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When Pope Francis visited his predecessor at Castle Gandolfo in March, he said to Benedict XVI that “we are brothers.” This image nicely frames the differences between them. It underscores that the election of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was not a rupture in the Church (as some suggest) but an unexpected lesson in apostolic continuity. Specifically, Read more
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In one of the last acts of his pontificate, Benedict XVI gave an address to the clergy of the Diocese of Rome on the Second Vatican Council. In the address he drew a distinction between what he termed the Virtual Council, or Council of the Media, and the Real Council or Council of those who actually produced Read more
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The Vatican has denied a Spanish report that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is seriously ill. On the contrary, said Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, Benedict XVI “does not have any illness” and “this has been certified by his doctors”. The report in El Mundo quoted Spanish Vaticanista Paloma Gomez-Borrero as saying: “Benedict XVI has something very Read more
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The “Vatileaks” scandal was one in a long series of recent Vatican scandals, and sadly it was not the last. Something of the dark irony of the scandal – “the Butler done it” – may have prevented people from seeing the seriousness of the incident. In reality it’s one of the most serious security breaches Read more
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The greatest work of charity is evangelisation, Pope Benedict XVI declares in his Lenten message for 2013, in which he cautions against the tendency to reduce the term “charity” to solidarity or simply humanitarian aid. Preaching the Gospel, the Pope says, is actually the greatest act of charity, since it involves “the highest and the Read more
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VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI launched his own Twitter feed this week (Dec. 3) to worldwide media coverage — it’s hard to resist the story of an octogenarian pontiff mixing it up with the digerati — and to considerable acclaim from church insiders. The praise was understandable. After the spate of missteps that have Read more
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The task of evangelisation is closely linked to the work of ecumenism, Pope Benedict XVI has told participants in a plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. “We cannot follow a truly ecumenical path while ignoring the crisis of faith affecting vast areas of the world, including those where the proclamation of Read more
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The principal purpose for the Synod of Bishops, which commenced Oct. 7, is to study how the New Evangelization affects the mission of the Church. The Holy Father has asked the synod to study about “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.” As the theme indicates, the focus is on the “transmission” Read more
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The 25th Synod of Bishops began Sunday, this one dedicated to “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.” New evangelization is the apple of Pope Benedict XVI’s eye, so the synod, held every couple of years or so since 1967, is being touted by the Vatican, along with the Year of Faith Read more
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Catholics have been arguing about the Second Vatican Council—about what it did and didn’t do, about what it meant and still means or what it never meant and could never mean—for half a century. Many reform-minded Catholics today are disappointed by what they see as a retreat, under the papacies of John Paul II and Read more
