Pope has approved an offer to the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX)
Vatican City, Jun. 27, 2008 - The Italian daily Il Giornale reports that Pope Benedict XVI has approved an offer to the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) that could heal the breach between the Holy See and the traditionalist group. The Vatican’s offer requires a response from the SSPX by June 28, Il Giornale says. The offer was apparently explained by Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos , the president of the Ecclesia Dei Commission, during a recent meeting with Bishop Bernard Fellay, the superior general of the SSPX. Rumors of Vatican efforts to regularize the status of the SSPX have persisted for months. Il Giornal ...Read More
Pope Benedict XVI named Archbishop Raymond Burke to head the Vatican's top canonical court
Vatican, Jun. 27, 2008 - Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis, Missouri, has been named by Pope Benedict XVI to head the Vatican's top canonical court. Archbishop Burke will become the prefect of the supreme tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, a judicial body that is roughly the equivalent of the US Supreme Court. He will replace Cardinal Agostino Vallini, who has been named the Pope's vicar for the Rome diocese. Archbishop Burke was installed as head of the St. Louis archdiocese in January 2004. His tenure there has been marked by controversy, with the archbishop-- an acknowledged expert on canon law-- meeting resistance a ...Read More
Prolife, homosexual and atheist activists planning to harass WYD pilgrims
Washington, 26 June 2008 – When Catholic youth around the world converge in Sydney, Australia for World Youth Day they’ll be handed condoms in an attempt to protest the pope’s unwavering opposition to abortion, contraception and homosexuality. The NoToPope Coalition, a group of abortion, homosexual and atheist activists, including Raelians and the Socialist Alliance, will reportedly number between 1,000 and 5,000 protestors. They plan to distribute condoms to pilgrims en route to the Papal Mass at Randwick Racecourse July 20. “It’s getting easier and easier to identify good and evil,” said Judie Brown, president of American Life League. “These young pilgrims will be an undeniable visual reminder that young Catholics, committed to living orthodox lives of faith, are the hope of the Church. They are already battling a world determined to undermine their God.” Rachel Evans, organizer of the NoToPope protest said of Benedict XVI: “He’s clearl ...Read More
Pope is not dressed by Prada but by Christ
Vatican City, June 26,2008 - Rumors that Pope Benedict XVI wears shoes made by high-fashion Italian designer Prada are "of course false," Vatican sources say. Speculation that the Pope wears designer clothes has been flying around since he was elected in 2005, The Times of London reported Thursday.The Pope's brightly colored red shoes and attractive sunglasses have prompted many to deem him a "style icon," the Times said.The rumors were cleared up Thursday in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper.Vatican sources said the Pope gets his shoes from Adriano Stefanelli, a cobbler in Novara, Italy.Spanish writer and author, Juan Manuel de Prada, wrote in the article the Pope is a "simple and sober man" and rumors saying otherwise were "stupid and banal.""The Pope is not dressed by Prada but by Christ," he said. UPI ...Read More
Pope exhorted the bishops from Honduras to promote the truth about marriage
Vatican City, Jun 26, 2008 - Thursday morning saw Pope Benedict receive bishops from Honduras as they completed their “ad limina” visit. The Pontiff exhorted the prelates to continue their work to promote the truth about marriage in their country.Recalling that the Honduran people "is characterized by a profound religious spirit which finds expression, among other things, in the numerous and deep-rooted practices of popular devotion,” the Pope noted that this character faces challenges. Most notable among the challenges are “the spread of secularism and the proselytism of sects,” Benedict said. These trials should not lead to discouragement, said the Holy Father. Rather, they should “serve as a stimulus for a bold and far- reaching effort of evangelization, founded - rather than on the effectiveness of material means and human plans - on the power of the Word of God, faithfully accepted, humbly experienced and trustingly announc ...Read More
Seventeen Christians were abducted by armed militants in Pakistan
