Scholars see benefits for all faiths in Pope’s second ‘Jesus’ book Brenda Chicas, 17, holds a Bible study guide while attending a New Testament class at St Luke Church in Brentwood, New York in 2008. The class was part of a free two-week summer Bible course for teenagers sponsored by the Office of Faith Formation of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York. Photo: CNS...

By Alan Holdren Catholic News Agency VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has great expectations for the Youcat, a text designed to teach young people the ABCs of Catholicism using a language tailored to their generation. The 300-page volume is the new and official Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church. A team has produced the volume and enlisted its translations under the guidance of Cardina...

By John Thavis Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI approved a miracle attributed to Pope John Paul II’s intercession, clearing the way for the late Pope’s beatification on 1 May, Divine Mercy Sunday. Pope Benedict’s action on 14 January followed more than five years of investigation into the life and writings of the Polish Pontiff, who died in April 200...

By Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY - Same-sex unions “penalise” traditional couples and distort the true nature of the family, Pope Benedict XVI said. The many crises that families face are “caused by the rapid social and cultural changes” in society, the Pope said on 14 January in a speech to officials from the city and province of Rome and the Lazio region of ...

By John Thavis Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI baptised 21 infants and told their parents and godparents that educating them in the faith will not be easy in today’s society. Pope Benedict XVI baptises one of 21 infants during a Mass in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on 9 January. Photo: CNS/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters The 9 January li...

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY - Infringements on the freedom of religion threaten peace and security worldwide as well as stifle authentic human growth and development, Pope Benedict XVI said. Pope Benedict XVI greets a young man at the Vatican on 1 December who was injured when the Syrian Catholic cathedral in Baghdad, Iraq, was attacked on 31 October. Photo: CNS/...

Red-Letter Advent: Awakening consciences to nascent mystery Mary Glowrey, front, tends to children in the dispensary that would become St Joseph’s Hospital in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh in India. PhotoS: from the Glowrey Papers with permission of the Catholic Women’s League of Victoria and Wagga Wagga. “Every beginning brings a special grace, because it is blessed b...

While a Cardinal, Pope asked for swift action against abusive priests Pope John Paul II embraces Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, in 1978. Photo: CNS By John Thavis Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY - A newly disclosed letter reveals that as early as 1988, the future Pope Benedict XVI pressed for swifter and more streamlined procedures to punish priests guilty...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - The feast of Corpus Christi is an important occasion for Catholics to renew their faith in the true presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, Pope Benedict XVI said. St Juliana, who Pope Benedict XVI held up as a model for "zeal for the Eucharistic cult". Photo: CNS own mediaeval nun who was the first to promote the creation of a feast celebrating t...

By John Thavis Analysis Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY - In a new book, Pope Benedict XVI said the use of condoms may be a sign of moral responsibility in some specific situations when the intention is to reduce the risk of AIDS. The Pope addressed the issue in the book-length interview, Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times, which was to be released on 2...