The profound changes, historical, are not always the most spectacular. What just happened this week in Rome is like a palace revolution unimportant but it is highly significant. Because it confirms the direction taken by the papacy of Benedict XVI and the entire Catholic Church. In a word, Rome has “taken over” a whole sector Read more
When Pope Benedict XVI used the word “infallible” in reference to the ban on women’s ordination in a recent letter informing an Australian bishop he’d been sacked, it marked the latest chapter of a long-simmering debate in Catholicism: exactly where should the boundaries of infallible teaching be drawn? On one side are critics of “creeping Read more
Pope Benedict admitted to asking himself why so many children had to suffer in natural disasters such as the Japanese earthquake. The admission came on a television programme the pontiff participated in. Pope Benedict went on to say “We don’t have the answers, but we know that Jesus suffered as innocent children suffer.” The pope’s comments on Read more
Pope Benedict has made repeated appeals for peace in Libya. He has expressed “anxiety for the safety and security of civilians” and urged that dialogue rather than military force be used in order to reach a peaceful solution. He appealed to international organisations and to “those who bear political and military responsibilities to immediately begin talks aimed at the Read more
Pope Benedict rejects the idea of violence in the name of Jesus and dismisses the idea that the Jews were responsible for Jesus’ death. In the second of his planned trilogy, Benedict says there can be no justification for violence carried out in Jesus’ name. “The cruel consequences of religiously motivated violence are only too evident Read more