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
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
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
Pope Benedict has withdrawn to Castel Gandolfo while his successor is chosen. But few know that the papal summer residence of almost 400 years has a curious history, serving as a hideout for Jews, delivery ward and target for paparazzi. In the late evening of Aug. 6, 1978, a heavy iron chain was pulled across Read more
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
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
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
Dear Brothers and Sisters, I offer a warm and affectionate greeting to the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors who have joined me for this, my last General Audience. Like Saint Paul, whose words we heard earlier, my heart is filled with thanksgiving to God who ever watches over his Church and her growth in faith and Read more
Although Pope Benedict XVI’s highly unusual resignation is said to be for reasons of health, it fits the character of his papacy: all his initiatives remain incomplete. He was elected to rescue the church from itself, but he failed to finish what he started. The assessments of his papacy have so far focused on Benedict’s Read more
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