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Thank God it was not a serious incident... had there been a weapon...one hates to think of such things...See the video here...

The Moment The Pope Was Knocked Down The Pope was knocked down by a woman at the start of the service in St Peter's Basilica. (See Video in URL] The woman, who is reported to be mentally unstable, jumped the security barriers as Benedict XVI entered the basilica, causing the pontiff to fall. The Pope appeared to be unhurt and recovered to lead the Mass.

Woman Knocks Down Pope At Christmas Mass Alex Watts, Sky News Online A woman has been arrested after jumping over barriers and knocking down the Pope at Christmas Eve Mass. Pope Benedict Pope Benedict XVI was attacked as he walked down the main aisle to begin the service at St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Vatican spokesman Ciro Benedettini said the 82-year-old quickly got to his feet and was unhurt. Benedict calmly resumed his walk to the Basilica's main altar and then began the Mass.

Thousands of Iraqi Christians made their way to church through checkpoints and streets lined with blast walls, many drawing hope from a lull in violence to celebrate Christmas Mass in numbers unthinkable a year ago. "We did not celebrate last year, but this year we have security and we feel better," said Rasha Ghaban, one of many women at the small Church of the Holy Family in Karradah... Families streamed into the church's courtyard, wrapped in heavy winter jackets to protect them from the early morning chill. Young children with neatly combed hair held their parents' hands, and women stopped...

This is a couple days late, but we're still in the Octave. I'm dedicating this post to those for whom the sight of camauros and cappa magnas can somehow reflect a God born poor and the true meaning of Christmas -- however counterintuitive that is. Enjoy, liebchins. So, for the first time ever in my life, I spent Christmas Eve and morn outside the boundaries of the city of Philadelphia... Next year in Rome? Probably not -- but somewhere down the line, that'll probably be the case. Doing Christmas at the Vatican: so hot right now. But I digress. Due...

BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka (AsiaNews) -- Catholics in this tsunami-affected town in this island nation off the coast of India went to church on Christmas in great numbers despite fears following a brutal murder carried out earlier during the Christmas midnight vigil. Joseph Pararajasingham, an ethnic Tamil Member of Parliament and minority-rights activist, was killed in the church. Six other people were wounded, including his 71-year-old wife who has sustained serious injuries. The Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) blamed each for the death. Bishop Kingsley Swampillai of Trincomalee-Batticaloa, who was celebrating the Mass when the...

ST. LOUIS (AP) — At least 1,500 people attended Christmas Eve Mass presided by an excommunicated Roman Catholic priest, despite warnings from the archbishop that participating would be a mortal sin....Bozek said he doesn't believe that receiving sacraments at St. Stanislaus, especially Holy Communion, puts a Catholic at risk of mortal sin. The Rev. Charles Bouchard, moral theology professor and president of Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, said Burke was following canon law "to the letter" in excommunicating Bozek and the board. But some argue that St. Stanislaus' more than century-old governing structure holds the same authority as...

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 25, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the homily Benedict XVI delivered at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, held in St. Peter's Basilica. * * * "The Lord said to me: You are my son; this day I have begotten you." With these words of the second Psalm, the Church begins the Vigil Mass of Christmas, at which we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Redeemer in a stable in Bethlehem. This psalm was once a part of the coronation rite of the kings of Judah. The people of Israel, in virtue of its election,...

POMPTON LAKES - Some say the Christmas spirit is lost in all the buying and holiday frenzy. But at St. Mary's parish on Christmas Eve, it jingles loud and clear. "It's about sharing," said Sarah Boughton, 10. Not just presents wrapped with paper and topped with bows, she said, but her own gifts: "Like singing." Boughton was among about 450 people - at least half of them kids - attending the 2 p.m. standing-room-only, children's liturgy at St. Mary's Catholic Church on Saturday. St. Mary's on Pompton Avenue is one of the largest parishes in the Paterson Diocese, which includes...

Excommunicated priest holds ‘illicit’ Mass Hundreds attend service in St. Louis despite Church objections The Associated Press Updated: 5:11 p.m. ET Dec. 25, 2005 ST. LOUIS - At least 1,500 people attended Christmas Eve Mass presided by an excommunicated Roman Catholic priest, despite warnings from the archbishop that participating would be a mortal sin. The Rev. Marek Bozek left his previous parish without his bishop’s permission and was hired by St. Stanislaus Kostka Church earlier this month. As a result, Bozek and the six-member lay board were excommunicated last week by Archbishop Raymond Burke for committing an act of schism.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, in his first Christmas address, on Sunday urged humanity to unite against terrorism, poverty and environmental blight and called for a "new world order" to correct economic imbalances. The Pope made his comments to tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered under umbrellas in a rainy St Peter square for his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message and blessing. In his address, telecast live from the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica to tens of millions of people in nearly 40 countries, he also urged his listeners not to let technological...

December 25, 2005Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)Mass During the Day Psalm: Sunday 3 Reading IIs 52:7-10 How beautiful upon the mountainsare the feet of him who brings glad tidings,announcing peace, bearing good news,announcing salvation, and saying to Zion,“Your God is King!” Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry,together they shout for joy,for they see directly, before their eyes,the LORD restoring Zion.Break out together in song,O ruins of Jerusalem!For the LORD comforts his people,he redeems Jerusalem.The LORD has bared his holy armin the sight of all the nations;all the ends of the earth will beholdthe salvation of our God. Responsorial PsalmPs 98:1,...

The Nativity of Our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, 25 December A.D. 2005 "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words; it is a great action. The greatest action that can be on earth. It is. . .the evocation of the Eternal." -- John Henry Cardinal Newman

December 25, 2005Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)Mass at Dawn Psalm: Sunday 3 Reading IIs 62:11-12 See, the LORD proclaimsto the ends of the earth:say to daughter Zion,your savior comes!Here is his reward with him,his recompense before him.They shall be called the holy people,the redeemed of the LORD,and you shall be called “Frequented,” a city that is not forsaken. Responsorial PsalmPs 97:1, 6, 11-12 R. A light will shine on us this day: the Lord is born for us.The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;   let the many isles be glad.The heavens proclaim his justice,   and all peoples see his glory.R. A...

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 23, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Some 122 TV stations from 74 countries will broadcast Benedict XVI's first Christmas Midnight Mass as Pope in St. Peter's Basilica. In addition, 111 television channels from 68 countries will broadcast his Christmas day message and blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city of Rome and the world) which he will impart from St. Peter's Square, according to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Among these channels are Sri Lanka TV Corporation, Jordan Radio and Television, and the Israel Broadcasting Authority, as well as numerous national television networks of Africa.

BOSTON -- As millions of Catholics prepare for the traditional midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, the Boston Archdiocese is making an unusual plea to parishioners. NewsCenter 5's Jorge Quiroga reported that church leaders are asking anyone with cold or flu symptoms to take certain precautions and avoid some rituals. The announcement comes days after two elderly men on Cape Cod died of flu complications. But public health officials warn against overreactions saying the cases are not unusual considering the ages of the victims, 89 and 90. Parishioners attending Christmas Mass are urged not to shake hands as a sign of...