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This is odd and surprising. It would seem most likely that the Pope wanted a secretary from the Islamic world to show his favorable view of Islam, and is unaware of Father Yoannis Lahzi Gaido’s previous statements. He will undoubtedly soon find out, however, if he hasn’t already, and what happens then will be interesting. Here is Blazing Cat Fur’s modified Google translation of a German-language article: “The Pope’s new Coptic secretary: Islam is a ‘culture of death,’” Blazing Cat Fur, April 29, 2014 (thanks to Jamal): Pope Francis has a new secretary who speaks Arabic and has very clear...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Using what he acknowledged was unusually "blunt" language, the head of the Vatican's doctrinal office rebuked officers of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious for honoring a Catholic theologian whose work was judged "seriously inadequate" and for promoting futuristic ideas he described as "opposed to Christian revelation." Cardinal Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, made the remarks April 30 in an address to the presidency of the LCWR, a Maryland-based umbrella group that claims about 1,500 leaders of U.S. women's communities as members, representing about 80 percent of the country's...

The Vatican attempted to minimize its culpability over the Catholic Church’s child sexual abuse scandal as a UN committee on torture grilled the institution over it alleged “climate of impunity” which has prevailed for decades. In a two-hour hearing in Geneva, the Committee Against Torture was unrelenting in its questioning of the Vatican delegation, asking about past policy decisions, the juridical distinction between the Holy See and Vatican City, and information on specific cases, Reuters reports. The Vatican, which is set to issue a formal answer on Tuesday, said the church has been cleaning house for the past decade and...

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis plans to address all the heads of United Nations agencies on May 10 in what some are viewing as a crucial opportunity to help turn the U.N.’s satellite institutions away from their radical anti-life agenda.He is also scheduled to meet U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon next week. The meeting would be the Pope’s second with the U.N. leader since his election.The U.N. System Chief Executives Board for Coordination — the longest-standing and highest-level coordination forum of the U.N. — will be received in private audience by the Holy Father at the end of its...

An Israeli lawmaker claims that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken with Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef about the possibility of ceding the Tomb of David— located in an old church building that is also revered by Christians as the site of the Last Supper—to the Vatican. The report—which has not been confirmed by the Israeli government—comes after earlier rumors that the government was engaged in secret negotiations with the Vatican about future control of the site.

The Holy See is in the U.N. dock again next week. This time it’s the U.N. Committee on Torture, and it will not be pretty. Remember last time? A few months ago the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child told the Holy See that the Church must change its teachings on foundational moral issues like abortion, contraception, adolescent sexuality, and marriage. That outrage only arose among the usual suspects, that is, from the likes of you and me, means the Committee on Torture can be expected to follow suit. The U.N. Convention against Torture, and other Cruel, Inhuman...

Notre Dame University employed the police to order a group of traditional marriage advocates off its campus late last week. Volunteers with the Tradition Family Property Student Action were given permission by an official campus student group to set up a table, according to TFP director John Ritchie. The police arrived shortly after the group began handing out pro-family literature and told them to “cease and desist.” On its website TFP Student Action claimed: The TFP handout, 10 Reasons Why Same-Sex “Marriage” is Harmful and Must Be Opposed, was being warmly received by students and faculty members alike. However, several...

A Knesset Member said Thursday that Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef told him that the Prime Minister's bureau contacted him and asked to grant halakhic permission for Israel to hand over the Tomb of David to the Vatican. The startling news was revealed by the Knesset Member during a tour of the Tomb of Daid by four MKs – Yoni Chetboun of the Jewish Home, who initiated the tour, Moshe Feiglin (Likud-Beytenu), Nissim Ze'ev (Shas), and Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism – UTJ). The MKs were unanimous in declaring that they intend to do everything within their power to forestall...

See link for discussion.

But, wait, there’s more! According to La Stampa, Pope Paul VI has reportedly been penciled in for beatification this coming fall at the conclusion of the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Yes, that’s right—Paul VI! Remember him? That vague, sort of nondescript pontiff who made up for negligible personal magnetism with an almost fanatical penchant for novelty. There is no particular cult associated with his cause, of course, other than among a few aging ecclesiastical hippies inside the Vatican who are evidently bound and determined to nominate their pal Paul for a Halo Award, come hell or high water. Something...

