MEXICO — “For the whole church in Mexico, the presence of the Holy Father represents the feeling and the experience of the love of God and the presence of the Church.” Bishop Jorge Patron Wong is coadjutor of the Papantla diocese on the Gulf of Mexico. He spoke with Philippa Hitchen about what Pope […]
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Tag Archives: Pope Benedict XVI
Photostream : Pope Benedict meets with Mexican President Felipe Calderon
March 24, 2012 
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Pope: Praying with Mary, mother and Church
March 14, 2012 Comments Off
Pope Benedict XVI began a new cycle of catechesis on the Christian school of prayer this Wednesday during his general audience. Following on from his series on Christ’s prayer the Holy Father turned to the “first book on Church history” the Acts of the Apostles and in particular the person who was there at […]
Read morePope wants to see Fidel Castro on Cuba trip: source
February 19, 2012 Comments Off
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict wants to see Fidel Castro on his trip to Cuba next month but the meeting will depend on the health of the communist country’s revolutionary leader, a senior Vatican official told Reuters on Saturday. The official, speaking of the sidelines of a ceremony after the pope elevated new cardinals, said the status of the meeting was […]
Read morePope urges Syrian government to listen to its people
February 12, 2012 Comments Off
ROME (Reuters) - Pope Benedict urged the Syrian government on Sunday to recognize the legitimate aspirations of its people and embark on a national dialogue to put an end to a violent crackdownon protesters which has killed thousands since March. Speaking to pilgrims after his weekly Angelus blessing, the pope said Syrian authorities also had to answer to the concerns of the international community over […]
Read morePope Benedict baptizes babies in Sistine Chapel
January 8, 2012 Comments Off
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI is baptizing 16 babies in the splendor of the Sistine Chapel. Some of the infants looked at him wide-eyed after he poured water from a golden shell-shaped dish over their forehead, as Benedict administered the sacrament Sunday, welcoming them formally by name into the Catholic church. A few babies flailed their arms when brought […]
Read moreEducate young for peace, Pope says at New Year Mass
January 1, 2012 Comments Off
VATICAN CITY — Humanity faces a decisive challenge – educating new generations injustice and peace in order to avoid the violent tragedies of the past, Pope Benedict said in his New Year address on Sunday. Benedict, 84, marked his seventh New Year as pope by celebrating a Mass for several thousand people in St Peter’s Basilica on the day the Roman Catholic Church calls […]
Read morePope Benedict : Future hopes lie with youth
January 1, 2012 Comments Off
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI in his New Year’s homily Sunday praised young people as key to securing a future of hope despite what he called “shadows on the horizon of today’s world.” In the splendor of St. Peter’s Basilica, with ambassadors to the Holy See from dozens of countries seated in the front rows, the pontiff, […]
Read morePope: We await 2012 with trepidation
January 1, 2012 Comments Off
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI marked the end of 2011 with prayers of thanks and said humanity awaits the new year with apprehension but also with hope for a better future. “Another year approaches its end, while we await a new one, with the trepidation, desires and expectations of always,” Benedict said at the traditional New Year’s Eve […]
Read morePope calls for humility beyond Christmas ‘glitter’
December 25, 2011 Comments Off
Pope Benedict XVI Saturday hailed Christ’s humility, urging the faithful to look beyond the Christmas “glitter” and “enlightened reason”, and issued a powerful message for peace. “Today Christmas has become a commercial celebration, whose bright lights hide the mystery of God’s humility, which in turn calls us to humility and simplicity,” the pope told […]
Read moreText of Pope Benedict XVI’s Christmas Eve homily
December 25, 2011 Comments Off
The Vatican’s official English-language translation of Pope Benedict XVI’s homily, to be delivered in Italian, during Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. ___ Dear Brothers and Sisters! The reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to Titus that we have just heard begins solemnly with the word “apparuit,” which then comes back again in the reading at […]
Read morePope urges dignity in emotional visit to prison
December 18, 2011 Comments Off
ROME — Pope Benedict XVI has made an emotional visit to Rome’s main prison to meet with detainees and give them hope with calls for an easing of prison overcrowding and greater dignity for inmates. Benedict spent an hour and a half at Rome’s Rebibbia prison Sunday, fielding questions from a half-dozen inmates who spoke of their despair at being kept […]
Read morePope: Christmas will be tough this year
December 11, 2011 Comments Off
ROME (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI says he knows Christmas this year will be difficult, in an acknowledgement of the economic crisisgripping much of the West. But he is urging the faithful to remember there’s more to the holiday than gift-buying. Benedict spoke Sunday while visiting a parish in a working-class neighborhood on the outskirts of Rome. Italians are […]
Read morePope Benedict XVI plans Cuba and Mexico visit in 2012
December 9, 2011 Comments Off
Pope Benedict XVI will visit Cuba next year, Vatican officials have announced. It will be the second visit of a pope to the Communist-run island, following a trip there by John Paul II in 1998. The Vatican said it would announce the exact dates of his visit on Monday. A Cuban Church leader said […]
Read morePope calls for responsible, credible climate deal
November 27, 2011 Comments Off
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI has urged this week’s U.N. climate change conference in South Africa to craft a responsible and credible deal to cut greenhouse gases that takes into account the needs of the poor. Government ministers from more than 100 countries are expected to attend the final sessions of the two-week conference that opens Monday in Durban. The immediate focus is […]
Read morePope Concludes Visit to Benin
November 21, 2011 Comments Off
Pope Benedict celebrated an open-air Mass in Benin Sunday to close out a three-day trip to the West African nation. His visit had religious and diplomatic themes. At least 50,000 people gathered in Cotonou’s Friendship Stadium, where the Roman Catholic pontiff delivered a homily honoring those who spread the gospel in the former French […]
Read morePope plans visit to Mexico, Cuba in 2012: Vatican
November 11, 2011 Comments Off
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict plans to visit Mexicoand Cuba next year, the Vatican said on Thursday. The Vatican spokesman said the trip to the two Latin American countries would likely take place in the spring. It will be his first visit as pope to Cuba and Mexico. (*) Source : Reuters Posted Friday, November 11, 2011
Read morePope calls for end to violence in Nigeria
November 6, 2011 Comments Off
Lagos, Nigeria – Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday called for an end to violence in Nigeria, after an outbreak of bomb and gun attacks left 65 people dead. “I am following with apprehension the tragic episodes that have taken place in Nigeria over the last days,” the pontiff said during his weekly Sunday Angelus […]
Read morePope prays for flood victims
October 30, 2011 Comments Off
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI says he is praying for the victims of recent flooding in Thailand and Italy. Benedict began his greetings to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday by recalling the devastation caused by heavy rains in the two countries. Thailand’s worst flooding in half a century has claimed 381 lives over the last three […]
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