by Francis X. Rocca | Jan 11, 2011 | News
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI on Monday (Jan. 10) decried violence against Christians in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, as well as more subtle “threats to the full exercise of religious freedom” in the secular West. The pope made his remarks in his annual...
by Francis X. Rocca | Jan 4, 2011 | News
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI denounced the “vile and murderous” New Year’s Day killing of 21 Egyptian Christians, and was rebuked by Egypt’s top Muslim cleric for an “unacceptable interference in Egypt’s affairs.” Benedict made his remarks on Sunday (Jan. 2)...
by Francis X. Rocca | Dec 22, 2010 | News
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI’s recent comments about condoms do not mark a change in “Catholic moral teaching” or “pastoral practice” on AIDS prevention or contraception, the Vatican said Tuesday (Dec. 21). The statement by the Congregation for the Doctrine of...
by Francis X. Rocca | Dec 21, 2010 | News
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI deplored the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests and linked it to other vices, including child pornography, sexual tourism and drug abuse, which he said were all promoted by an ideology of social moral relativism. The pope...
by Francis X. Rocca | Dec 2, 2010 | News
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI, while still a cardinal, sought in vain to expedite the process for defrocking priests guilty of grave crimes, according to a 1988 letter published in the official Vatican newspaper. The letter, which appears in the Thursday (Dec....
