By Francis Rocca Pope Benedict XVI signed a major document calling on Catholics in the Middle East to engage in dialogue with Orthodox, Jewish and Muslim neighbors, but also to affirm and defend their right to live freely in the region where Christianity was born. In a ceremony at the Melkite Catholic Basilica of St Paul in Harissa, Lebanon, on September 14, Pope Benedict signed the 9...

Pope Benedict XVI, in his eighth year as pontiff, is making his mark on a new generation of future priests, who have embraced many of his ideas and priorities. For Danny Pabon, a seminarian from the Archdiocese of Newark, who just began studying at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, reading Pope Benedict’s account of the meaning of Jesus’ life and teachings was a turning poin...

Assumed into heaven, Mary is with God and is ready to listen and respond to cries for help, Pope Benedict XVI said. Joining God in heaven, Mary “does not draw away from us, does not go to an unknown galaxy,” but becomes “even closer to each one of us,” the Pope said on August 15 during his homily at Mass for the feast of the Assumption. With his 88-year-old brother, Mgr Georg Ratzinge...

Papal praise crowns 50 years of love for local Catholic stalwarts. Luckily for friends and relatives gathered at the lunch celebration on 2 January for Kath and Michael Jaques’ anniversary, the weather was much kinder than the 41 degree day on which they married 50 years ago. Their wedding was celebrated by Fr Dan Foley, cousin of Archbishop Foley, at St Joseph’s, Subiaco and followed by ...

The four day visit of Pope Benedict XVI to his homeland which concluded on Sunday was surprising in many ways, but paradoxically for factors that by now have become almost routine in this particular pontificate. Above all, while the happiness of visiting his native land was certainly part of the experience for him, at a personal level, there was a clear sense of purpose and method to the Holy F...

Benedict XVI expresses 'deep concern' for east Africans caught in worst drought in 60 years.   A woman holds her baby outside a tent serving as a medical clinic established by the African Union peacekeeping operation in in Mogadishu, Somalia, on 16 July. Photo: CNS.   Pope Benedict XVI urged the international community to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to ...

People can abuse reason when they demand proof from God: Pope By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY - While empirical science has done much to further progress, subjecting God and His truth to scientific scrutiny represents an incorrect and despotic use of human reason, Pope Benedict XVI said. Pope Benedict XVI presents the Ratzinger Prize to Cistercian Fr Maximil...

By John Thavis Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI said the Eucharist is the heart of Church life and an “antidote” to the increasingly individualistic global culture. Addressing pilgrims on 26 June, the feast of Corpus Christi, which commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, the Pope said the Eucharist was like the “pulsing heart” that gives...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope Benedict XVI said that the Book of Psalms from the Old Testament is a timeless and powerful “prayer book” that teaches Christians how to communicate with God. This is a page from the Book of Psalms of The Saint John's Bible, a full-color reproduction of the first handwritten illuminated Bible to be created in 500 years. The book was produced by the ...

By Jane Adolphe Analysis NEW YORK (Zenit.org) - Author Nancy Goldstein misses the point in her criticism of the Pope in her discussion of the debate occurring at the United Nations over the drafting of the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS. People wave near a poster of Pope Benedict XVI and Cameroon’s President Paul Biya in Yaounde, Cameroon on 17 March 2009. Making his firs...