Pope Benedict XVI

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Vatican Sacks Bishop Who Wanted Women Priests

William Morris also argued church should consider ordaining married men

(Newser) - An Australian bishop claims the Roman Catholic church sacked him because he advocated the ordaining of women and married men. The Vatican confirmed today that Bishop William Morris had been "removed from pastoral care" by Pope Benedict XVI, and Morris claims the ouster was a result of a 2006...

Benedict Beatifies John Paul II

Just 6 years after John Paul's death, beatification fastest in modern times

(Newser) - More than a million people, along with 16 heads of state and other international dignitaries, flocked to St. Peter's Square at the Vatican today for the beatification of Pope John Paul II, as the former church leader moved one step closer to sainthood. Coming just six years after the...

Pope John Paul II Beatification: He's No Saint, Says Maureen Dowd
 John Paul 
 Is No Saint 


Maureen Dowd

John Paul Is No Saint

Remember that whole pedophilia scandal he ignored?

(Newser) - On this Easter, Maureen Dowd turns to another resurrection of sorts next Sunday: The beatification of Pope John Paul II, or "PR boost" that Pope Benedict hopes to get from the "swiftest ascension toward sainthood on record." And while there was much to love about the "...

'Divine Reason' Behind Humanity, Creation: Pope

Easter Vigil homily emphasizes God's role in humanity

(Newser) - There is "divine reason" behind creation and humanity, said Pope Benedict XVI in his Easter Vigil homily yesterday. "Are irrationality, lack of freedom, and pure chance the origin of everything, or are reason, freedom, and love at the origin of being?" he asked. "If man were merely...

Pope Talks Japan, Iraq in Rare TV Chat

First time Benedict has used television to speak directly with public

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI marked Good Friday by holding his first-ever televised question-and-answer session. “In His Image” aimed to update the Catholic Church’s image as the pope offered prerecorded responses to questions from around the world. Among the seven questioners was a 7-year-old in Japan, who asked why her...

Meet Pope Benedict's 4 'Guardian Angels'

Loredana, Carmela, Cristina, and Rosella

(Newser) - Infallible, maybe, but Pope Benedict still needs help around the house. Worldcrunch (via Time ) provides a look at the pontiff's everyday life, including the four "guardian angels" who help him:
  • Four lay women who have taken vows of poverty and chastity work in his Vatican apartment. Loredana
...

Benedict Exonerates Jews for Jesus' Death

Says Jews, as a whole, were not responsible

(Newser) - Pope Benedict would like to be clear: the Jewish people as a whole were not responsible for the death of God's only son. The pope makes the sweeping exoneration in his new book, Jesus of Nazareth, excerpts of which were released today. In it, Benedict presents a biblical and theological...

Pope: Don't Let Online Friends Trump Real Ones

Social networking requires 'serious reflection,' says Benedict

(Newser) - Pope Benedict issued a warning to Facebookers, tweeters, et al today: Don’t let your online world overshadow your real one. While social networks offer "a great opportunity," he said, "It is important always to remember that virtual contact cannot and must not take the place of...

Pope: Marriage Is Not a Right
 Pope: Marriage Is Not a Right 

Pope: Marriage Is Not a Right

Benedict wants better pre-marital counseling to reduce annulments

(Newser) - Marriage isn't a God-given right and it's not just for any schmuck, Pope Benedict said yesterday in an annual speech to the Vatican's tribunal that rules on annulments. "No one can make a claim to the right to a nuptial ceremony," he said. The pontiff also urged priests...

John Paul's 'Miracle' Shows Catholic Church's Hypocrisy

Michael Kinsley: If we used stem cells, we wouldn't need miracles

(Newser) - News that the Vatican has given the late pontiff John Paul II credit for a miracle related to Parkinson's leads Michael Kinsley—who has Parkinson's himself—to one conclusion: "The Roman Catholic Church has either a very good or a very bad sense of humor." After all, if...

