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Wael Salibi moved to Rome in September 2012. Photo courtesy of Wael Salibi. Rome, Italy, Mar 26, 2013 / 04:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A Syrian Christian who fled the fighting in his country believes that the Good Friday Stations of the Cross at the Coliseum will help promote Christian unity and raise awareness of the growing turmoil in the Middle East. “This will raise more awareness because the situation in Syria is dangerous, especially for Christians,” said Wael Salibi, a Christian Syrian who moved to Italy in September to flee the violence. “Christians know they will rise again like...

Hours before his election, Cardinal Bergoglio, now Pope Francis made ​​a strong criticism of the Church and urged his colleagues to draw cardinals from reverie and work with the Gospel in the geographical peripheries of the world as well as with those in existential pain, sin and ignorance . Cardinal Jaime Ortega, archbishop of Havana, revealed the contents of a document containing the intervention delivered by his counterpart Jorge Bergoglio, before being elected Pontiff.

'It was one of the most audacious acts of the Cold War which could have come straight from the pages of a spy novel. Georgi Markov was jabbed with an umbrella which fired a poison pellet into his leg as he crossed Waterloo Bridge. He died three days later – and for almost 35 years mystery has surrounded the whereabouts of his killer. Now the prime suspect has been tracked down to a small Austrian town where he works as an antiques dealer. Francesco Gullino, 66, who was known by his Communist handlers as 'Agent Piccadilly', lives in a rundown...

Life & Leisure Credit: Heavy.com Disapproving Joe Biden: 5 Memes from Pope Francis’ Inaugural Mass by SPL Staff on Mar 19, 2013 • 3:10 pm 1 Comment Listers, on the Solemnity of St. Joseph 2013 His Holiness Pope Francis celebrated his inauguration to the Petrine Ministry. In his expected style, Pope Francis charmed the crowd by stopping the popemobile to kiss a baby and bless a handicapped man. His Holiness’ homily spoke of the poor and weakest amongst us to the delegations from over 130 countries and hundreds of thousands of people. Everyone described their experience of the papal inauguration...

Full Title: 8 Reasons Why Rome Still Calls PCA Pastor and Former Catholic on the ways Rome appeals to those who have left 1. It represents the religion of my youth I grew up Roman Catholic, attended Catholic Grammar School and high school. I was a member of a Catholic youth group the Columbian Squires, and the State Chief Squire of California. My friends, family, and social group were all Catholics. There is a strong sense of common values and community in the local Catholic Church that is often rarely duplicated in the local Protestant church. 2. It pulls on...

The first days of his papacy to Pope Francis, the archbishop of Buenos Aires elected Pope with the white smoke on Wednesday evening began with a visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio's election as Pope has already triggered fierce debate about his past. Was Francis a helper of the Argentine military regime? No, says a Nobel Peace Prize. And rather that he was affirm the surviving relatives of a torture victim. Speechlessness followed the cheers: With a simple "Buonasera" the new Pope Francis welcomed his flock in Rome - and made a joke about his origin "at the end of the world" . A rhetorical hit that was highly appreciated at the crowd. Even in his native Argentina enthusiasm and a party atmosphere prevailed. However, not among all. "I...

WASHINGTON — Jews worldwide welcomed newly elected Pope Francis as a friend on Wednesday (March 13), and pointed in particular to his sympathetic and strong reaction to the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in his native Argentina — the deadliest bombing in the country’s history. snip Benedict does not have a bad record with the Jews, Novak said, but he didn’t give it as much attention as Pope John Paul II, who called Jews the “elder brethren” of faith. “I would like to see a kind of renewal of Jewish-Catholic relations which I think reached a high point during...

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis reached out on Thursday to Rome's Jewish community, saying he hoped he would be able to contribute to furthering good relations between Catholics and Jews. The new pope sent a message to Rome's chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, inviting him to his inaugural Mass at the Vatican on March 19. "I sincerely hope to be able to contribute to the progress that relations between Jews and Catholics have enjoyed since the Second Vatican Council," he said, according to a statement on Vatican Radio. Francis said he hoped to be able to contribute to "a...

Video of the then Cardinal Bergoglio celebrating Hanukkah....

