By Bridget Spinks Perth Archbishop Barry Hickey’s letter of resignation which he presented to the Holy Father on his 75th birthday has been accepted in principle by the Holy Father nunc pro tunc (now for then) to take effect once his successor is announced.    “The Pope has indicated to me he wants me to stay on until my successor is announced,” Archbishop...

WASHINGTON (CNS) - Move over, Spider-Man. Here come some new comic book heroes. Among this new breed of heroes are Pope Benedict XVI, St Paul and Old Testament figure Judith. They are the stars of comic books done in a style older generations never saw in the comic book rack at the neighbourhood drugstore growing up. The genre is called manga, a Japanese genre of cartoons and comic books, a...

Visiting Croatia, Pope urges nations to promote moral education, protect family, life Images of Mary and the Christ Child are seen in the crowd attending an outdoor Mass offered on 5 June by Pope Benedict XVI in Zagreb’s hippodrome during a two-day visit to the Croatian capital. About 400,000 people attended the Mass, including families, Bishops, priests and Religious from nearby n...

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - Pope Benedict stressed the urgency of evangelising modern society, saying that Christians today face the task of reaching a world that grows increasingly apathetic to the message of the Gospel. “The crisis we are living through,” he said, “carries with it signs of the exclusion of God from people’s lives, a general indifferenc...

Pope Benedict’s third episcopal appointment to Australia in less than eight weeks is just the beginning, with several other dioceses due to receive appointments. Bishop-elect Vincent Long Van Ngyen, OFM Conv By Anthony Barich Analysis A VIETNAMESE refugee who fled Communism in 1980 as an 18 year old has been appointed as an auxiliary bishop of Melbourne. Bishop-elect Fr V...

By John Thavis Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI’s easing of restrictions on use of the 1962 Roman Missal, known as the Tridentine rite, is just the first step in a “reform of the reform” in liturgy, the Vatican’s top ecumenist said.   Father Edward Yew offers Communion to altar servers during a Tridentine high Mass at St There...

Vatican norms insist on ‘generous’ approval for use of Tridentine rite By John Thavis Archbishop Barry Hickey gives first Holy Communion on the tongue to a young boy kneeling at the ‘second re-opening’ of St Anne’s Church in Belmont on 25 July 2010. Fr Michael Rowe (at left), chaplain of Perth’s traditional Latin Rite Catholics, and his community spent much time renovating the church aft...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - In a world marked by new forms of slavery and injustice, the Church must evangelise constantly and fearlessly - even in the face of persecution, Pope Benedict XVI said. The Pope, addressing directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies on 14 May, said Catholic activity at every level needs to be infused with the missionary spirit. “All the sectors of pastoral life...

Liturgy needs tradition and progress, Pope says Pope Benedict XVI holds his pastoral staff as he celebrates Mass on the feast of the Epiphany in St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on 6 January. Photo: CNS/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY - The Second Vatican Council’s renewal of the liturgy wasn’t so much about changing texts or ...

To be holy is to love God, others, Pope says at audience       By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY - Everyone is called to holiness, which is simply striving to imitate Christ, particularly in loving God and loving others, Pope Benedict XVI said. Ending a long series of general audience talks about saints and Doctors of the Church, the pope s...