Islamabad: Seventeen Christians were abducted by armed militants in northwest Pakistan on Saturday and held them briefly before being freed unharmed early today in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan, police said. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the kidnapping of members of the minority community and assured the National Assembly that a thorough investigation will be conducted to bring those responsible to justice. Police said militants stormed a house in Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), and held the Christians who were part of a group that had gathered last night for a prayer service. The unidentified militants, who came in about 10 vehicles, assaulted members of the gathering before taking away 17 of them to the tribal Khyber Agency bordering Afghanistan. No group has claimed ...Read More
Pope Benedict said only the pure of heart could receive communion
Pope Benedict said on Sunday only the pure of heart could receive communion, a day after Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi joked that the Church should extend it to those who have divorced and remarried. Italian newspapers had reported that Berlusconi, attending a ceremony in Sardinia, asked a bishop offering communion when the Church planned to change the rules for people who remarried after divorce, who are barred from receiving communion. "You should turn to a higher power than me," replied the priest, according to newspapers. The pope, in a message to a Quebec conference, did not mention Berlusconi or divorce but said communion could only be given to those who were free of major sins. "We have to do everything that is in our power to receive (communion) in a pure heart, searching without end, through the sacrament of forgiveness, the purity that sin has stained," Pope Benedict said in his message. "On th ...Read More
The Pope called for peace in “tormented” Lebanon
Vatican City – In the address he made in today’s Angelus the Pope called for peace in “tormented” Lebanon and solidarity with the victims of a ship that capsized in the cyclone that hit the Philippines today. Before the Marian prayer was recited Benedict XVI quoting from today’s Gospel told the 20,000 present in St Peter’s Square that those who “fear” God do not have to fear because they know that they are “in the arms’ of the Father, and are not the victims of the “existential fear” that “sometime turns into anxiety” and “is born from a sense of emptiness linked to a certain culture permeated by widespread theoretical and practical nihilism.”“In this Sunday’s Gospel,” said the Pope, “we find two invitations by Jesus. On the one hand, He says “do not be afraid of them (men)”; on the other he says to “be afraid” of God (cf Mt, 10:26-28). We are thus urged to reflect on the difference that exists between human fears and the fear of God. Fear is a natural element ...Read More
Pope Benedict was invited to visit the Philippines
VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI pledged Sunday to say a "special prayer to God" after a typhoon-stricken ferry sank with more than 700 people on board in the Philippines, a mainly Roman Catholic nation."It is with deep emotion that I learn this morning of the sinking in the Philippines of a ferry hit by Typhoon Fengshen (Philippine codename: Frank)," the pope said after reciting the Angelus prayer following his Sunday mass at the Vatican.Expressing "spiritual closeness" with islanders living in the typhoon's path, he said he would be making "a special prayer to God for the victims of a new tragedy at sea, in which it appears many children were involved".The M/V Princess of the Stars listed and sank in just 15 terrifying minutes Saturday in the typhoon-battered seas of the central Philippines, leaving only four survivors so far.Pope Benedict was invited to visit the Philippines, where eight out of 10 people are Roma ...Read More
Pope Benedict: Worldly fears can be overcome through trust in God
Vatican City, Jun 22, 2008 - Pilgrims gathered under a blazing sun in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday to pray the Angelus prayer at noon with Pope Benedict XVI. In his remarks preceding the Angelus, Pope Benedict said that worldly fears can be overcome through trust in God.Speaking of today’s Gospel, the Holy Father said the scriptures invite us to reflect on the difference between human fears and the fear of God. Fear, he said, is a natural dimension of human life. While we overcome the imaginary fears of childhood, others emerge that are founded in reality. These fears “must be faced and overcome with human commitment and trust in God.” However, the Holy Father said, there is a deeper fear that exists today, an “existential fear, which at times borders on anguish and which stems from a sense of emptiness that is tied to a certain culture permeated by widespread theoretical and practical nihilism.” ...Read More
More than 500,000 pilgrims, are expected to attend WYD08
