Cut Luther a Break

Pope to Cut Luther a Break

Vatican changing view after 500 years

(Newser) - Five centuries after he ignited the Reformation by challenging papal authority, Martin Luther is expected to get a break from—of all people—Pope Benedict XVI. The pope is German and ostensibly that's the only thing he has in common with Luther. Nevertheless, the pope plans a warmer and fuzzier...

Vatican Meets With Muslims to Set Summit

Leaders aim to mend rift created by pope's inflammatory speech

(Newser) - Leaders from the Muslim world met with Vatican officials today to begin preparations for this summer's landmark Catholic-Islamic summit. Pope Benedict XVI will participate in the talks in an effort by the two religions to reconcile differences aggravated by a 2006 speech by the pontiff that offended many Muslims, reports...

Vatican Goes to Confessional in an Art Museum

Church reveals Inquisition artifacts

(Newser) - Sure, thousands of accused witches and blasphemers were burned and tortured during the Roman Catholic Church’s centuries-long Inquisition in the Middle Ages—but, with the help of a new art exhibition, the Vatican hopes to show that it wasn't so bad after all, Newsweek reports. The “Rare and...

'Saint Factory' Slows Down Production
'Saint Factory' Slows Down Production

'Saint Factory' Slows Down Production

New Vatican rules will make getting a halo a little harder

(Newser) - The Vatican is moving to slow traffic on the road to sainthood, the BBC reports. Critics accused the Vatican of becoming a "saint factory" under the late Pope John Paul II, who created more saints than all his predecessors combined. The new, more rigorous guidelines under Benedict XVI require...

Spain's PM Tells Church to Get Out of Election

Zapatero meets with Vatican rep over campaign to oust him

(Newser) - Spanish PM José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is meeting today with a Vatican representative to protest the Catholic Church's call for voters to oust his Socialist party in the March 9 general election. Zapatero was infuriated by bishops' publication of "moral guidance," calling on parishioners to vote out...

Jews Outraged at Vatican Prayer
Jews Outraged at Vatican Prayer

Jews Outraged at Vatican Prayer

Anger over call for Jewish conversion

(Newser) - An updated version of a centuries-old Good Friday prayer has opened a rift between Roman Catholics and Jews. When Pope Benedict XVI reinstated the Latin mass, the Vatican promised to rewrite a controversial prayer calling for the conversion of Jews. But the new, merely toned-down version has infuriated Jewish leaders...

British Cleric to Pope: Party On!
British Cleric to Pope: Party On!

British Cleric to Pope: Party On!

Archbishop of York knows Bavarian pontiff likes brew

(Newser) - An Anglican archbishop from the land of Monty Python brought Pope Benedict a hoppy Holy Grail this month, reports the Guardian. Archbishop of York John Sentamu had heard that Benedict liked Black Sheep, so he brought along the British ale and a custom brew dubbed Holy Grail to his audience...

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