Vatican

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In Jordan, Pope Decries 'Manipulation' of Religion

(Newser) - The top religious adviser to Jordan's king thanked Pope Benedict XVI today for his expression of "regret" after a 2006 speech that many Muslims deemed insulting to Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Benedict told the audience of religious leaders and officials at an Amman mosque that the history of the two...

Catholic Church Scolds Playboy Berlusconi

(Newser) - Silvio Berlusconi’s penchant for flirting isn’t just annoying his wife—it bothers the Vatican, too. In an editorial, church officials warned Italy’s prime minister to adopt a more “sober and somber” lifestyle, the Telegraph reports. The front-page piece in the church's official newspaper decried his “...

Howard: Vatican Blocked Permits for Angels & Demons

(Newser) - Director Ron Howard claimed today that the Vatican interfered with efforts to get permits to shoot certain scenes of his Angels & Demons religious thriller in Rome—a charge the Vatican said was purely a publicity stunt. "It was explained to us that through back channels and so forth...

Pope Visits Quake-Struck Central Italy

Pontiff's visit comes as 65,000 remain homeless

(Newser) - Pope Benedict has arrived in central Italy to visit survivors of the earthquake that killed nearly 300 people earlier this month and left 65,000 homeless, reports the BBC. The pontiff began his visit with greetings to victims in a village where all the buildings have become uninhabitable; later today,...

Catholics 'Will Enjoy' Da Vinci Prequel: Howard

Director defends Angels & Demons from 'smear campaign'

(Newser) - Ron Howard wants to make something clear: He is not anti-Catholic, and neither is his upcoming film, Angels & Demons. The beleaguered prequel to the similarly controversial Da Vinci Code is under fire from the Catholic League, and Howard responds to the latest “silly and mean-spirited work of propaganda”...

Vatican Plans Europe's Largest Solar Plant

(Newser) - The Vatican plans to build Europe’s largest solar power plant on land it owns north of Rome, Bloomberg reports. The 740-acre site—many times bigger than the 108 acres that make up the world’s smallest nation—is predicted to generate enough power for 40,000 households when it...

Vatican Rules Out Kennedy as Ambassador

Caroline rejected over abortion stance, insiders say

(Newser) - The Vatican has rejected the idea of Caroline Kennedy as US ambassador because she supports abortion rights and stem-cell research, the Daily Telegraph reports. Other Roman Catholics President Obama had sought to appoint have hit the same wall, Vatican insiders told an Italian paper. The controversy threatens to cast a...

Religious Tourists Still Flocking to Italy

Easter likely to see 100,000 in St. Peter's Square

(Newser) - While industries around the world feel the weight of recession, Italy’s religious tourism appears fairly immune, USA Today reports. “It's one of the only areas where things haven't slowed down much," said a religious tour marketer. "Religious pilgrims still want to have the same experiences”—...

Kennedy Is 'Mistake' for Vatican Post: Ex-Envoy Flynn

She's a rumored candidate for ambassador to the Holy See

(Newser) - Caroline Kennedy can’t seem to catch a break. The onetime Senate aspirant is being called a “mistake” for ambassador to the Vatican. “It’s essential that the person who represents us to the Holy See be a person who has pro-life values,” Raymond Flynn, who held...

Pope Out of Touch on Homosexuality: Blair

Former PM advocates 'metaphorical' reading

(Newser) - It's time for Pope Benedict to rethink his outdated views on homosexuality, charges former British prime minister Tony Blair. The Vatican considers homosexuality a "tendency" toward "moral evil," citing biblical references. But Blair, a Catholic convert, tells the gay magazine Attitude that religious leaders should treat the...

Knights Templar Hid Shroud of Turin: Vatican

(Newser) - The Knights Templar secretly cared for the Shroud of Turin after the Crusades for more than 100 years, the Vatican announced today, apparently clearing up the mystery of the shroud's lost years. The medieval order venerated the cloth, protecting it from heretical groups and initiating members by asking them to...

Pope May Reshape US Church as Bishops Age Out

Many bishops nearing retirement as church faces big changes

(Newser) - With many bishops nearing the age of required retirement, the Vatican has a chance to reinvent the US Catholic Church, moving beyond church sex scandals and adapting to a growing immigrant presence, reports the Los Angeles Times. Almost a third of 265 current US bishops must step down in the...

Top Medical Journal Blasts Pope's Condom Remark

(Newser) - The UK's most prestigious medical journal has joined the condemnation of Pope Benedict’s comments on contraception, the Financial Times reports. “By saying that condoms exacerbate the problem of HIV/AIDS, the Pope has publicly distorted scientific evidence to promote Catholic doctrine on this issue," says an editorial...

Bishop to Skip Obama Event Over Stem Cells, Abortion

(Newser) - The Roman Catholic bishop whose diocese includes the University of Notre Dame says he will boycott President Obama's May 17 commencement speech at the school because of Obama's support for abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research. John D'Arcy said today that Obama's recent decision to fund embryonic stem-cell research brought...

Vatican Insiders Call Pope 'a Disaster'

Gaffe-prone and out-of-touch Benedict aggravates Holy See

(Newser) - As Benedict XVI continues his pilgrimage in Africa, sources inside the Vatican say that the pope's frequent gaffes and difficulties with modern communication are threatening to undermine him. One member of the Vatican told the Telegraph that Benedict is "a disaster" who is "out of touch with the...

French Blast Pope's Anti-Condom Remarks

Condoms make Africa AIDS crisis worse, he had said

(Newser) - Irked by Pope Benedict’s anti-condom remarks in Africa, the French foreign ministry today called them “a threat to public health policies and the duty to protect human life” and voiced “extremely sharp concern over the consequences,” the BBC reports. The pontiff said on the first day...

Pope Admits Fault in Holocaust Bishop Flap

Vatican vows to plug into how news spreads online

(Newser) - Pope Benedict will release a personal letter to bishops tomorrow that explains why he reinstated an excommunicated Holocaust denier and expresses regret for how that news was delivered, the New York Times reports. In leaked passages, the pontiff admits mistakes and promises greater awareness in the future of how news...

Vatican Condemns Obama Stem-Cell Decision

(Newser) - The Vatican is in a tizzy over President Obama’s decision to lift the federal ban on embryonic stem-cell research, the AP reports. A top official called it a “victory of politics over ethics” and said that “probably some drug companies, or some economic interests” influenced the move....

Vatican: Washing Machine Liberated Women

(Newser) - The Vatican’s newspaper appears to have come out in support of the washing machine as God’s greatest gift to women in the 20th century, Reuters reports. A weekend article in l'Osservatore Romano suggested that the time-saving gadget polls ahead of birth-control and suffrage in liberating the fairer sex....

Vatican Can Be Sued for Abuse: US Court

Ruling finds that Vatican can be held responsible for priests' actions

(Newser) - A federal court has ruled that the Vatican hierarchy can be sued for sexual abuse committed by priests, the Los Angeles Times reports. Judges decided that a man—who says he was molested by a priest in the '60s—can proceed with his lawsuit against the Vatican, even though it's...

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