Pope visit to Italian city spotlights need for rules on ex-pontiffs
Vatican City Reuters Pope Francis has quashed rumours that he plans to resign anytime soon but his planned visit next weekend to the Italian city of L’Aquila will underscore the Catholic Church’s need to regulate the status of pontiffs who step down instead of ruling for life. L’Aquila is the burial place of Celestine V, […]
Benedict XVI turns 95 as book focuses on anomaly of two popes
Vatican CityAP Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI turned 95 last weekend, a significant milestone on its own but even more given he has now been a retired pope longer than he was a reigning one. To mark the occasion, a new book sets out to examine the current state of Vatican affairs not so much through […]
Catholic Church in Germany: Benedict woes come as pressure grows on church reform
GEIR MOULSON, of Associated Press, reports on the ongoing push for reform in the Catholic Church amid ongoing scandal over clergy sexual abuse…
Benedict XVI takes confessional tone in response to allegations of abuse coverup
Vatican CityRNS Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI took a penitential approach in his response on Tuesday to a report on clergy sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich, which he led from 1977 to 1982. While denying accusations that he covered up cases of abuse, he leaned heavily on the language of confession, saying he could […]
Pope Benedict XVI defends resignation to ‘fanatic’ doubters
Rome, ItalyAP Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has marked the eighth anniversary of his historic resignation by insisting in an interview published Monday that he stepped down knowingly and that “there is only one pope” – Francis. Benedict spoke to leading daily Corriere della Sera to try to put to rest once again claims by some […]
Pope Francis talks about Benedict, criticism and life after COVID-19 in new interview
Vatican CityRNS In a wide-ranging interview with an Italian news agency published on Friday, Pope Francis addressed his relationship with his predecessor, Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, saying the retired Pope is “like a father and a brother to me”. Francis, who sat for the interview with AdnKronos on Tuesday, said, “Our relationship is really good, […]
Vatican: Pope Benedict XVI approved bishop accord with China
Rome, ItalyAP The Vatican doubled down on the weekend on its intent to pursue continued dialogue with China over bishop nominations, defending a deal it did with the Chinese Government in 2018 as necessary to the life of the Catholic Church there, over strong US objections. The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, gave […]
Hundreds of boys abused at German choir school, says report
AP/RNS At least 547 members of a prestigious Catholic boys’ choir in Germany were physically or sexually abused between 1945 and 1992, according to a report released Tuesday. Allegations involving the Domspatzen choir in Regensburg, which was run for 30 years by Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI’s elder brother, were among a spate of revelations of […]