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Pope Benedict XVI

Pope to join celebs, presidents with Twitter feed
He already has a billion followers. Now, Pope Benedict XVI will join the Twitter-sphere, tweeting from a personal account along with the world's ...
World reaction to Barack Obama's victory
President Barack Obama's re-election in the United States elicited strong feelings — from optimism to skepticism — around the world. A sampling of ...
Syrian rebels make new push into capital Damascus
Syrian rebels made a new push into Damascus on Wednesday, clashing heavily with troops in the rebellious suburbs of the capital and firing mortars at ...
Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria dies at age 98
Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria, who weathered a revolt over his communist-era ties to lead the Balkan country's Orthodox Christians for more than 40 ...
Brazil's 'pop-star priest' gets mammoth new stage
Brazil's "pop-star priest" is already packing in the crowds at the newly opened mammoth sanctuary that he built for his campaign to stem the exodus ...
Despite volume, no plan to limit Sistine tourists
Five centuries after Michelangelo's ceiling of frescoes was inaugurated in the Sistine Chapel, Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday celebrated the "symphony ...
Vatican counsels patience for traditionalists
The Vatican is again opening the door to a group of breakaway traditionalist Catholics, saying patience, perseverance and trust are necessary to end ...
Traditionalists expel Holocaust-denying bishop
A traditionalist group of breakaway Catholics on Wednesday expelled a Holocaust-denying bishop whose views sparked a major Vatican crisis in 2009.
Pope names 6 cardinals, none from Italy
Pope Benedict XVI named six new cardinals on Wednesday, adding prelates from Lebanon, the Philippines, Nigeria, Colombia, India and the United States ...
Vatican court: Butler's theft harmed pope, church
The Vatican tribunal that convicted the pope's ex-butler of stealing private papal correspondence sharply condemned the theft on Tuesday as causing ...
Castro publishes article criticizing health rumors
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said he doesn't even suffer from headaches in an article he published in state-media Monday criticizing those who ...
Hotel official: Fidel Castro appears in public
Fidel Castro has appeared in public for the first time in months, a top hotel executive told The Associated Press on Sunday, challenging persistent ...
Pope names 7 new saints, seeks to revive faith
Some 80,000 pilgrims in flowered lei, feathered headdresses and other traditional garb flooded St. Peter's Square on Sunday as Pope Benedict XVI added ...
Susan Boyle's fairy tale dream tempered by reality
She dreamed a dream, and it came true. But what happened next for Susan Boyle? The middle-aged church volunteer from a small town in Scotland became ...
Boy's miracle cure makes Native American saint
Jake Finkbonner was so close to death after flesh-eating bacteria infected him through a cut on his lip that his parents had last rites performed and ...
Cuba releases 1st Fidel Castro letter in months
Cuban news media on Thursday published the first new writing in months from retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro. The letter, which was dated Wednesday, ...
Hawaii, NY women to be elevated to sainthood
In life, Mother Marianne Cope was known for her strength and kindness, battling bureaucrats in Hawaii as she led a group of fellow Franciscan nuns to ...
Fidel Castro son, sister say he's fine amid rumors
Fidel Castro's relatives in Cuba and Miami denied the latest round of rumors about the 86-year-old former president's supposedly declining health, ...
Pope marks 50th anniversary of Vatican II
Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council — the church meetings he attended as a young priest that ...
Pope hopes latest book brings people to Jesus
Pope Benedict XVI says he hopes his latest book on Jesus — about his infancy — will help bring people closer to Christ. "Jesus' Infancy" is due in ...
Report: US Protestants lose majority status
For the first time in its history, the United States does not have a Protestant majority, according to a new study. One reason: The number of ...
Leaks author defends pope's butler, seeks clemency
The author of the book of Vatican secrets that earned the pope's former butler an 18-month sentence for stealing private papal correspondence has set ...
Pope opens bishop synod, names 2 church doctors
Pope Benedict XVI urged the world's bishops on Sunday to try to bring back Catholics who have left the church as he opened a three-week meeting to ...
Papal pardon expected for butler after conviction
A painful and damaging chapter in Pope Benedict XVI's papacy closed Saturday with the conviction of his former butler on charges he stole the ...