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Here is the text of Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone's Aug. 7 homily at the opening Mass at the annual convention of the Knights of Columbus. The text is provided by the Knights of Columbus. * * * August 7, 2007 This is the official English translation of the homily delivered in Italian by His Eminence Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, S.D.B. Secretary of State Your Eminences, My Brothers in the Episcopate and in the priesthood, Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I am pleased to extend warm greetings to Mr. Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight, and to the Knights of Columbus...

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone doesn't have the guarded air of those who tend to rise to the heights of Vatican power. He smiles easily. He laughs out loud. His oval face and dark, bespectacled eyes show no sign of scars from the bureaucratic battles that accompany most climbs up the Roman Curia career ladder. A few years ago, I saw Bertone walking alone on a side street near St. Peter's and went over to say hello and shake his hand. He stopped on a dime when he heard his name, turning toward me with his arms spread open, and practically sang...

The new Secretary of State in the Vatican, a position second only to that of the Pope himself, has said that dissident Catholics are more worrisome than atheists. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone`s comments were published in the December 7 edition of L`Avvenire, the official newspaper of the Italian bishops` conference, LifeSiteNews.com reported Monday. Italian journalist Gianni Cardinale asked Bertone about atheists who may support the Pope on certain issues such as his stance on Islam. 'If I can put it in a sound-bite,' Bertone said as translated by Vatican reporter John Allen, 'the church doesn`t really worry about atheists, however devout,...