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Animal rights group protests over Pope's fur
One of Italy's leading animal rights groups is launching an internet petition to demand Pope Benedict XVI stop wearing fur during religious ceremonies at the Vatican.
Lorenzo Croce, chairman of the Italian Association for the Defence of Animals and the Environment (AIDAA), denied being provocative or wanting to make an anti-religious statement.
"We just want to ask him in a message of love and peace to give a strong signal towards the protection of animals and the environment through a small but very significant personal sacrifice," Mr Croce told the Italian news agency ANSA.
Since his election Pope Benedict has taken to wearing a number of traditional religious garments, including a small red velvet cape with a white ermine border, which he wears in winter along with a hat the same colour.
The association has created a website to accept signatures and Mr Croce wants to present the petition to the Pope in September.
Pope Benedict returned to Rome late today after an eight-day visit to Sydney for World Youth Day. One of Italy's leading animal rights groups is launching an internet petition to demand Pope Benedict XVI stop wearing fur during reli... more -
Pope refuses to wear Mickey Mouse cap
Pope Benedict, who generally wears a white skull cap known as a "zuchetto," was given a Mickey Mouse cap with ears Friday.
But, to the disappointment of photographers who would have had a field day with such a shot, he did not try it on.
A group of young people from Orange County, California -- where Disneyland is located -- gave the pope the black cap while they were lunching with him during World Youth Day festivities.
They also gave him a California Angels baseball and a stress ball.
According to the young people who briefed reporters about the private lunch, the pope smiled and squeezed the stress ball but passed the Mickey Mouse cap to his aides.
(Reuters) Pope Benedict, who generally wears a white skull cap known as a "zuchetto," was given a Mickey Mouse cap with ears Friday. ... more -
Pope hits out at consumer culture and condemns sex and violence in the media
Pope Benedict XVI has attacked popular culture and consumerism in a formal address to tens of thousands of young Roman Catholics. The pontiff also warned that natural resources were being squandered, in the speech in Sydney, Australia.
The pope is visiting the city for World Youth Day, a five-day gathering of young Catholics from across the globe.
"Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division, of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises," he told the crowd. There were numerous signs something was amiss in modern society, the pontiff said. He highlighted drug and alcohol abuse as examples of modern woes, and hit out at television and the internet for promoting sex and violence as entertainment. "I ask myself, could anyone standing face to face with people who actually do suffer violence and sexual exploitation explain that these tragedies, portrayed in virtual form, are considered merely entertainment?" he said.
The 81-year-old pontiff also called for greater protection of the environment for future generations. He spoke of "scars which mark the surface of our earth - erosion, deforestation, the squandering of the world's mineral and ocean resources in order to fuel an insatiable consumption".
(Excerpts / BBC News)
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Is the Pope right in addressing these non-religious issues and do you give him credit for using his voice to talk about important problems? Or do you think it is slightly hypocritical of him to talk about consumer culture given his own plush lifestyle and to attack sexual exploitation and violence considering the fact that Catholic priests have repeatedly been blamed for sexually abusing children?
Pope Benedict XVI has attacked popular culture and consumerism in a formal address to tens of thousands of young Roman Catholics. The ... more -
Ahmadinejad asks to meet Pope Benedict
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has asked for an audience next week with Pope Benedict which would be the first meeting between the two leaders according to a diplomatic source. But The Vatican has criticized Ahmadinejad for calling for Israel to be wiped off the map. Will they meet? Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has asked for an audience next week with Pope Benedict which would be the first meeting between t... more
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Harry Potter Bible Camp?
Today, I passed a church with a sign advertising a Harry Potter themed bible camp, which seems almost as strange as Pope Benedict's exorcist calling Harry Potter 'the king of darkness'. What do you think?
From http://episcopalstmatthew.org/announcements.html
"Summer Bible Camp for Grades 1-6
Wizards and Wonders - A Hero's Journey with Harry Potter
Saint Matthew’s Episcopal Church 2008 Summer Camp, Wizards and Wonders, is an incredibly fun and thought provoking experience for students Grades 1 through 6, using the Harry Potter books and movies as a way to help children connect with Biblical themes.
So why use Harry Potter to help students connect with the Bible? The Harry Potter books and movies have captured the imagination of old and young alike. The stories are ones of wizards, magic spells, and a young boy on a journey to find out just exactly who he is. They are popular because J. Rowling uses objects and experiences, that while seemingly fantastical, are ones people can relate to and understand.
