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Priests and thousands of other Georgians broke through police barricades and forced gay rights activists to flee on Friday, cutting short their rally to mark the international day against homophobia. Holding banners saying "Stop Homosexual Propaganda in Georgia!" and "Not in our city!" the demonstrators swarmed into a square in central Tbilisi where about 50 Georgians were rallying in support of gay rights. Police escorted the gay rights supporters onto buses and drove them away to avoid violence. Several people, including some journalists, received minor injuries, Georgian media said. "We won't allow these sick people to hold gay parades in...

Milan (AsiaNews) - Some 1,700 years have passed since Emperor Constantine granted Christians the right to believe in God, yet "the persecution of Christians has not ceased;" thus, "the Church of Christ will never cease to generate martyrs" until God "enlightens everyone, so that they understand that peace, reconciliation, tolerance, meekness, and mercy can only have a positive effect on human society in general, especially in terms of deeds and words." Religious freedom and the journey of a divided Church " towards unity according to the Lord's command" are central to the thoughts Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I expressed this morning...

The memorable play of Irish author and playwright Samuel Beckett, "Waiting for Godot," has become a metaphor for situations in which people wait for someone unlikely to come, or do not even know what they are expecting. They just keep waiting and waiting. The handful of Orthodox Greeks left in Turkey appear to be waiting for Godot, too, caught in a very typical Turkish situation. The Theological School of Halki, which is attached to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, has been closed down since 1971. Almost every day for the past 42 years, the Orthodox community has been anticipating the news of...

Syrian troops crushed armed insurgent groups on Saturday at the southern edge of the capital. According to a Syrian military source, as a result of the anti-terrorist operations, the Deraa-Damascus highway, which leads to the border with Jordan, has been completely cleared of terrorist and insurgent forces, Voice of Russia Reported.The Army, reports the SANA news agency, has engaged in a successful offensive in the southern direction.“In the area of ​​Khirbet Gazzalya the army encircled and destroyed large patches of armed extremists who terrorized citizens, and engaged in sabotage and looting,� said the agency.The army also liberated Jassem on the...

St. Petersburg, May 14, Interfax - A monument to the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna has been unveiled next to the Church of the Resurrection near Varshavsky Railway Terminal in St. Petersburg. Sculptor Mikhail Pereyaslavets' creation, the monument is dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the House of Romanov and the 120th anniversary of Nicholas and Alexandra's royal wedding. The sculpture was built with donations from the parish and was sanctified by Archbishop Markell of Tsarskoye Selo. The dedication ceremony, held next to the Church of the Resurrection on Obvdnoi Kanal, was attended by the church...

Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, talks with Pope Francis during a private audience in the pontiff's library at the Vatican May 10. (CNS photo) Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II and Pope Francis fraternally addressed one another in an historic meeting, Friday, at the Vatican. May 10, 2013 marked the fortieth anniversary of a meeting between their predecessors, Pope Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III. This is the first time since that meeting that the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch has visited the Vatican. Blessed John Paul II also visited Pope Shenouda III in Egypt, February...

Beijing, May 13, Interfax - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia believes the Russian Orthodox Church and religious organizations of China could work together on strengthening morals in the world. "We have common moral tasks. These are global tasks. We see a sharp moral decline in many countries of the world, especially in the Western civilization," the patriarch said during a meeting with representatives of Chinese religious communities in Beijing on Monday. All laws are based on morals and moral decline "will lead to the collapse of the entire system of human relations and mankind will commit suicide," he...

On 10 May the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church was received by President Xi Jinping, leading to the creation of a new Moscow-Beijing axisThe overture to Patriarch Kirill’s official visit to China marked an important moment in relations between China and the Orthodox Church. Yesterday, in the Great Hall of the People, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church had the privilege of meeting Chinese President, Xi Jinping. “You are the first Patriarch of Moscow and the first supreme religious leader from Russia to visit our country,” Xi told Kirill, presenting this unprecedented event as a “clear sign of...

