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 Pope Benedict: God desires to heal us
Healing was the theme of Pope Benedict’s weekly Angelus address, delivered this morning in St. Peter’s Square. The Holy Father spoke about today’s Gospel, which relates how a leper had come to Christ, saying “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Jesus replied, saying, “I do will it, be made clean.”
“In that gesture and in those words of Christ,” the Pope said, “is the whole history of salvation, there is embodied the will of God to heal, to cleanse us from the evil that disfigures us and destroys our relationships”.
Pope Benedict spoke of the “existential commentary” on this Gospel passage in the life of Saint Francis, who recognised Christ in a leper. When, overcoming his initial revulsion, Francis nonetheless embraced the leper, “Jesus healed him of his ...»
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US suit against Vatican withdrawn
Attorneys for the victim in a Wisconsin sex abuse case voluntarily withdrew a lawsuit against the Holy See on Friday, in which Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinals Tarcisio Bertone and Angelo Sodano, the Secretary of State and Secretary of State-emeritus, respectively, were named as defendants. The case was at the centre of media attention in 2010, when reporters inquired into the role of then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in the prosecution of a priest accused of abusing as many as 200 boys at Milwaukee-area school for the deaf between 1950 and 1974.
The following is a statement released on Saturday by California-based attorney Jeffrey Lena, who represents the Vatican in US litigation.
Statement of Jeffrey S. Lena Regarding John Doe 16 v. Holy See, et al.
(Case No. 2:10-cv-00346 RTR, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin)
On February 10, 2012, Jeffrey R. Anderson, Esq. of the law office of Jeff Anderson and Associates, working together with columnist Marci Hamilton, Esq., filed a voluntary notice of dismissal in the case of John Doe 16 v. Holy See.
The Notice of Voluntary Dismissal -- which was filed by the Plaintiff’s ...»
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US Bishops to President: rescind the mandate
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have issued the following statement in response to US President Barack Obama's proposed modification of a controversial regulation mandating that Catholic Church institutions pay for contraceptives - including abortifacients – as part of employee health plans:
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Full text of the US Catholic Bishops' statement in response to President Obama's proposed ...»
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 Lombardi editorial: Towards healing and renewal
From crisis to a coherent and firm initiative to improve child protection in the Church, in society, and in the world: that describes the outcome of the sex abuse symposium that took place over three and a half days at the Gregorian University of Rome, with the participation of delegates from over 100 episcopal conferences, various religious orders and numerous specialists in the field. Those in charge ...»
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Pope urges international community to address poverty in Sahel region
The John Paul II Sahel foundation works to aid one of the poorest regions in the world.The countries include Chad, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal.The foundation was established by Pope John Paul II after his first trip to Africa in 1980. Its’ administrative council is made up of bishops representing the episcopates of nine countries of the ...»
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Cardinal Brady reflects on "Healing and Renewal" conference
“I’ll be taking back news of a very successful symposium, I think on a very important topic towards healing and renewal in the church in the midst of this child safeguarding crisis”. That was the reflection of Cardinal Seàn Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland who attended the 4 day Vatican Conference on the Catholic Church’s approach to the crisis of ...»
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 Christian radio, the Virgin and the bomb
Radio stations around the world are gearing up to celebrate the very first “World Radio Day” proclaimed by UNESCO for February 13th 2012. The aim of the day is “to celebrate radio broadcast, improve international cooperation among radio broadcasters and encourage decision-makers to create and provide access to information through radio.”
UNESCO calls the day a means "to draw attention to the ...»
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Bishop Hollis talks about his sickness
Few people are lucky enough to escape sickness during their life and all of us face death at the end of it. But at the same time, it’s not always easy for people, especially those in a position of authority, to talk openly about their illnesses, particularly when it is a life-threatening one like cancer. Bishop Crispian Hollis in Portsmouth in southern England has recently undergone two major ...»
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 The lure of Lourdes
The World Day of Sick is celebrated on February 11th, the anniversary of the date of the first apparition of Our Lady to St. Bernadette in a cave just outside Lourdes. The French town has since become one of the major pilgrimage destinations in the world with over 5 million sick and disabled people travelling there each year. But why is Lourdes such a special shrine and what makes people return ...»
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Letter to Charles Dickens...
Charles Dickens ‘s grave lies in Westminster Abbey , in Poet’s Corner .
Here two centuries after his birth on the 7th February 1812 he was remembered in a special way .
But above all this great English 19th century novelist has not gone out of print in people’s hearts and minds .
Not perhaps for the prayers he wrote , some of which focused around supplications on behalf of the poor, the sick, the ...»
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In this week's edition of "There's more in the Gospel than meets the eye," Jill Bevilacqua and Seàn-Patrick Lovett bring us readings and reflections for the Sixth Sunday of the Year.
Listen:  
Gospel Mk 1:40-45
A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said,
"If you wish, you can make me clean."
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched him, and said to him,
"I do ...» |
EWTN bureau chief here in Rome, Joan Lewis shares with us a bird's eye view of the Vatican week.
Listen:
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"A genteel film about gentility". In a nutshell, that's how Vatican Radio's film critic Peter Malone describes "Albert Nobbs", a film born from a project cherished by Glenn Close after she acted the character on stage in the 1980s.
She worked on the screenplay and produced the film and, as Peter says, offers a tour-de-force performance as Albert, a 19th century woman who dressed and acted ...» |
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South Sudan is running out of food
 UN agencies are warning that newly independent South Sudan will face chronic food shortages next year due to internal and border insecurity, erratic rains ...»
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"Jesus of Nazareth" volume II |
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Pope in English - general audience |
On February 6th 1952, the 25 year old British Princess Elizabeth was on a royal tour of Kenya when she was informed of the sudden death of her father, King George VI. Two days later, after returning to England, she was proclaimed "Queen of the Realm, ...» |
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Towards the end of his life Sir Edward Elgar dedicated a 'Nursery Suite" to two young princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret and their mother, says music historian Monsignor Philip Whitmore: "Elgar jotted down a few notes about each movement ...» |
Monsignor Peter Fleetwood recently had to celebrate a funeral mass for a nine week old baby by the name of Joseph : "The mother was devastated but did something quite remarkable , which surprised her and her husband as much as me. She said little ...» |
Ever heard of the breach of Porta Pia , when on September 20, 1870 the XII battalion of the Bersaglieri charged into Rome , opening with their cannons an entrance into the old Aurelian walls of Rome, a dozen metres west of the Michelangiolesque gate? ...» |
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The government of Burma arrested a prominent monk Friday morning for his leadership role in the anti-government protests which took place back in 2007. 
Just hours after Greece gave in to painful new job and spending cuts, European ministers declared Thursday that Athens didn't go far enough and demanded 
Every day for nearly a week, now, rockets and mortars fired by forces loyal to Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad rattle the streets of the central 
Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, denounced Tuesday’s decision of a federal court rejecting 