Monthly Archives: April 2005
NEWS STORY: New Pope Prepares to Emerge from John Paul’s Shadow
By RNS Blog Editor — April 23, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ In death and in life, John Paul II and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger have been inseparable. It took the death of his friend to show the world the human side of the longtime guardian of church orthodoxy, who moved to the forefront of papal contenders after giving an […]
COMMENTARY: New Pope Can Unite Christian and Muslim Souls by Pointing to Jesus
By RNS Blog Editor — April 23, 2005
c. 2005 Beliefnet (UNDATED) If he opens the door to Islam, Benedict XVI will foster the love for Jesus already within the Muslim soul. At the time of his death, Pope John Paul II was in the process of constructing a new global religious architecture that made space for the Roman Catholic Church to build […]
NEWS ANALYSIS: Under Benedict, the New Buzzword Is “Relativism’’
By Gilbert H. Caldwell — April 23, 2005
c. 2005 Beliefnet (UNDATED) Just before he led the cardinals into sequester in the Sistine Chapel on Monday, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger laid down the theological gauntlet, calling upon the church to wield Jesus Christ as a shield against a “dictatorship of relativism.” He depicted the church as a “little boat of Christian thought” tossed by […]
NEWS STORY: New Pope Electrifies Conservative U.S. Catholics
By Kein Eckstrom — April 22, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ If conservative American Catholics had any reservations about who the next pope might be, those fears were largely put to rest when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday (April 19). Ratzinger, who policed Catholic doctrine for a quarter-century, is as orthodox as they come, […]
NEWS PROFILE: Another Jackson Becomes a Voice for Black Churches
By Adelle M. Banks — April 22, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service BELTSVILLE, Md. _ Bishop Harry R. Jackson Jr. has found himself in a wide range of settings across church and state since he unveiled his “Black Contract With America on Moral Values.” One day, the conservative minister is on stage with some of the nation’s top African-American thought leaders at […]
COMMENTARY: The Right Wages Religious War Over Judiciary
By RNS Blog Editor — April 22, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) It’s a great convenience that judges wear black robes. For many GOP leaders and right-wing allies, it makes them really stand out as targets. The most enthusiastic sniper, of course, has been House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who may yet meet judges in their professional capacity. Ever since […]
COMMENTARY: A Former Hitler Youth Member Is Poised to Advance Catholic-Jewish Dialogue
By RNS Blog Editor — April 22, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) When he came to the Vatican from his native Germany in 1981, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, soon became John Paul II’s closest theological colleague. But their elections to the papacy could not have been more different. When his fellow cardinals chose Karol Wojtyla of Poland in […]
NEWS STORY: New Pope Maintains Vatican Hierarchy, at Least for Now
By RNS Blog Editor — April 22, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ Pope Benedict XVI got down to Vatican business on Thursday (April 21) morning and did some personal business in the afternoon, returning to his old apartment to have photographs taken with friends and neighbors. Benedict returned Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of state, and his two top deputies […]
Arabic Music Turning Heads in Tel Aviv’s Trendy Nightclubs
By RNS Blog Editor — April 22, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service TEL AVIV, Israel _ The name of this central Tel Aviv bar comes from an American war hero in Iraq. The decor is punctuated with photographs of bearded Taliban men. The music fuses aggressive club rhythms with lilting Arabic melodies from the canon of Egyptian diva Umm Kulthum. Awkward concept? […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — April 22, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service Conservative Groups Drop Boycott of Procter & Gamble (RNS) The American Family Association and other conservative Christian groups have dropped their boycott of Procter & Gamble, saying they believe the company is “backing off its support for the homosexual agenda.” The boycott began last fall and garnered almost 400,000 pledges […]
NEWS STORY: U.S. Cardinals Urge Catholics to Give Pope a Chance
By RNS Blog Editor — April 22, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ Clearly concerned that some U.S. Catholics have been cool to the election of Pope Benedict XVI, seven American cardinals say Catholics back home should give his papacy time rather than judge him negatively. “Look at this Holy Father, don’t make judgments (from) what you hear on the […]
COMMENTARY: Pope Benedict XVI, a Very Sad Pope
By RNS Blog Editor — April 22, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) St. Peter’s Square, where the throng mourned only days ago, was transformed Tuesday (April 19) into a place of hope and joy. As white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney and bells pealed, the crowd swelled again. The people overflowed the square for the public funeral Mass of […]
COMMENTARY: And the New Pope Is … Rats!
By RNS Blog Editor — April 22, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) As soon as the smoke cleared, a crowd gathered under three television sets in the newsroom. We stared at the red velvet curtains, the threshold of hope. When the drapes moved, someone let out a yelp. False alarm. Maybe the maid was dusting. Would the new pope be Italian? […]
NEWS STORY: New Pope Promises to Carry on Mission of John Paul II
By RNS Blog Editor — April 21, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ Returning to the Sistine Chapel to celebrate his first Mass as pope, Benedict XVI pledged Wednesday (April 20) to continue the mission of Pope John Paul II and to actively seek dialogue within the Catholic Church and with other religions. Invoking the name and accomplishments of his […]
NEWS SIDEBAR: Reactions to Choice of New Pope
By RNS Blog Editor — April 21, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Following are excerpts of reactions to the selection Tuesday (April 19) of German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the world’s 265th pope, Benedict XVI. “As a global leader in a global age, his voice will be important in framing some of the great challenges of the 21st century. The higher […]