This is not unlike two thousand years ago when Jesus taught the public through parable, metaphor, and simile. He was trying to help simple people grasp vast and impossible ideas such as God, heaven, and grace. He did so by relating them to things and experiences people understood. God delights in any path that leads people to him, even if it is tales of lonely but courageous orphan boys, silly spells, school friendships and loyalties, magic and evil wizards.
At first glance, Harry Potter seems an unlikely hero. But all through the Bible we see God calling the most seemingly unqualified candidates to do His work. Like Harry Potter, for example, Moses does not know his origins, but although reluctant at first, both accept the call to transformation for themselves and their community. " Today, I passed a church with a sign advertising a Harry Potter themed bible camp, which seems almost as strange as Pope Benedict's ex... more -
Vatican says its okay to believe in aliens
i'll just put the article here...
By. Ariel David
VATICAN CITY - Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican's chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.
The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, was quoted as saying the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones.
"How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?" Funes said. "Just as we consider earthly creatures as 'a brother,' and 'sister,' why should we not talk about an 'extraterrestrial brother'? It would still be part of creation."
In the interview by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Funes said that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures. Ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom, he said.
The interview, headlined "The extraterrestrial is my brother," covered a variety of topics including the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and science, and the theological implications of the existence of alien life.
Funes said science, especially astronomy, does not contradict religion, touching on a theme of Pope Benedict XVI, who has made exploring the relationship between faith and reason a key aspect of his papacy.
The Bible "is not a science book," Funes said, adding that he believes the Big Bang theory is the most "reasonable" explanation for the creation of the universe. The theory says the universe began billions of years ago in the explosion of a single, super-dense point that contained all matter.
But he said he continues to believe that "God is the creator of the universe and that we are not the result of chance."
Funes urged the church and the scientific community to leave behind divisions caused by Galileo's persecution 400 years ago, saying the incident has "caused wounds."
In 1633 the astronomer was tried as a heretic and forced to recant his theory that the Earth revolved around the sun. Church teaching at the time placed Earth at the center of the universe.
"The church has somehow recognized its mistakes," he said. "Maybe it could have done it better, but now it's time to heal those wounds and this can be done through calm dialogue and collaboration."
Pope John Paul declared in 1992 that the ruling against Galileo was an error resulting from "tragic mutual incomprehension."
The Vatican Observatory has been at the forefront of efforts to bridge the gap between religion and science. Its scientist-clerics have generated top-notch research and its meteorite collection is considered one of the world's best.
The observatory, founded by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, is based in Castel Gandolfo, a lakeside town in the hills outside Rome where the pope has a summer residence. It also conducts research at an observatory at the University of Arizona, in Tucson.
i'll just put the article here... By. Ariel David ... more -
Pope: sex can become 'like a drug'
"Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged Saturday that the Vatican's teaching against birth control was difficult as he praised a 1968 Church document that condemned contraception. In a speech marking the 40th anniversary of the document, Benedict reiterated the Church's ban against artificial birth control as well as more recent teaching against using artificial procreation methods.
Pope Paul VI's 1968 "Humanae vitae" ("On Human Life") encyclical prohibits Catholics from using artificial birth control.
"The teaching laid out in the 'Humanae vitae' encyclical isn't easy," Benedict said.
"What was true yesterday remains true even today. The truth expressed in 'Humanae vitae' doesn't change; on the contrary, in the light of new scientific discoveries, it is ever more up to date," the pope added.
Benedict appeared to be referring to artificial procreation methods, which in the Church's view offend the dignity of life and go against Vatican teaching that the only way to conceive a child is through intercourse between husband and wife.
"No mechanical technique can substitute the act of love that two married people exchange as a sign of a greater mystery," Benedict said.
Benedict expressed concern that human life risks losing its value in today's culture and worried that sex could "transform itself into a drug" that one partner had to have even against the will of the other.
"What must be defended is not only the true concept of life but above all the dignity of the very person," the pope added.
Paul VI was said to have agonized over whether to allow artificial conception in preparing the encyclical. Benedict described Paul's decision as the fruit of much suffering and the document as "a significant gesture of courage."
"Forty years after its publication, that teaching not only shows itself to be unchanged in its truth, but it reveals the farsightedness with which the problem was tackled," the pope said".
VATICAN CITY, Italy (AP) "Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged Saturday that the Vatican's teaching against birth control was difficult as he praised a 1968 Church d... more -
Kelly Clarkson sings "Ave Maria" for Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict digs Clarkson jams.
