Pope Benedict XVI

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Benedict to His Defenders: You're Going Too Far

Pope emeritus says 'pain has turned to anger' and is affecting the church and his own legacy

(Newser) - Pope Benedict pledged to remain "hidden to the world" when he became pope emeritus and turned things over to Pope Francis, but some newly surfaced letters are changing that. In them, Benedict sends a message to those who prefer his more conservative leadership over Francis' relatively liberal style that...

'Lettergate' Takes Down Vatican Media Chief

Dario Vigano will remain at Vatican following resignation

(Newser) - The head of the Vatican's communications department resigned Wednesday in a scandal about a letter from retired Pope Benedict XVI that he mischaracterized, then had digitally manipulated in a photo sent to the media. Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Monsignor Dario Vigano on Wednesday and named his deputy,...

Vatican Relents, Releases Benedict's Full Letter on Francis

It previously blurred part of it, fueling claims of censorship

(Newser) - Stung by accusations of spreading "fake news," the Vatican on Saturday released the complete letter by Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI about Pope Francis after coming under criticism for selectively citing it in a press release and digitally manipulating a photograph of it. The previously hidden part of the...

Vatican Doctors Photo of Benedict Praising Francis

It turns out retired pope hasn't actually read current pope's books

(Newser) - The Vatican admitted Thursday that it altered a photo sent to the media of a letter from retired Pope Benedict XVI about Pope Francis. The manipulation changed the meaning of the image in a way that violated photojournalist industry standards, the AP reports. The Vatican's communications office released the...

On Francis' 5th Anniversary, Ex-Pope Sticks Up for Pontiff

Benedict XVI says it's 'foolish prejudice' to say dogma under Francis is 'adrift'

(Newser) - Pope Francis marked his fifth anniversary as pope Tuesday by receiving votes of confidence from his predecessor and from the current Vatican No. 2—as well as faithful around the globe—seeking to rebut criticism about his reform-minded papacy and encouraging him to push the envelope even further, per the...

8 'Least Powerful' People in the World

A certain former pope makes the list

(Newser) - Lists of the "most powerful" people are easy to find, but 24/7 Wall St takes the opposite tack with this one. The website set out to find the "least powerful" people in the world, defined as those who once held mighty clout but then suffered a "precipitous...

Hardline Archbishop Set Up Kim Davis Meeting

Her lawyer is now feuding with the Vatican

(Newser) - A Vatican official says there is now "a sense of regret" that Pope Francis ever met Kim Davis, reports Reuters —and that could be bad news for the archbishop who set up the meeting. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the Vatican's ambassador to the US, was appointed by...

Pope Hailed for Blood 'Half-Miracle'

Archbishop says Francis turned saint's blood back to liquid

(Newser) - Pope Francis was credited with what could be deemed a half-miracle in Naples, Italy, on Saturday, although it didn't involve bringing anybody halfway back to life or turning water halfway into wine. Instead, the normally-solidified blood of St. Gennaro, the city's patron saint, half-liquefied when the pope kissed...

Pope Francis: Sorry, Creationists, God Has No 'Magic Wand'

God isn't a 'magician,' and the Big Bang makes sense, he says

(Newser) - Pope Francis has some bad news for creationists and those who believe in the theory of intelligent design: He thinks both camps are wrong. In remarks to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Francis embraced the concepts of evolution and the Big Bang theory in straightforward language, reports the Independent .
  • God
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Pope Francis Beatifies Paul VI

Says 'God is not afraid of new things'

(Newser) - Pope Francis today beatified Pope Paul VI, concluding the remarkable meeting of bishops debating family issues that drew parallels to the tumultuous reforms of the Second Vatican Council which Paul oversaw and implemented. Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI was on hand for the Mass. The bishops failed to reach consensus on...

Pope: Priest 'Celibacy Is Not a Dogma'

And papal retirement could become more common

(Newser) - Sure, Catholic priests are usually celibate—but that tradition has only been around for about 1,000 years, Reuters notes. And according to Pope Francis, "celibacy is not a dogma." He tells reporters that "it is a rule of life that I appreciate very much and I...

2 Living Popes Canonize 2 Predecessors

John Paul II and John XXIII canonized in historic ceremony at Vatican

(Newser) - It's a four-pope day at the Vatican, as two living popes gathered for the first time to canonize two of their predecessors: Pope Francis presided today over what the AP notes is really a pretty brief ceremony that confirmed the sainthood of John Paul II and John XXIII. Appearing...

Ex-Pope: 'Absurd' to Think I Was Forced Out

A year after resignation, pope responds to rumors

(Newser) - With rumors swirling regarding why the former Pope Benedict left his post almost exactly one year ago to become pope emeritus, the man himself has spoken out. Responding to a Vatican Insider journalist's letter with a brief letter of his own, Benedict calls "speculations" on the matter "...

88% of US Catholics Approve of Pope

And some 75% of Americans like Francis

(Newser) - American Catholics are big fans of the new pope, with some 88% approving of the job Pope Francis is doing, a CNN/ORC International poll finds. ( Eat your heart out, Congress .) As for the country as a whole, CNN reports that about three in four Americans has a positive...

Amid Overhaul, Vatican Bank Finds 100 Fishy Transactions

1K customers asked to leave

(Newser) - Last year, the Vatican bank detected six suspicious transactions; this year, that figure has soared to more than 100 amid a reform effort, an official tells the Los Angeles Times . That work, headed by Swiss financial expert Rene Bruelhart, also involves asking 1,000 account holders at the bank to...

Pope Francis Issues a New 'Thou Shalt Not'

He writes that we must say no 'to an economy of exclusion and inequality'

(Newser) - Pope Francis is a published author of a major work for the first time under that name, having issued his first apostolic exhortation. The topic: money. The 224-page document rails against unfettered capitalism as "a new tyranny," and had this to say: "How can it be that...

Least Influential Person of the Year? Rodman
 Least Influential Person 
 of the Year? Rodman 
'gq' list
Nov 24, 2013 12:33 PM CST

Least Influential Person of the Year? Rodman

'GQ' rounds up the 25 people who didn't make a difference

(Newser) - Dennis Rodman certainly thinks he's influential, but GQ disagrees. The basketball star and self-styled North Korea ambassador is the No. 1 entry on the magazine's annual list of the 25 Least Influential People. Rodman "was the first prominent American celebrity invited inside the nation-sized prison that is...

NSA Spied on Vatican as Pope Was Chosen: Report

Church 'not worried' about Italian magazine piece

(Newser) - Among the NSA's apparently unending surveillance targets, according to an Italian magazine report, was one Jorge Mario Bergoglio—the current Pope Francis. Panorama says Bergoglio and other cardinals were subjects of US spying ahead of the conclave that made him pope , AFP notes. "It is feared that the...

In 7 Months, It'll Be 'Saint John Paul II'

John XXIII also set for sainthood in first double canonization

(Newser) - It's official: Pope John Paul II will be declared a saint on April 27, 2014—as will Pope John XXIII, pontiff from 1958-1963, in the Catholic Church's first-ever double canonization. Pope Francis, who will lead the ceremony, announced the date at a meeting with cardinals today, the AP...

Benedict: God Told Me to Quit

Former pope says he had 'mystical experience'

(Newser) - Former Pope Benedict is quoted as giving his most straightforward answer yet as to why he resigned : "God told me to." Benedict said so to an anonymous visitor, according to Catholic news agency Zenit, reports the Telegraph . It wasn't an apparition, explained Benedict, but more of a...

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