Vatican

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Vatican Unsatisfied by Holocaust Bishop Apology

(Newser) - The Vatican today rejected Bishop Richard Williamson’s so-called apology for his Holocaust beliefs, CNN reports, a mea culpa mandated by the Pope. “He must also distance himself in an absolutely unequivocal and public from his stand regarding the [Holocaust],” a spokesman said. Williamson said he regretted the...

Health Activists Jab Vatican in Needle Exchange Battle

Officials call UN needle swap program 'anti-life'

(Newser) - World health activists are blasting the Vatican for battling a UN statement that would support measures to protect the health of drug users, such as needle exchange programs, reports the Guardian. Vatican officials say the global push for such "harm reduction" policies leads to "liberalization of drug use,...

Holocaust Bishop Apologizes
 Holocaust Bishop Apologizes 

Holocaust Bishop Apologizes

(Newser) - A British bishop apologized today for remarks in which he denied the scale of the Holocaust and asserted that no Jews were gassed in concentration camps. "I can truthfully say that I regret having made such remarks," said Bishop Richard Williamson. He did not, however, say that his...

Cardinals Slam Isolated Pope's 'Errors'

Recent decisions fuel rare discord

(Newser) - In an unusual public display of church disharmony, cardinals are pushing back against the pope for being out of touch as controversies swirl over recent decisions, the Times of London reports. The pope spends too much of his day in solitude with his books, critics charge. “People feel that...

Vatican to Canonize Priest Who Aided Lepers

(Newser) - A 19th-century Belgian priest who ministered to leprosy patients in Hawaii will be declared a saint October 11, the AP reports. In July, Pope Benedict XVI approved a miracle attributed to Rev. Damien de Veuster's intercession, declaring that a Honolulu woman's recovery in 1999 from terminal lung cancer was the...

Pope to Visit Israel in May
 Pope to Visit Israel in May 

Pope to Visit Israel in May

Papal trip comes as relations tense between Vatican, Israel

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI will visit Israel this May amid diplomatic tensions between the Vatican and the Jewish state, the New York Times reports. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert confirmed the visit today after the pontiff hinted at a trip last week. “We very much hope that the visit will be...

Vatican Makes Peace With Darwin
Vatican Makes Peace With Darwin

Vatican Makes Peace With Darwin

Church officials now say evolution theory fits with beliefs

(Newser) - The Vatican is clarifying that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is compatible with its doctrine after all, the Times of London reports. The Church never officially condemned Darwin, but his views have been controversial with some because they present a radically different image of the origins of species than what's...

'Italy's Terri Schiavo' Dies
'Italy's Terri Schiavo' Dies 

'Italy's Terri Schiavo' Dies

Lawmakers were debating PM's bill against euthanasia when news broke

(Newser) - A woman who sparked debate over right-to-die laws in Italy has died after 17 years in a coma, the Times of London reports. Italian lawmakers, led by PM Silvio Berlusconi, were debating an emergency bill to keep Eluana Englaro alive at the time. The law would forbid carers of those...

Seminary Axes Holocaust Denier

Conservative society sacks bishop reinstated by pope

(Newser) - The Holocaust-denying bishop embroiled in controversy since Pope Benedict lifted his excommunication has been booted from his Argentine seminary, the Independent reports. Richard Williamson's ultra-conservative sect sacked him as seminary director as the Vatican increased pressure on the bishop to recant his controversial statements that Jews were not gassed during...

Pope's Bro to Merkel: Chill Out
Pope's Bro to Merkel: Chill Out

Pope's Bro to Merkel: Chill Out

Ratzinger says German leader's call for pontiff to clarify Holocaust stance is 'irrational'

(Newser) - The pope’s brother today criticized Angela Merkel for demanding that Benedict XVI restate his views on the Holocaust amid the controversy over a reinstated priest, the Times of London reports. “I always saw her as a rational woman,” Georg Ratzinger—himself a Catholic priest—said of the...