John Paul II to Be Beatified in May
John Paul II to Be
Beatified in May

John Paul II to Be Beatified in May

Pope Benedict certifies miracle healing

(Newser) - Pope John Paul II will be beatified May 1, the Vatican announced today. The news follows Pope Benedict's determination that his predecessor performed a miracle when a nun was cured of Parkinson’s disease after praying to him, the Los Angeles Times reports. It’s been a speedy road toward...

John Paul II Speeding Toward Sainthood

Benedict expected to beatify him this year

(Newser) - John Paul II's fast track to sainthood gets even faster this week. A Vatican panel has concluded that the former pontiff did indeed perform a miracle—a nun says her Parkinson's disappeared after she prayed to him—and will present its findings to Pope Benedict within days, reports Reuters . Benedict...

Pope: Please Give Your Babies Christian Names

Traditional names 'indelible seal' of faith ... and Chelsea is a no-no

(Newser) - Offbeat baby names are getting more common every year, but Pope Benedict XVI is having none of it. The pontiff took time out from baptizing 21 babies in the Sistine Chapel on Sunday to rail against the trend of giving babies names that don't come from saints or the Bible,...

Pope to Middle East Christians: Stay Strong
Pope to Middle East Christians:
Stay Strong
new year's address

Pope to Middle East Christians: Stay Strong

Hours after Egypt church blast, pope urges followers 'not to yield'

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI urged Christians to remain strong in the face of intolerance and violence in a New Year's appeal today that came hours after a bomb blast outside an Egyptian church killed 21 people as worshippers left Mass. The pope condemned a widening campaign against Christians in the Middle...

Pope Razzes China in Christmas Message

Tells Catholics in the country to persevere

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI urged loyal Catholics in China and Iraq to have courage in the face of persecution and limits on their religious freedom, as the largest number of pilgrims in a decade flocked to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem. Benedict's traditional holiday speech highlighted the tensions between Beijing and the...

Amid Heightened Security, Pope Ushers In Christmas

Pontiff heralds holiday without incident

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI ushered in Christmas Eve with an evening Mass today amid heightened security concerns following the package bombings at two Rome embassies and Christmas Eve security breaches at the Vatican the past two years running. Benedict made his way down the central aisle of St. Peter's Basilica at...

Pope: Sex Abuse at a Level 'We Could Not Have Imagined'

Pontiff issues mea culpa in annual speech

(Newser) - Pope Benedict issued a sobering Christmas speech today, admitting that sexual abuse in the church has reached "an unimaginable dimension,” and calling for major reflection. “We must ask ourselves what we can do to repair as much as possible,” the pontiff proclaimed, according to the New ...

Half-Naked Acrobats Shake Up Staid Vatican

Benedict looks especially uncomfortable

(Newser) - The Vatican's normally a pretty staid place, lined with pure thoughts and celibate clergymen, so more than a few eyebrows raised when four buff guys lined up in front of Pope Benedict himself and ripped their shirts off. The four were actually acrobats, known as the Pilgrim Brothers, who proceeded...

Pope's Shift on Condoms a Wise Move

 Pope's Shift 
 on Condoms 
 a Wise Move 
opinion

Pope's Shift on Condoms a Wise Move

Conservative columnists like the pontiff's declaration

(Newser) - The pope's declaration that condoms are OK for prostitutes wins praise from two conservative columnists today:
  • Michael Gerson, Washington Post : It's a "welcome and necessary shift," he writes. Benedict isn't conceding "the moral ideal" of abstinence outside of marriage, but he's suggesting "that there is a
...

Condoms OK for Ladies, Too: Pope

Even if it also will prevent babies

(Newser) - OK, OK, everyone can use condoms—but only if you’re trying to prevent HIV. That’s the new word from the Vatican, which today declared that giving HIV to your sexual partner was a greater evil than preventing a possible pregnancy, the AP reports. The statement clarifies the assertion...

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