Will the presence of the Pope in Spain be a moment of spiritual uplift or an unhelpful distraction? That latter possibility was captured by a recent banner unfurled by indignados protestors in advance of the trip: “Fewer crucifixes and more jobs!” A mounting debt crisis has raised fears that Italy and Spain, the third- and Read more
The digital revolution means an event that may occur three or four times in a lifetime, now happens every Wednesday, on Facebook. Once a week, in a game called “Vatican Wars”, an impassioned struggle occurs on Facebook whereby a new pope is selected who can change or reaffirm the Church’s long established teaching. Papal electors Read more
Strikes across Spain coinciding with the Pope’s visit to World Youth Day have been averted after a baggage handling company agreed to reinstate four workers who had been made redundant. It was reported yesterday that unions representing Spanish airport ground crew had called strikes to coincide with Pope Benedict XVI’s four-day visit to the Spanish Read more
The Vatican Insider reports that tired and weary Pope Paul VI gave serious thoughts to stepping down when he turned 80. Paul VI had gone as far as working out how the retirement would happen, sharing the process with his most trusted aide, Archbishop Giovanni Benelli, whom he was about to appoint as archbishop of Read more
Priests from Madrid’s poorest parishes are criticising the cost of Pope Benedict’s visit to Madrid for World Youth Day, (WYD2011.) “The Priests’ Forum” estimates the cost of the visit, not counting security, to be around NZ$105 million, and says the visit cannot be justified at a time of massive public cuts and 20% unemployment in Spain. Read more
Pope Benedict has been following news of drought-stricken Horn of Africa, especially Somalia with “deep concern”. Benedict is urging the international community to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to the drought-stricken area. “Innumerable people are fleeing from that tremendous famine in search of food and assistance. I hope the international community will increase its efforts to Read more
Australian Catholics for Renewal, in an open letter addressed to the Pope and the Bishops of Australia say that the church no longer has the power to inspire people. “It (the Church) has alienated too many adults who were born of Catholic parents, attended Catholic schools and lived a sacramental life,” the letter says. The Catholics for Renewal chairman, Read more
A simple Tweet from his iPad, and Pope Benedict launched the Vatican’s new online news portal. The new website www.news.va aggregates news content from the Vatican’s newspaper, radio, television and online outlets. News.va offers print, video and audio material. It features a list of the 10 most-read stories and offers links to many social network sites. Users can Read more
Dialogue rather than arms is the solution to global conflict according to the official representative of Vatican politics, Archbishop Edumnd Farhat. Farhat, speaking at the International conference on the global Fight against Terrorism in Theran insisted that charity, dialogue and pardon were the ways forward. “There is no word for terrorism in my religion, Christianity,” Farhat Read more
Pope Benedict marked the UN day for refugees by urging civil authorities and all people of good will to welcome refugees and guarantee them dignified living conditions until they can freely and safely return to their homeland. The pope’s comments were made during his Angelus message. Speaking on Vatican radio, Archbishop Antonio Maria Veglio, the Read more