(Romereports.com) The historic visit by Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II to the Vatican was cordial and full of good will signs aimed at bettering ties between Coptic Christians and Catholics. Tawadros proposed that on May 10 be a “celebration of brotherly love” between the two churches. The visit by Tawadros II was his first outside Egypt since his election as Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Christian Church in November 2012. During his speech he also invited Pope Francis to Egypt. TAWADROS II“May this visit of love and brotherhood be the first of a long series between our two great Churches.”POPE...

An official says Turkish authorities have tightened security for the Istanbul-based Orthodox Patriarchate following allegations of a plot to attack the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians. Unconfirmed local media reports said Friday police briefly detained a man following a tip that he planned to assassinate Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. Haberturk newspaper said prosecutors in Ankara were investigating the alleged plot. Police wouldn't confirm the reports, and the prosecutor's office did not immediately return calls.

Vatican City, May 10, 2013 / 07:06 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt met with Pope Francis at the Vatican and spoke about the urgent need for unity among Christians in the Middle East. “We must prepare our people for this very real and needed unity that we know and live, we must work quickly and seriously,� said Pope Tawadros II in May 10 remarks provided to CNA by his office. His visit to the Vatican is significant because he leades Egypt’s largest Christian Church with ten million members, as well as historic,...

The head of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II will be in Rome to meet with Pope Francis. The Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark arrives today and will have meet with heads of several dicasteries and local Coptic Christian communities. With roughly 10 million faithful in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt, the importance of the Church in the “ecclesial landscape of the Middle East” makes this visit crucial in strengthening ecumenical dialogue. According to a communique released by the Holy See Press Office, the last visit of a...

Christians are being persecuted all over the world.  Churches are being burned and destroyed, girls are being raped and ancient Christian communities reaching back 2,000 years are being obliterated.  And the world yawns.  Most shockingly, many Christians in the West, worse than yawning, look away and in some cases embrace the perpetrators and blame our allies.This begs the obvious question:  Why do so many Christians in America and Europe seem to not care about what is happening around the world to their fellow disciples of Jesus?  Why are we looking the other way while the brutal murder, persecution, rape and...

Pascha Greetings to all my FRiends! Please enjoy this wonderful video. Christ is Risen!! Translation: People rejoice, nations hear: Christ is risen, and brings the joy! Stars dance, mountains sing: Christ is risen, and brings the joy! Forests murmur, winds hum: Christ is risen, and brings the joy! Seas bow, animals roar: Christ is risen, and brings the joy! Bees swarm, and the birds sing: Christ is risen, and brings the joy! Angels stand, triple the song: Christ is risen, and brings the joy! Sky humble yourself, and elevate the earth: Christ is risen, and brings the joy! Bells chime,...

As Orthodox Christians held Easter masses Saturday in the Middle East, North Africa and around the world, President Obama greeted the faithful saying Jesus' sacrifice "so that we might have eternal life" is an apt reminder this year with the region facing violent persecution. "For millions of Orthodox Christians, this is a joyful time," Obama said in a statement issued by the White House on Saturday. "But it's also a reminder of the sacrifice Christ made so that we might have eternal life. His decision to choose love in the face of hate; hope in the face of despair is...

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan challenged Massgoers to hold onto hope and to pray for the safety and well-being of two Orthodox archbishops kidnapped in Syria in late April while carrying out a humanitarian mission. "Our prayers are singularly fervent this spring morning as I invite all of us to unite in supplication," Cardinal Dolan said during Mass May 2 in St. Patrick's Cathedral for Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Paul of Aleppo and Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan Gregorios Yohanna of Aleppo. Both prelates were kidnapped April 22 in northern Syria while on a humanitarian mission to secure the release...