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Pope to America- Peace Out
Pope Benedict XVI departed America Sunday and with one final address thanked America for its hospitality and called on the world to pursue, "justice and peaceful coexistence."
Pope Benedict XVI departed America Sunday and with one final address thanked America for its hospitality and called on the world to pu... more -
Pope tells of youth under Nazis
Pope Benedict XVI has spoken out for the first time about growing up under the "monster" of Nazism.
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Gay Group Greets Pope
The gay Catholic group Dignity Washington greeted the Pope as his motorcade drove past.
The group claims the pope looked directly at them as they held a banner reading, "Dignity Washington — Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Catholics, Our Families and Friends — A community of Faith in Action.” The gay Catholic group Dignity Washington greeted the Pope as his motorcade drove past. ... more -
Happy B-Day, Pope!
President Bush and first lady Laura Bush welcomed Pope Benedict XVI in an elaborate ceremony Wednesday morning on the South Lawn of the White House. The day marked the pontiff's 81st birthday and as such after the formal welcoming ceremony concluded those in attendance serenaded Benedict with the singing of "Happy Birthday." President Bush and first lady Laura Bush welcomed Pope Benedict XVI in an elaborate ceremony Wednesday morning on the South Lawn of th... more
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God Bless America vs. God Damn America!
I hope Barack Obama can appreciate the difference in the statements of these two spiritual leaders (Dr. Wright & Pope Benedict) and align himself more closely with a view that sees the good of a country that is the benefactor to many around the world. I hope Barack Obama can appreciate the difference in the statements of these two spiritual leaders (Dr. Wright & Pope Benedict) an... more
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U.S. Muslim leaders split on meeting with pope
"Unease with Pope Benedict XVI's approach to Islam has led a U.S. Muslim group to decline joining in an interfaith event with him later this week.
Several other U.S. Muslim leaders expressed similar concerns about the pope, but pledged to participate in the Washington gathering, saying the two faiths should do everything possible to improve relations." "Unease with Pope Benedict XVI's approach to Islam has led a U.S. Muslim group to decline joining in an interfaith event with him late... more -
Pope told to stay off of Yankee Stadium grass in New York...
Yes, the grass at Yankee Stadium is holier than the Pope.
"The Yankees had only one request, and that is that we not touch their grass," said Mark Ackermann, who is running the Office of the Papal Visit for the New York archdiocese. "The All-Star game will be there this year and of course we're all confident that the World Series will be there as well. So the Yankees need to keep it in good shape and we've been most respectful of that." Yes, the grass at Yankee Stadium is holier than the Pope. ... more -
Pope’s Apology Falls Short of A True Mea Culpa
Pope Benedict XVI said he was "deeply ashamed" of the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church. He addressed reporters, answering prescreened questions, during a special Alitalia flight from Rome to Washington, where he began his U.S. tour today.
"It is a great suffering for the Church in the United States and for the church in general and for me personally that this could happen," said Benedict. "It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission ... to these children."
"I am deeply ashamed and we will do what is possible so this cannot happen again in the future...We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry," he continued. "It is more important to have good priests than many priests. We will do everything possible to heal this wound."
Benedict's claim that it is difficult to comprehend how the scandal happened is somewhat hollow however when you consider, as we reported yesterday, that he was directly involved in the cover up of the scandal. For many, his apology will not go far enough, especially since he failed to acknowledge any responsibility, or his own well documented role in the scandal.
"It's easy and tempting to continually focus on the pedophile priests themselves," said Peter Isely of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "It's harder but crucial to focus on the broader problem - complicity in the rest of the church hierarchy."
Benedict was up to his papal collar in both the church's complicity and attempted concealment of the abuse scandal. He personally ordered the relocation of perpetrators, and demanded silence, under threat of excommunication, from Roman Catholic clergy around the world. Pope Benedict XVI said he was "deeply ashamed" of the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church. He addressed report... more -
Pope Benedict XVI begins first U.S. tour
The Pope has landed in the US for the first time since he became pontiff. It's also the first time a Pope has visited the US since 9/11. The Pope will visit New York and Washington DC in a six-day tour. The Pope has landed in the US for the first time since he became pontiff. It's also the first time a Pope has visited the US since 9/... more
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Pope: Want to be a Priest? Pedophiles need not apply
"We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry," he told reporters accompanying him on his first trip as pope to the United States. "We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry," he told reporters accompanying him on his first trip as pope to the ... more
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Pope Benedict
