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18 September, 2006 ISLAM – VATICAN Pope’s explanations not good enough for radical Islam Threats, demonstrations and calls for protest continue in the Muslim world. Iran’s Khamenei talks about a US-Zionist crusade, a Saudi paper evokes a clash of civilisations, al-Qaeda threatens more defeats and an Indonesian group wants to crucify the Pope. Beirut (AsiaNews) – A day of wrath, breaking off diplomatic relations with the Holy See, burning Benedict XVI in effigy, accusing the Pontiff of complicity with the US and Zionism, explanation given not god enough or of no importance, plus other assorted threats, are but some...

Pope Urged to Ax 'Vicar of Jesus' Title By Tom Heneghan Reuters PARIS -- Pope Benedict XIV, who has dropped his title "Patriarch of the West" to boost ties with Orthodox Christians, should scrap more terms tagged to his name if he wants real progress, a senior Russian Orthodox bishop said. Papal titles such as "Vicar of Jesus Christ" or "Sovereign Pontiff of the Universal Church" were "unacceptable, even scandalous" for the Orthodox, Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev said in a statement published this week on his web site. "Only renouncing titles stressing the universal jurisdiction of the pope, and the ecclesiological...

"A Confused Ideology of Freedom Leads to Dogmatism" SUBIACO, Italy, JULY 27, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the lecture given in Italian by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Benedict XIV, in the convent of Saint Scholastica in Subiaco, Italy, the day before Pope John Paul II died. This lecture took place April 1, when he received the St. Benedict Award for the promotion of life and the family in Europe. Part 3 of this lecture will appear Thursday. *** Let us take a closer look at this opposition between the two cultures that have characterized Europe. In the debate...

LES COMBES, Italy (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI decried a wave of "abominable terrorist attacks" in Egypt, Turkey, Iraq and Britain and called on God to convert the hearts of those responsible for the bloodshed. Such violent attacks "offend God and humanity," the pope said after praying the Angelus July 24 from the Alpine retreat where he was vacationing. May "God stay the murderous hand" of the terrorists who are driven by "fanaticism and hatred" and may he "convert their hearts" to the ideals of reconciliation and peace, he said. Bomb blasts July 23 at the Egyptian resort town of...

(AGI) - Introd, Turkey, July 18 - The Poppe roundly condemned the "horrible attack" which occurred on Saturday morning in the beach resort of Kusadasi in Turkey. In a telegram sent to the papal Nuncio to Turkey, Mons. Edmond Farhat, signed by the Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Pope Benedict XVI assures his own "personal solidarity with the numerous people who were seriously injured in this attack, to their families, the authorities and the Turkish people." He also called for the "Mercy of God on those people who died and his comfort for their families." (AGI) - 181423 LUG...

Last week's transit bombs in London sparked off a new round of commentaries as to the causes of the upsurge in terror attacks in recent years, above all those carried out by Islamic believers. A book published in England shortly before the July 7 attacks provides useful insight into the subject. The book, "Making Sense of Suicide Missions," is edited by Diego Gambetta and published by Oxford University Press. It has chapters ranging from the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka to the situation in the Middle East and a look at al-Qaida. A chapter by Jon Elster, professor at Columbia...

  For those wondering what the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI will be like, a good start can be found in what he had to say as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger just two days ago. Before heading into the papal conclave with his fellow cardinals to select the new head of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics, Cardinal Ratzinger, who was John Paul II's theological enforcer, urged Catholics to hold fast to church tradition. "Having a clear faith, based on the creed of the church, is often labelled today as a fundamentalism," he said, "whereas relativism, which is letting oneself...