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VATICAN CITY, July 1 (Reuters) - Former Pope Benedict says in his memoirs that no-one pressured him to resign but alleges that a "gay lobby" in the Vatican had tried to influence decisions, a leading Italian newspaper reported on Friday. The book, called "The Last Conversations," is the first time in history that a former pope judges his own pontificate after it is over. It is due to be published on Sept. 9. Citing health reasons, Benedict in 2103 became the first pope in six centuries to resign. He promised to remain "hidden to the world" and has been living...

The Pope Emeritus reportedly admitted to the diary in a book-length interview to be published in SeptemberBenedict XVI kept a diary throughout his papacy but plans to destroy it, according to an Italian newspaper. The retired pope apparently admitted to the diary in a new book-length interview to be published in September. The historic book, called The Last Conversations, follows the format of previous book-length interviews Light of the World and Salt of the Earth and shares the same German author, Peter Seewald. The Corriere della Sera newspaper, which has acquired the rights to publish excerpts of the book in...

When Pope Benedict XVI resigned in 2013, many wondered what role a retired pope might have in the Church. After the election of Pope Francis, many continued to wonder whether the presence of a retired pope would be a threat in any way to the authority of the new one. Given those concerns, the low-profile role chosen by the pope emeritus has been quite reassuring. Similarly, Francis’ acceptance of his predecessor’s draft of his own first encyclical letter, Lumen Fidei, in June 2013, was more than a gracious gesture of civility. Despite initial apprehensions, these developments can be seen as...

During his recent presentation of the book Beyond the Crisis in the Church: The Pontificate of Benedict XVI, Monsignor Georg Ganswein, who serves as personal secretary to “Pope Emeritus” Benedict XVI, inexplicably and quite mysteriously provided new depth, and thus new impetus, to the novel idea that Benedict’s renunciation of the papacy was qualified by a “changed understanding” of the papacy, according to which Benedict retained a “passive” aspect of the Petrine office while turning over its active exercise to Francis. In the course of the book presentation Ganswein made remarks that surely reflect Benedict’s own understanding of his situation,...

Pope Francis says he has no intention of quitting the papacy — a possibility opened up by his predecessor Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. The pope, responding to a question from a young person at a Vatican event, said on Sunday “I never thought of quitting being pope, or of leaving because of the many responsibilities.” …

It’s a somewhat obscure apocalyptic novel, much overlooked since its publication in 1907, and yet it comes with a recommendation that just about any best-selling author would covet: the spiritual leader of the whole world says it’s a good read. And not just the current pope, the previous one too.Pope Francis raised eyebrows in 2013 and again in 2015 when he recommended Robert Hugh Benson’s Lord of the World to the faithful as a book that depicts a “globalization of hegemonic uniformity.” Similarly, then-Cardinal Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, referred to the Universalism depicted in Lord of the...

Vatican City, Mar 28, 2016 / 02:54 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Benedict XVI had a special response to Mother Angelica's death falling on Easter Sunday: "it’s a gift." Archbishop Georg Ganswein, Benedict's personal secretary, told CNA about the Pope emeritus' comment March 28. Mother Angelica, an Ohio-born Poor Clare nun, founded EWTN Global Catholic Network in Alabama in 1981. It has since become the largest religious media network in the world. She passed away March 27, Easter Sunday, at the age of 92. Her death prompted memorials, eulogies and remembrances from around the world. In Rome, Monsignor Dario Vigano, prefect of...

On March 16, speaking publicly on a rare occasion, Pope Benedict XVI gave an interview to Avvenire, the daily newspaper of the Italian Bishops' Conference, in which he spoke of a “two-sided deep crisis” the Church is facing in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. The report has already hit Germany courtesy of Vaticanist Guiseppe Nardi, of the German Catholic news website Katholisches.info. Pope Benedict reminds us of the formerly indispensable Catholic conviction of the possibility of the loss of eternal salvation, or that people go to hell: The missionaries of the 16th century were convinced that the unbaptized...

From the article: But what’s most odd is that the two popes are these two popes, and that the one who spent a third of a century erecting a Catholic edifice of firm doctrine and strict prohibition now must look on at close range as the other cheerfully dismantles it in the service of a more open, flexible Church.

The Red and the Black (and a Brand New Word)! A Short Liturgical Meditation on a Teaching by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Msgr. Charles Pope • December 10, 2015 • In recent years Fr. John Zuhlsdorf has made famous the liturgical instruction, "Say the black; do the red." In other words, say the prayers as written in black ink (with no embellishments or deletions) and follow the instructions printed in red ink. After too many decades of liturgical errors -- even outright disobedience -- this is a pithy and memorable way to encourage proper demeanor and invoke the obedience that is...

