(RNS) Pope Benedict XVI never inspired the deep admiration enjoyed by his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, but Americans – and Catholic Americans even more so – still look favorably upon the soon-to-be-former head of the Roman Catholic Church.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Natalia Tsarkova originally intended to stay in Rome for a few months when she arrived in 1994, but has managed to forge a career as the Vatican’s official papal portraitist.
(RNS) Pope Benedict XVI was first, last, and always a teacher. But he was always, alas, a weak manager of personnel. In the end Benedict XVI was the “caretaker pope” that many didn’t expect him to be.
(RNS) Joseph Ratzinger perhaps will be best remembered as a quiet theologian and intellectual. But he was not, as some critics charge, a “transitional” pope.
(RNS) Pope Benedict XVI has at times publicly addressed the issue and even met with victims of clergy sexual abuse. But victims’ advocates remain skeptical and critical over his handling of the matter, particularly the failure to punish bishops who protected abusers.
(RNS) From the beginning Pope Benedict XVI said he wanted his ministry to put the focus on Christ, not on himself as the pope. In the long run, he may well have redefined the papacy much as he hoped, and more radically than many expected.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI will soon become the first pope to resign since 1415, short-circuiting many of the initial stages of electing a new pope. But the Vatican says the transition to a new papacy shouldn’t be all that different from normal.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican on Friday (Feb. 1) dismissed a claim by the man who tried to kill Pope John Paul II that the assassination attempt had been ordered by Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
(RNS) The head of a schismatic traditionalists recently labeled Jews “enemies of the Church.” And while that statement could have sparked an interfaith crisis, it’s instead motivated Catholic leaders to directly repudiate him with strongly worded pledges of friendship with Jews.
WASHINGTON (RNS) Each January in the four decades since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion, Nellie Gray gathered tens of thousands for the annual March for Life protest rally. After the octogenarian died last August, a woman less than half her age will lead the march to mark the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. By Adelle M. Banks.
