Honestly, we don’t know what to do with these posts. These are the platypuses of our reporting.
Assisi awaits Pope Francis (it is expected in Rome that the new Pope, named Francis, will travel to Assisi in early October). Already, many people are traveling to Assisi to rediscover the life and writings of St. Francis and to pray at the saint’s tomb. It is a pilgrimage which is best done quietly, on your [...]
February 25, 2013, Monday -- A Broken Ring "Cast it into the fire!" —From J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, the words of Elrond in the heart of Mount Doom, as he urges Isildur to throw the ring of power into the lake of fire where it was forged, the one place where it can be destroyed. [...]
February 16, 2013, Saturday -- Last Meetings, and Looking Forward One Sunday during Lent is referred to as Laetare ("Rejoice!") Sunday. Laetare Sunday this year will fall on March 10. That is the day Vatican officials now say may be the day that the Conclave to elect the new Pope may begin. (Here below is the [...]
February 11, 2013, Monday -- Reflections on Pope Benedict's Decision to Resign at the End of February This evening I drove through a nearly empty Vatican city. A cold February rain fell as I went from the Domus Santa Marta, where the cardinals will stay during the upcoming conclave, around the back of the basilica, through [...]
Benedict flew to Latin America for his second papal visit to the region on March 23. Arriving in Mexico as a “pilgrim of faith, of hope, and of love,” Benedict XVI promoted the cause of religious freedom, social progress and the Catholic Church’s charitable works. In Mexico, the Holy Father called for a revival of faith. [...]
In his second volume on Jesus, Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection, Benedict XVI presented the passion and resurrection of Christ as history-changing events that answer humanity’s unceasing need to be reconciled with God. (March 10) The Pope explained that he did not set out to write another chronological “Life of Jesus,” [...]
On January 17, Benedict XVI went to the main Jewish Synagogue of the Eternal City. The German Pope and the Jews of Rome met as brothers, speaking without reserve, but they first agreed on one point: Jewish-Catholic dialogue must continue. At the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo, Benedict XVI received the credentials of the new U.S. [...]
“The time has come for Africa to be the continent of hope.” Benedict XVI visited Cameroon and Angola from March 17 to 23 in 2009. He urged Africans to end wars, corruption, and tribalism, and to turn to Christ, but his remarks on AIDS and condoms were what the world’s secular news media focused on, profoundly [...]
Benedict’s April trip to the United States was marked by quiet discourses, a meeting with the victims of sexual abuse, some modernist music, and hope for the future. During a press conference on the plane en route to the US, Pope Benedict emphasized his commitment to dealing with the controversial sexual abuse scandal. “It is a [...]
The first book written by Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, was presented on Friday, April 13, 2007. The book, as the author himself pointed out in the preface, could be “discussed and criticized,” being a theological treatise and not a magisterial document presenting the Church’s official doctrine. Happy birthday. The Stuttgarter Radio [...]