Pope Watch: Pope Benedict XVI

‘Pope John Paul II refused to consider retirement despite suffering from Parkinson’s disease because he worried it might set a “dangerous precedent,” according to a new book by a Vatican cardinal.

Cardinal Julian Herranz writes that the late pope’s longtime secretary told him John Paul feared “creating a dangerous precedent for his successors because someone could remain exposed to manoeuvres and subtle pressures by those who want to remove him.”‘

Read more at Pope John Paul II feared resigning: book

‘SECRET discussions between the Roman Catholic Church and Michael Jackson to put the prayers of Pope John Paul II to music appeared to be in disarray last night after the singer fled members of the press who had got wind of the project.

Pope John Paul, who died last April, wrote 24 religious prayers and chants and Church officials now want to set them to music.’

Read more at Jackson in talks to set late Pope’s prayers to music

‘Pope Benedict XVI now has a place to call home in Central Florida.

St. Paul Catholic Church will celebrate tonight its designation as one of only 60 “minor basilicas” in the United States and just the second in Florida to have the honor of being a “home away from Rome” for the pope.

Tonight, the oldest Catholic church in Central Florida will capture the limelight in a city that is better known for events such as Speedweeks, Bike Week and spring break.’

Read more at Pope bestows honor on Daytona church

‘The Vatican is defending its imposition of a copyright on papal pronouncements but says there is no bar on dissemination and publication of the pope’s works by the news media.The Vatican publishing house Libreria Editrice Vaticana set down the position earlier this week in a statement after the Italian newspaper La Stampa reported that a Milan publisher was billed $18,440 for printing several texts by Pope Benedict XVI.’

Read more at Vatican Defends Copyright Protection

‘Pope Benedict XVI warned in his first encyclical Wednesday that sex without unconditional love risked turning men and women into merchandise.

In the 71-page document “God is Love,” Benedict explored the relationship between the erotic love between man and woman, referred to by the term “eros,” and the Greek word for the unconditional, self-giving love, “agape” (pronounced AH-gah-pay).

He said the two concepts are most unified in marriage between man and woman, in which a covetous love grows into the self-giving love of the other, as well as God’s unconditional love for mankind.’

Read more at Pope Warns About Loveless Sex

“Nowadays, Christianity of the past is often criticized as having been opposed to the body; and it is quite true that tendencies of this sort have always existed. Yet the contemporary way of exalting the body is deceptive. Eros, reduced to pure ’sex,’ has become a commodity, a mere ‘thing’ to be bought and sold, or rather, man himself becomes a commodity.”

“Even if eros is at first mainly covetous and ascending, a fascination for the great promise of happiness — in drawing near to the other, it is less and less concerned with itself, increasingly seeks the happiness of the other, is concerned more and more with the beloved, bestows itself and wants to ‘be there for’ the other. The element of agape (unconditional love) thus enters into this love.”

‘”Today, the term ‘love’ has become one of the most frequently used and misused of words. … We speak of love of country, love of one’s profession, love between friends, love of work, love between parents and children, love of neighbor and love of God. Amid this multiplicity of meanings, however, one in particular stands out: love between man and woman, where body and soul are inseparably joined and human beings glimpse an apparently irresistible promise of happiness.”

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‘THE Vatican has been accused of trying to cash in on the Pope’s words after it decided to impose strict copyright on all papal pronouncements.

For the first time all papal documents, including encyclicals, will be governed by copyright invested in the official Vatican publishing house, the Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

The edict covers Pope Benedict XVI’s first encyclical, which is to be issued this week amid huge international interest.’

Read more at Vatican ‘cashes in’ by putting price on the Pope’s copyright

‘US First Lady Laura Bush will have an audience with Pope Benedict XVI during a visit to Europe as leader of the official US delegation to the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin.

Bush and one of her daughters, Barbara, will have an audience with the pontiff at the Vatican on February 9, the Italian news agency ANSA said in an unsourced report. ‘

Read more at Laura Bush to meet pope during Europe visit

‘They are known as the “Defenders of the Church” and this weekend the Vatican Swiss Guard celebrated 500 years of service.

In that time they have protected 42 successive popes, although more recently the Vatican has been guarded by Italian security forces and plainclothes police. But personal safety of the pope is still the guards’ full responsibility.’

Read more at Pope’s guards celebrate 500 years

‘The Vatican newspaper has published an article saying intelligent design is not science and teaching it alongside evolutionary theory in school classrooms only creates confusion.

The article in Tuesday’s editions of L’Osservatore Romano was the latest in a series of interventions by Vatican officials — including the pope — on the issue that has dominated headlines in the United States.’

Read more at Intelligent design isn’t really science, Vatican paper says

‘The late pope John Paul II is “praying from heaven” for Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who attempted to kill the pontiff in 1981 and who is expected to be released from jail this week, John Paul’s former private secretary said on Monday.

Stanslaw Dziwisz, who held the wounded pope in his arms after he was shot, said he accepted the Turkish court’s decision to release Agca, Dziwisz’s spokesman Robert Necek said. ‘

Read more at Pope John Paul II ‘praying from heaven’ for attacker

‘The leader of the Catholic Church has continued his criticism of same-sex unions, saying the blocking of gay marriage was an “elementary truth” rather than a purely religious fight.

Speaking to Italian politicians, Pope Benedict urged them to block any debate on gay marriage in the forthcoming elections, echoing claims he made last year that same-sex unions go against Biblical teachings.

He added that allowing gay unions would be a “grave mistake”, according to press reports.’

Read more at Pope slams gay marriage

‘Pope Benedict XVI met Wednesday with 30 children who survived the 2004 school hostage siege in Beslan, Russia, greeting them and posing for a photo with them.

The children, all wearing blue baseball caps, attended the pope’s 90-minute public audience in the Vatican’s audience hall as part of a weeklong visit to Italy.’

Read more at Pope Meets With Beslan Children

‘The man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 will be released from prison this week after a court decided he had completed his sentence on charges in another case - a ruling that took the Vatican by surprise.

Mehmet Ali Agca was extradited to Turkey in 2000 after serving almost 20 years in Italy for shooting and wounding the pope in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. His motive for shooting Pope John Paul in the abdomen on May 13, 1981, remains unclear.

Agca, who turns 48 today, was to be released on parole Thursday, said his lawyer, Mustafa Demirbag.’

Read more at Turkish prison to release man who shot Pope John Paul II