THE "house full" signs will be up in Brisbane and on the Gold and Sunshine coasts next month when 10,000 young Catholic pilgrims arrive in southeast QueenslandThe pilgrims, from 40 countries, will attend events in Brisbane from July 10 to 14, in the lead-up to World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney over the following five days.WYD08 will be the largest religious-based event Australia has ever hosted. It will attract over 125,000 international visitors, more than the 2000 Olympics.It also will mark the first visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Australia. The Pope arrives in Australia on July 17 and will celebrate Sunday Mass at Sydney's Randwick Racecourse on July 20.Brisbane WYD Secretariat spokeswoman Bernadette Kreutzer said 5000 international pilgrims were being fully accommodated in 2500 homes in the Brisbane archdiocese.Other Queensland dioceses also will host pilgrims, with 360 young visitors stayin ...Read More
Pope Benedict XVI is an inspiration for future priests
New York, June 21,2008 - For the New York Archdiocese, one positive affect of the April visit by Pope Benedict XVI to the Big Apple could be a turnaround in the dwindling number of men who are choosing to become priests.The Rev. Robert Bubel, who is one of the archdiocese's six newly ordained priests, played a major role as a deacon during the April 19 papal Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Bubel, whose formative religious years were spent in St. Columba parish in Hopewell Junction, said celebrating Mass for Pope Benedict affirmed his own decision to give his life to God."It certainly motivates me as a priest in wanting to give my entire life to the service of God and his people," he said. "I see a man like Pope Benedict who is so talented and given so many gifts by God. And he's given all of this to God and this is so important to him. His faith is so strong and a desire to spread that faith to the youth of America essentially is absolutely inspiring. I ...Read More
Vatican to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Pope Pius XII
Vatican City,June 21. 2008 - Vatican officials this week announced plans to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Pope Pius XII, describing the controversial World War II pontiff as a "great pope" who spoke out when necessary. The Vatican has often defended Pius from charges that he remained largely silent in the face of the Holocaust. Officials said that a convention to discuss Pius' teaching and influence on the church will be held in November in Rome. The Vatican also plans a photo exhibit this fall in the colonnade of St. Peter's Square covering highlights of Pius' 19-year pontificate. He assumed the papacy in 1939 and died in 1958. "It is our hope that this solemn commemoration of such a great pope can give rise to further in-depth research, free of prejudices concerning his actions," said Monsignor Walter Brandmuller, president of the Pontifical Commi ...Read More
Pope wants Catholic parishes to offer Masses in Latin
Phoenix, June 21, 2008 - Pope Benedict XVI wants Catholic parishes worldwide to offer Masses in Latin, saying it is a "gift from God" and a "treasure from the past" that should be offered alongside Mass celebrated in the regular language of people where they live.But East Valley Catholics doubt many would turn out for such Masses after initial curiosity or the novelty ended. So they wonder about the value in training current parish priests in Latin and teaching them to properly lead the old Mass, with its distinctive chants and precise rituals."I don't think very many Catholics are going to go back to the Tridentine Latin Mass," said the Rev. John Cunningham, the founding priest of St. Bridget parish in Mesa and St. Mary Magdalene parish in Gilbert. "They have lived with the New Mass for 40 years, and I believe they find it more meaningful and expressive of their faith.""Vernacularization" was instituted as part ...Read More
Pope Benedict XVI met with administrators of Catholic radio stations
Vatican, Jun. 21, 2008 - Pope Benedict XVI met on June 20 with administrators of Catholic radio stations from around the world, and told them: "The words that you broadcast each day are an echo of that eternal Word which became flesh." The Holy Father spoke to participants in a conference at the Pontifical Urban University, organized by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, under the leadership of Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli. He told the 130 broadcasting executives, representing stations in 50 different countries, that they should recognize the importance of their work in the evangelizing mission of the Church. ...Read More
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