An article by Italian journalist Maurizio Blondet is making the rounds alleging that Pope Benedict XVI was blackmailed into abdication by forces allied with SWIFT (the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), which had a hand in the shutdown of ATM and bank card services at the Vatican in January of 2012. According to Blondet: There was a blackmail of Benedict XVI, coming from who knows where, through SWIFT. The underlying reasons for this have not been clarified, but it is clear that SWIFT has intervened directly in the management of affairs of the Church. This particular theory is not...

This is starting to not be funny anymore. Ratzinger non poté “né vendere né comprare” Ratzinger he could "neither sell nor buy" Maurizio Blondet Roughly translated by Google: "Few know what SWIFT (the acronym stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is: in theory, is a global "clearing house", uniting 10,500 banks in 215 countries. In fact, is the most occult and sole center of American-globalist financial power, a bastion of blackmail on which the hegemony of the dollar, the most powerful means of political and economic espionage (to the detriment especially for us Europeans) and the means by...

One thing that that has puzzled a lot of people since the selection of Pope Francis two years ago is how a left-leaning Pope could succeed two very serious conservative Popes—John Paul II and Benedict XVI—who you would have thought had stacked the ranks of the Cardinals with clergy that would perpetuate their theological and philosophical outlook. Was Benedict hounded out of office by some kind of internal Vatican scandal perhaps? Was there some ecclesiastical version of a coup?There’s no evidence that I’m aware of—until now. Three days ago the National Catholic Register ran a very curious article about...

New authorised biography also reveals papal delegate at upcoming synod wrote letter to Belgium government supporting same-sex "marriage" legislation because it ended discrimination against LGBT groups Further serious concerns are being raised about Cardinal Godfried Danneels, one of the papal delegates chosen to attend the upcoming Ordinary Synod on the Family, after the archbishop emeritus of Brussels confessed this week to being part of a radical "mafia" reformist group opposed to Benedict XVI. Rest at link:

Bill Donohue comments on the September 10 cover story in Newsweek: To say the Catholic Church confounds Newsweek is an understatement: they just don’t know what to make of it. The article begins by praising Pope Francis as a progressive, then goes on a lengthy rant against San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, only to finish with a mixed review of the Holy Father. In other words, the good pope is compared to the bad archbishop, but instead of hailing the pope at the end, it closes by noting its uncertainty. The comparison fails. Cordileone’s criticisms of gay marriage and Bruce-Caitlyn-Jenner...

The Most Essential Question of Every Liturgy – A Meditation on a Teaching From Joseph Ratzinger Msgr. Charles Pope • July 5, 2015 • There is a legend of how the liturgy and the Faith took hold in Rus (Russia). Prince Vladimir of Kiev was seeking a right worship for his people and sent representatives to look into various faiths and also liturgies. When emissaries went south to observe the Greek Christian Liturgy, they returned saying that they were not sure if they had been in Heaven or on Earth, so beautiful was what they had seen in the Hagia Sophia in...

Regarding the Instruction Dignitas PersonaeAim In recent years, biomedical research has made great strides, opening new possibilities for the treatment of disease, but also giving rise to serious questions which had not been directly treated in the Instruction Donum vitae (22 February 1987).  A new Instruction, which is dated 8 September 2008, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, seeks to provide some responses to these new bioethical questions, as these have been the focus of expectations and concerns in large sectors of society.  In this way, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith seeks both...

On January 19, Pope Benedict addressed bishops from the District of Columbia, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, and the Virgin Islands. These U.S. bishops were in Rome for their periodic “ad limina” visits, which included meetings with the pope and Vatican officials, covering a wide range of pastoral matters.His words provide some sober reflection for us. As is usually the case, I would like to provide excerpts of the Pope’s remarks from a CNS News Article and then present my own comments in red.Pope Benedict XVI warned visiting U.S. bishops that “radical secularism”...

As reported on his blog and on numerous other blogs and websites, David Domet of Vox Cantoris has been threatened by Fr. Thomas Rosica CSB, CEO of Salt and Light TV and the English-language "Assistant" to Fr. Federico Lombardi, with legal action due to Mr. Domet's posts versus some of Rosica's statements relating to the Synod on the Family. It is important to note that Vox Cantoris' posts and analyses of Fr. Rosica's statements have all been limited to criticizing the latter's words of support for "pastoral" changes that undermine Catholic doctrine (the spiritual attitude Cardinal Sarah, Prefect for Divine...

Strange Moments In Liturgical History – How a Paragon of Liturgical Tradition May Have Caused Unintended Effects By: Msgr. Charles PopeIn the modern struggles and disagreements over the Liturgy, there tends to be a list of friends and opponents depending on one’s stance. For those of us with a more traditional leaning, Pope St. Pius X looms large as a friend and an image of tradition. He is usually seen as a defender of the tradition and a great proponent of what is called today the Extraordinary Form or Traditional Latin Mass (TLM)—so much so that the Society of...