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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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Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has said he is “happy to be back at the Vatican” after moving into his new quarters in a restored convent in the Vatican Gardens. A Vatican statement said the retired Pope intended to “dedicate himself to the service of the Church, above all with prayer”. But Vatican correspondent John Allen Read more
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The Catholic bishops of Austria have stipulated that the only currently permitted translation of the Latin words “pro multis” in the Eucharistic Prayer is “for all”. Last year Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI told the German-speaking bishops that their new translation of the Missal — due to come into use on the first Sunday of Advent Read more
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In an historic meeting, Pope Francis and Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI prayed side-by-side in the chapel at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo. “In the chapel, the Pope Emeritus offered the place of honour to Pope Francis, but he said: ‘We are brothers’, and wanted them to kneel together in the same place,” said Read more
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For the second year in a row, Cuba’s communist government has declared Good Friday a national holiday. The gesture came days after President Raul Castro welcomed the appointment of Pope Francis as the first-ever Latin American pontiff. Last year the Cuban government observed a holiday on Good Friday as an “exceptional” gesture following a request Read more
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For the last month or so I’ve been glued to Twitter, Zite (an app on my phone,) or just my computer browser, trying to gather a range of current perspectives on the events in Rome, the need to elect a new pope. Global news cycles unfold at different times, and sometimes I found myself finishing Read more
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No matter how much my Mum tried to speak softly about the outrageous goings on in the Presbyterian Church with ‘that man Geering’, I could hear her telephone whisperings. One of the great advantages of my childhood bedroom was its proximity to the telephone. A significant cream instrument with braided cord, set upon a clever combination Read more
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Pope Benedict’s last words and gestures are worth noting. Take four of his last decisions, for example. 1) Nine months after the sacking of the President of the scandal-ridden Vatican bank, he appoints a new President: a lay man and a non-Italian. 2) He appoints a man of promise to a diplomatic post in a Read more
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A Vatican diplomat has credited Pope Benedict XVI with “a cleansing of the episcopate”, saying that he removed many unsuitable bishops during his pontificate. “This Pope has removed two or three bishops per month throughout the world because either the accounts in their dioceses were a mess or their discipline was a disaster,” said Archbishop Read more
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Hong Kong’s retired Cardinal Joseph Zen has accused Vatican officials of “a policy of appeasement and compromise” that allowed Communist China’s control of the Church there. Cardinal Zen said Pope Benedict XVI set appropriate policies, but “his work was wasted by others close to him, who did not follow his line”. “Saying ‘others’ I mean Read more
