The Vatican is labelling as “deplorable” articles in two Italian newspapers claiming corruption, blackmail and sexual intrigue among Vatican cardinals. “If in the past, the so-called powers, i.e., States, exerted pressures on the election of the Pope, today there is an attempt to do this through public opinion,” read a statement from the Vatican Secretariat Read more
Spikes in Pope Benedict’s blood pressure means his physician advised him to avoid air travel, reports Marco Tosatti. Benedict’s health is progressively deteriorating, and the 85-year-old pontiff often has problems sleeping, reports the veteran Vatican journalist. Tosatti notes Benedict has fallen out of bed several times on recent trips abroad, and his doctor had advised him Read more
Claud Cockburn, the perceptive British journalist, once remarked with characteristic assurance that Catholics could never run a book on the papal election. It would be blasphemy, he said, because Catholics believe that the Pope is chosen by the Holy Spirit. I found the comment intriguing. It was factually counter-intuitive because Catholics I knew were prepared Read more
Bookmaker Paddy Power has odds of Turkson becoming the pope at 3-1 — a prediction that is not entirely out of the blue for the cardinal, who acknowledged the possibility of a black pope in a press conference in 2009. “Why not?” Turkson said, arguing that when you agree to become a priest, you must Read more
Two of the 117 cardinals to elect the new pope, both who live outside Rome are in no rush for the Conclave to be convened. New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George have both expressed a little concern about the bringing the conclave forward. Cardinal George told reporters, Sunday after celebrating Mass, Read more
Pope Benedict may change Church rules governing the conclave where cardinals from around the world will meet next month to secretly elect his successor, the Vatican said on Wednesday. Benedict was studying the possibility of making changes to laws established by his predecessor Pope John Paul before he abdicates on February 28, a spokesman said. Read more
Pope Benedict will receive the a papal pension of €2,500-a-month. The pension is 50 per cent less than that awarded to a retired cardinal. The pope’s pension is almost identical to the maximum Social Security benefit a U.S. retiree could earn if they retired this year. To receive a check that size in the USA, a retiree Read more
The Italian cardinal leading Pope Benedict XVI’s Lenten retreat has stolen the limelight by tweeting and podcasting his reflections, signaling that detachment from the outside world doesn’t have to mean a total media blackout. The high-flying papal retreat preacher Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi is tweeting his talks in Italian and English Twitter accounts, @CardRavasi and @CardRavasi_en. Cardinal Read more
As more than 50,000 supporters jammed into St. Peter’s Square on Sunday for Pope Benedict’s next-to-last weekly blessing, as it emerged the ageing pontiff may have gone blind in one eye, reports the LA Times. New evidence is emerging of Benedict’s declining physical condition. Peter Seewald, a German journalist who has interviewed Benedict on numerous Read more
As Catholics, the media and people from all around the world try and digest Pope Benedict’s resignation, I think it’s fair to ask ‘why’, and ‘why now.’ Benedict says his health is not up to it. That seems fair. If the Pope says he’s not up to it, I think we have to believe him Read more