Vatican Demands Holocaust Denier Recant

(Newser) - The Vatican has demanded that Bishop Richard Williamson, a Holocaust denier who was recently un-excommunicated, recant his views in order to serve in the Catholic Church, the BBC reports. Williamson was excommunicated 20 years ago for a separate transgression. The Church said the pope was unaware of his contrarian stance...

Cardinals Blast Pope on Holocaust Denier

Decision to re-instate bishop a 'disaster' says Germany's top cardinal

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XIV's reinstatement of a Holocaust-denying bishop has received some unusually harsh criticism from within the church, the Guardian reports. Germany's top-ranking cardinal has labeled the decision "a disaster" and called for the Pope to apologize. Cardinal Walter Kasper, who oversees the Vatican's relations with Judaism, says the...

Pope Names Bishop Who Lauded 'Punishing' Katrina

Hurricane destroyed nightclubs, abortion clinic, notes pleased Austrian

(Newser) - Days after welcoming back to the church a bishop who denies the Holocaust existed, Pope Benedict has sparked controversy again for promoting a controversial Austrian ultra-conservative cleric. Gerhard Maria Wagner claims the Harry Potter series spreads satanism and that Hurricane Katrina was punishment for New Orleans' lax morals.

Israeli Rabbis Cut Off Vatican Over Holocaust Dispute

Pope attempts to smooth ties with conciliatory remarks

(Newser) - Israel’s senior rabbinical body has severed ties with the Vatican, saying Bishop Richard Williamson should recant his statements denying that millions of Jews were "deliberately gassed" during the Holocaust. The chief rabbinate expressed “sorrow and pain” at the decision, which follows worldwide outrage among Jews and progressive...

Vatican Blasts Obama Policy on Abortion

Backers say plan promotes women's health, fights AIDS

(Newser) - The Vatican today condemned President Obama's move to give federal funding to international groups that include abortions and abortion counseling with health care, the BBC reports. A Vatican official said the policy dealt a blow to those fighting "the slaughter of the innocents." Supporters of the move say...

Jews Rip Pope for Reinstating Holocaust Denier

Pope's reinstatement of controversial leader threatens Jewish-Catholic relations

(Newser) - Jews across the globe are reacting with fury to Pope Benedict XVI's reinstatement of an excommunicated bishop who denies the Holocaust, the Guardian reports. Former British bishop Richard Williamson, excommunicated in 1988 for his membership in an extremist Catholic sect and defiance of church authority, claims that no Jews died...

Pope Benedict Makes His YouTube Debut

Vatican begins series of weekly video updates

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI began his planned series of YouTube video releases today. The pope’s official channel already includes clips from the Vatican media service, and will later offer weekly updates featuring Benedict’s meetings with dignitaries, papal audiences, and recordings of daily events, reports the Italian news agency ANSA....

Vatican Goes Viral With YouTube Channel

Viewers can watch Pope and church events

(Newser) - The Vatican is teaming with Google to get more tech-savvy: It will soon have its own YouTube channel, Reuters reports. Visitors to the page will have a front-row seat to church events and papal appearances. More details will emerge at a Friday press conference with Vatican leaders and a Google...

Vatican, Israel Scrap Over Gaza Remark

Cleric defends calling Palestinian enclave 'concentration camp'

(Newser) - Israel slammed a Vatican official today for calling Gaza “a big concentration camp,” Reuters reports. Israel denounced the comparison by Cardinal Renato Martino as “the vocabulary of Hamas propaganda.” “We are astounded to hear from a spiritual dignitary words that are so far removed from...

'Vati-Con' Agrees to Pay $3.6M
 'Vati-Con' Agrees to Pay $3.6M 

'Vati-Con' Agrees to Pay $3.6M

Ann Hathaway's ex says he wants to repay fraud victims, but may be too broke

(Newser) - Raffaello Follieri, the jailed ex-boyfriend of actress Anne Hathaway who used alleged connections to the pope to scam investors, has agreed to return $3.6 million to victims, including two priests and celeb-billionaire Ron Burkle. It’s a small chunk of the $13 million the “Vati-Con” is accused of...

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