Having trouble typing .. my hands are shaking. It will take about 45 minutes before we see him. This is so exciting!

Before the conclave today in Rome, the Central Council of Muslims in Germany (ZMD) and the movement "We Are Church" for spoke in support of a cosmopolitan Pope. In an interview with the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" the ZMD-chairman Ayman Mazyek said he wanted a cosmopolitan pope who would introduce spirituality and a renewal of faith in God.

They all want a say in the election of the new Pope: In the Vatican, various interest groups among the Cardinals are in for tough fight. An overview of the factions in the Conclave. If the new man on the throne of Peter were to come from Europe or should he be a church leader from the southern hemisphere? Cardinals before their entry into the Sistine Chapel repeatedly emphasized that origin or skin color should not matter. At that point also various "factions" in the universal Church and different perspectives come into play. The 115 voting cardinals come from 45...

A few days ago Cardinal Meisner was speculating that it would be good for a man as young as 45 to be Pope. The youngest Cardinal happens to be 55 and formerly an Auxiliary Bishop in the Cardinal's Archdiocese of Cologne. Step forward Cardinal Woelki (55), seen above at his introduction to the See of Berlin, at which none other than Cardinal Meisner preached. Cardinal Marx of Munich is also to be seen concelebrating. It is not too much a leap to see the hand of Cardinal Meisner in the early promotion and indeed the red hat for Cardinal Woelki.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, will participate in the conclave, though he is 80 years old in two days. He will thus be the oldest of the Papal voters. The German cardinal is presently the most heavyweight representative of the progressive cardinals who flag up an anti-Ratzinger pontificate. The former assistant to Hans Küng was removed in 1999 by John Paul II as Bishop of the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart and transported to Rome, where he was until 2010 President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. (Cathcon- what a pair Cardinal Lehmann, research assistant to Karl Rahner and Cardinal Kasper, assistant...

egensburg - Again, he sat in front of the TV and looked at "Joseph". This is the name Georg Ratzinger uses for his brother, who has been called Benedict XVI for almost eight years and on Wednesday had his last major appearance as Pope. Although he can no longer see so well, the 89-year-old in Regensburg wanted to see as much of the general audience as popssible of the outgoing head of the Church in St. Peter's Square. "It was very touching," the prelate said to the news agency dpa. "There was a melancholy mood." And Georg Ratzinger added reassuringly...

Bishop Minnerath (to right of Pope) and Bishops of the Province of Dijon, surrounding Pope Benedict XVI during the last Ad Limina visit to Rome in November 2012 On Monday, learning of the decision of Benedict XVI to leave his position as Pope for health reasons at the end of February, Archbishop Minnerath, according to RCF parabole (a radio channel) who was given a sole and unique interview, "did not want believe it. " On Wednesday morning, Archbishop Minnerath agreed to speak on this sensitive subject. He did this without omitting to point out some disagreement with someone he knows,...

On today's broadcast, Rick Wiles interviews Chris Putnam who along with coauthor Thomas Horn wrote the recent best seller: "Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope Is Here ."Streaming Audio File LinkDownloadable MP3 File Link

St. Peter is the Prince of the Apostles and our First Pope. SPL has reproduced a portion of a popular article that has been shared on many Catholic sites – though we think it originated with Fisheaters - cataloguing the Eastern Fathers of the Church and their statements on St. Peter and his keys. Below are the historical comments of those who served Holy Mother Church in Constantinople. Many of the quotes focus on St. Peter as the Prince of the Apostles and the Keys of the Kingdom given to him by Christ Our Lord. Those unfamiliar with the...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://frontpagemag.com - 52% of Rapes in Rome Committed by Immigrants, 59% in Milan, 40% in ItalyPosted By Daniel Greenfield On December 26, 2012 @ 10:13 pm In The Point | 6 Comments Muslims in Milan doing their part to keep Milan violent and rapey   “He was horrible, he had no teeth, his face disfigured by scars”. This is how one of the latest victims of rape in Milan, a businesswoman of 42, described her attacker, Mohamed K., 32, an Iraqi illegal immigrant already convicted for theft, assault and wounding. Last week, when she was going...