Pope Benedict XVI and the Roman Catholic Church. news, opinions, stories and discussion about how Pope Benedict is leading the Roman Catholic Church and the political and social implications of his style, direction, and policies. How...
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Pope Benedict XVI and the Roman Catholic Church. news, opinions, stories and discussion about how Pope Benedict is leading the Roman Catholic Church and the political and social implications of his style, direction, and policies. How will Pope Benedict direct the church in world politics?
A Palestinian nun who co-founded a charity dedicated to educating Arab girls has taken an important step toward sainthood. Thousands of worshippers gathered in the biblical town of Nazareth on Sunday to attend the beatification of the late Sister Maria Alfonsina Danil Ghattas. Ghattas helped found the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem in the 1880s. The order, highly regarded in Palestinian communities, continues to run schools for Palestinian girls in Israel, the West Bank and the... Read Full Story
Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday sought to boost ties between the Roman Catholic Church and the art world as he met with dozens of artists in the Vatican's illustrious Sistine Chapel. The pope urged non-believers to "enter into dialogue with believers, with those who, like yourselves, consider that they are pilgrims in this world and in history towards infinite beauty." He added: "Faith takes nothing away from your genius or your art: on the contrary, it exalts them and nourishes them... Read Full Story
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict met artists from around the world in the Sistine Chapel on Saturday and urged them to inject spirituality into their work, saying contemporary beauty was often "illusory and deceitful." The Pope told the gathering of hundreds of painters, sculptors, architects, poets and directors, held beneath the vaulted ceiling of the chapel painted by Michelangelo, that he wanted to "renew the Church's friendship with the world of art." "Beauty ... can become a path... Read Full Story
VATICAN CIY, Vatican City, Nov. 21 (UPI) --
Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams held a meeting Saturday, their first since the Vatican targeted disaffected Anglicans.
The Vatican released a statement saying the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England and Anglican Communion discussed areas of common work and of difference. The two engaged in
the statement said.
A recent Vatican initiative would allow congregations and even dioceses to... Read Full Story
by Gina Doggett VATICAN CITY (AFP) -- Pope Benedict XVI and his Anglican counterpart, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, had "cordial discussions" Saturday, the Vatican said amid tensions between the two churches. The strictly private meeting came just two weeks after the Vatican made it easier for disgruntled Anglicans to convert to Catholicism, a move that caught Williams off-guard, saying he had been informed of it "at a very late stage." The two leaders "focused on recent events... Read Full Story
Pope Benedict XVI called Wednesday for greater international efforts to ensure basic human rights for children, saying he was praying for all young people who suffer. Benedict made the comments during his weekly general audience as he marked the 20th anniversary of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, the first legally binding and most widely ratified international treaty to affirm human rights for all children. "My thoughts go to all the children of the world, especially those... Read Full Story
LONDON, Nov. 21 (UPI) --
Britain's top Roman Catholic prelate says disgruntled Anglicans must accept the pope's authority if they wish to convert because of Church of England reforms.
Rev. Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster and the most senior Catholic in England and Wales, warned Friday anyone who bolts the Church of England for Catholicism because of the ordination of female priests or its stance on homosexuality is making a mistake, The Guardian reported.
Nichols told... Read Full Story
A series of four books presented Tuesday at the Vatican seeks to explain how Michelangelo and other artists translated the Bible into images to produce in the Sistine Chapel some of the world's most renowned frescoes. The first volume focuses on Michelangelo's ceiling and its scenes from the book of Genesis and the creation of the world. Vatican Museums director Antonio Paolucci said the volume offers a "basic code" to understand the symbols and scenes that adorn the room where popes are... Read Full Story
The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops said Monday that church leaders have a duty to the nation and God to raise moral concerns in the debate over health care, whether the issue is abortion rights or coverage for the poor. Chicago Cardinal Francis George said that church leaders are obliged to ensure that "issues that are moral questions before they become political remain moral questions when they become political." Roman Catholic prelates believe that "everyone should be... Read Full Story
Executives from Facebook, Wikipedia and Google are attending a Vatican meeting to brief officials and Catholic bishops about the Internet and digital youth culture. The symposium, which opened Thursday and runs through Sunday, also will address Internet copyright issues and hacking — including testimony from a young Swiss hacker and an Interpol cyber-crime official. The meeting is being hosted by the European bishop's media commission and is designed to delve into questions about what... Read Full Story
