Predicting the next pope: An African or Asian?
Global Post: Pope Benedict’s resignation has galvanized interest in cardinals who until now have been distant figures to most Catholics, and some of the leading candidates are being analyzed by […]
The Liverpool View: Islamophobia in contemporary Britain
By Dr Leon Moosavi “In January 2011, Baroness Warsi claimed that Islamophobia had ‘passed the dinner-table test’, meaning that prejudice against Muslims was commonplace in British society. This unique intolerance […]
Pope Benedict broken the chains of tradition
Source: Spiegel Germany. “There is something bitter and tragic about (Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to resign)…. Only in his departure has Benedict broken the chains of tradition. Everywhere else, he […]
Ahmadiyya presented gifts to elderly at St. Vincent de Paul
Source: Maltastar.com Laiq Ahmed Atif president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Malta visited the St. Vincent de Paul Elderly Residency on Monday and presented gifts and food hampers to 150 […]
Benedict, ‘pope of ironies,’ steps down
Global Post: When Pope Benedict XVI startled one billion members of the global Catholic church and made news all over the world with his resignation in Rome on Monday morning, […]
Burkinis gaining popularity among British non-Muslims
The Indian Express: The burkinis, which is a swimwear originally designed for Islamic women to protect their modesty, are soaring in popularity among British non-Muslims. The swimwear, which was […]
Barclays Bank cuts 3,700 jobs in overhaul to restore reputation
Barclays has announced 3,700 job losses and £1.7bn cost cuts as part of Project Transform, a radical bid to restore the bank’s tattered reputation. Declaring a “new era” for the […]
Switzerland: More foreigners and fewer naturalisations
The number of non-Swiss living in Switzerland rose slightly in 2012 to 1.825 million, a three per cent increase over 2011, the Federal Migration Office reported on Friday. Foreigners continue to make up roughly 20 per cent of the population. The increase was primarily attributed to migration by citizens of […]
European ministers to hold summit over horse meat scandal
Ministers from across Europe are to meet in Brussels tomorrow to discuss tightening regulations on processed meat in the wake of the growing scandal over horse meat found in beef […]
Benedict once said that he had “no talent for…administration or organisation”.
Source: The Economist: In fact Benedict XVI’s papacy is likely to be remembered as overly passive. Though he acknowledged that the church needed to go on “a long penitential journey” to atone for sins committed by its clergy, the church he presided over was slow to react to sexual-abuse scandals […]
British Foreign Secretary William Hague condemns North Korea nuclear test
William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, has “strongly condemned” a nuclear test carried out by North Korea today, calling it a “violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. Mr Hague’s comments […]
The Vatican’s woes God’s bankers A beleaguered papacy is embroiled in intrigue. Some scent a succession struggle
Source: The Economist: God’s bankers FEW things annoy Vatican officials more than lurid novels that depict the papacy as the secretive heart of a global conspiracy. Pope Benedict XVI’s most senior official, his secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, this month accused journalists of trying to imitate the American […]
Catholics shocked as pope resigns, but little emotion
By Alexandra Hudson, Cristiano Corvino Story Summary Catholics reacted with shock on Monday to the sudden abdication of Pope Benedict, although the mood among many was one of respect rather […]
With Pope Benedict’s Resignation, It’s Time to Move From Religion to Spirituality
Huff Post: Matthew Fox. The lack of conscience in the yes-men Benedict and Pope John Paul II appointed to positions of decision-making means that Catholics should not be holding their breath expecting the Holy Spirit to elect a decent leader. The church as we know it is finished and that is a […]
Pope Benedict’s resignation brings end to paradoxical papacy
Pope Benedict XVI Source: Guardian UK John Hooper in Rome The Guardian, Monday 11 February 2013 07.07 EST Pope Benedict XVI was intellectually remorseless but personally timid – lacking in […]
Some reactions to the Pope’s resignation …
From The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/11/pope-resigns-live-reaction Kate Hodal reports from the Philippines, the largest Catholic country in Asia, with roughly 76 million predominantly Roman Catholic followers (others are Aglipayan Catholics): The church is a huge but increasingly divisive force in the nation, a place where some 7 million Roman Catholics came out […]
Weigel on Benedict: “Realities of World Where People Live Much Longer”
Monday, February 11, 2013, 8:08 AM Matthew Schmitz | @matthewschmitz Transcribed from George Weigel’s interview on NBC News this morning: It’s a surprise, obviously. This hasn’t happened since 1296, which is 717 years ago . . . The pope then was Pope Celestine V. He was 85 years old, too, […]
Vatican Confirms That Pope Will Step Down
Source: Spiegel. Note: As intimated earlier by Chief Editor now it is confirmed that Pope is stepping down. REUTERS Pope Benedict XVI stated that he is “fully aware of the gravity of this gesture.” In a surprise development, the Vatican confirmed Monday that Pope Benedict XVI will step down later […]
Archbishop Meisner sees growing ‘Catholic-phobia’
Source: The Local. Cologne’s Archbishop Joachim Meisner has complained of a growing “Catholic-phobia” in Germany in the wake of two negative incidents involving the Church. More:
Border History: Nazi hunter says Swiss rejected fewer Jews
by Clare O’Dea, swissinfo.ch Renowned French Nazi hunter and historian Serge Klarsfeld has claimed that far fewer Jewish refugees were turned away at Swiss borders than previously thought. Klarsfeld puts […]