At least seven people wrote Decker and told him to “go to hell.” For instance, MariaTM supportively promised, “I will pray for your burning soul.” And Amanda kept things real simple: “Go to hell lowlife.” One simple text just said: “hater.” Someone calling himself or herself SSPVArchangel asked, “When did the other 2 ‘popes’ die and who made Decker Supreme Pontiff??” On FreeRepublic.com there was KarlFromOhio who cleverly wrote, “Since John Paul II eliminated the Devil’s Advocate position in the canonization procedure, I guess USA Today has decided to take the position on a pro bono basis.”

Link only included due to copyright restrictions: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/04/21/pope-saint-johnpaulii-easter-sex-abuse-column/7980347/

TRES RIOS, Costa Rica (AP) — On a warm spring day, Floribeth Mora was in her bed waiting to die from a seemingly inoperable brain aneurysm when her gaze fell upon a photograph of Pope John Paul II in a newspaper. "Stand up," Mora recalls the image of the pope saying to her. "Don't be afraid." Mora, her doctors and the Catholic Church say her aneurysm disappeared that day in a miracle that cleared the way for the late pope to be declared a saint on April 27 in a ceremony at the Vatican where Mora will be a guest...

Japanese Tech Firm NTT Is Scanning the Ancient Texts in the Vatican Apostolic Library Almost 600 years after Pope Nicholas V founded the Vatican Apostolic Library, the Holy See is now turning to 50 experts, five scanners and a Japanese IT firm to digitize millions of pages from its priceless manuscripts, opening them to the broader public for the first time. When the project is finished, one of the richest and most important collections of historical texts in the world will be available with a click of the mouse—and free. The plan marks a revolution for an institution known as...

Between the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest biblical texts in the world, and this microfilm, which contains the Bible and traveled to the moon on board Apollo 14, there is a 2,000-year span. Both pieces are intended to show the uniqueness of the Bible. They're part of the "Verbum Domini” exhibit, which includes 150 other precious artifacts. CARY L. SUMMERS Museum of the Bible, Oklahoma City (USA) "The technology that we have today that didn't exist many years ago, we're able to look at the writing underneath writings, For example in this collection, it's called the Climaci Rescriptus, and in...

The Vatican said Friday (local time) it was "willing and desirous" to intervene diplomatically in Venezuela's crisis after weeks of deadly unrest but says it must study expectations and options about what role it could play. On Thursday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accepted the idea of a good-faith facilitator after coming under mounting pressure to reconcile with opponents who have been protesting for nearly three months. He mentioned Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, until last year the Vatican's ambassador to Caracas. Critics of Maduro's socialist administration have pressed for Vatican involvement: Shortly before he was arrested, opposition leader...

Isabela Munoz of Oakley, Calif., left, talks with her sister, Jasmine, about an upcoming trip to Rome. Isabela donated her bone marrow to help Jasmine survive leukemia. Thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Jasmine will realize a dream when she and her family travel to Rome in April to see the Vatican and attend Pope Francis' general audience. (CNS photo/Jose Luis Aguirre, The Catholic Voice)OAKLAND, Calif. - Jasmine Munoz could have met Mickey Mouse at Disneyland, gone to a beach or taken a cruise, but the 12-year-old leukemia survivor would rather see the Vatican and meet Pope Francis. Thanks to...

VATICAN CITY ― There were gaffes and there were laughs, but U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Rome clearly served its purpose, if the hope was to bask in the glow of the popular Pope Francis. The day began with a stiff handshake between Obama and the pope, but the mood quickly lightened when the president quipped, “His Holiness is probably the only person who has to undergo more protocol than me,” after observing the whimsically dressed Swiss Guards and row of tuxedoed papal attendants when he was on his way to the pontifical library. They shared a giggle when...

(CNSNews.com) – President Obama said Pope Francis did not raise Obamacare “in detail” when they met on Thursday, but that in a separate meeting with the Vatican’s secretary of state “we discussed briefly the issue of making sure that conscience and religious freedom was observed in the context of applying the law.” At a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Obama also acknowledged that he differs with the Vatican’s stance on some issues, but added that he “heartily” agrees with most of its positions. - See more at:

Rome Correspondent Hilary White contributed to this report. ROME, March 27, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In their first face-to-face meeting, Pope Francis reiterated the Catholic Church's concerns with President Barack Obama's policies on abortion, conscience rights, and freedom of religion. A source familiar with the talks told LifeSiteNews that the Vatican press release on the meeting was "remarkably forthright" in emphasizing the fact that the pope raised these issues with the president. According to the press release, the pope launched a discussion with the American president about the proper role of church and state, raising “questions of particular relevance for...