An interview with Archimandrite Robert Taft, SJ, prominent Byzantine liturgical theologian and lifelong healer of Christian relations between East and WestThe April 22nd kidnapping of Syrian archbishops Mar Gregorios Ibrahim of the Syriac Orthodox Church and Paul Yazigi of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, and the killing of their driver, has reminded us once again of the vulnerability of ancient Christian peoples living in the Middle East. More than 1,000 Christians have been killed to date in the Syrian conflict and more than 80 churches have been destroyed. The majority of Christians in Syria are Greek or Syriac Orthodox...

Via Deacon Greg Kandra comes this story of a tiny community of Trappist nuns living in civil war-torn Syria. Despite the danger and mounting tensions in the region, the five nuns are determined to stay in their monastery, which was founded in 2005. From an interview conducted with one of the nuns, who is Italian, for an Italian news site: So you deliberately chose to live in a place where Christians are in the minority?Exactly. Here the population is mostly Shiite Muslim, but there are also Sunnis and Alawites; geographically we are at a crossroads. How do you try to...

JERUSALEM — Religious leaders from around the world have stepped up their pleas for the safe return of two Syrian bishops who were kidnapped April 22 by armed men as they were driving near the war-torn city of Aleppo.The kidnappers, who have not been identified, abducted Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Boulos Yazigi and Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan Youhanna Ibrahim, both of Aleppo, while they were undertaking a “humanitarian mission� to help Syria’s Christian minority, according to Syrian Christian expatriates in the U.S.The bishops’ Syrian Orthodox driver was killed in the attack.Since 2011, more than 70,000 Syrians have died in fighting in...

(JNS.org) A small Massachusetts town has become a growing refuge for Egyptian Christians fleeing persecution in their homeland. Milford, located approximately 40 miles from Boston, has been drawing increasing numbers of Christians from Egypt, bolstering an existing community of Egyptians who settled in the area in the 1980s and founded St. Mark’s Church in nearby Natick, Mass. “Milford is one of the most famous cities that has a lot of Egyptians,” Maged Saad told the Boston Globe. “It is just by luck. We have no experience in USA, but we just asked one friend. He is here also.” As a...

Moscow, April 29, Interfax - Patriarch of Antioch and All the East John X has urged the world community to end the violence in Syria and help free the two abducted Orthodox leaders of Aleppo. "I take this opportunity to extend, on your behalf, in the motherlands and abroad, an appeal to the international community, urging it to do everything it can toward the release of hostages whose absence affects us deeply," John X said in a message "To the Shepherds of the Holy Church of Antioch." "The speedy closure of this issue is extremely important in order to avert...

Moscow, April 26, Interfax - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia thinks that the level of relations between the church and the state does not match its potential. "The level of church-state partnership in Russia is much lower than in Germany where the state collect taxes for the Church, France where the president appoints bishops in the Alsace-Lorraine region, England where the monarch heads the Anglican Church, or even the United States where the president take his oath on a Bible," Patriarch Kirill said in an interview with Greece's church website Romfea.gr.Relations between the church and the state in...

FULL TITLE: THE WHOLE STORY OF THE KIDNAPPING OF THE GREEK AND SYRIAC ORTHODOX METROPOLITANS OF ALEPPO The two kidnapped metropolitans are Metropolitan Youhanna Ibrahim, Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, and Boulos Yazigi, Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo and Alexandretta, brother of Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X Yazigi, who has been struck with a double tragedy. Bishop Matta Khoury, secretary to Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Zakka I Iwas, spoke to al-Joumhouria on behalf of the patriarch, who had just come out of the hospital on the night of the incident. He confirmed, also in his capacity as Bishop of Bab Touma...

Pray for the Safety of Abducted Bishops His Eminence Metropolitan Philip is saddened to report that, in a telephone discussion that he had today with His Beatitude John X, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, it was learned that Metropolitan Paul (Yazigi), Metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese Of Aleppo, and the brother of His Beatitude, as well as Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim of the Syriac Archdiocese of Aleppo, were both abducted by terrorists in a suburb of Aleppo as they were returning from Antioch (Antakya, Turkey) to Aleppo. The deacon who was driving their automobile was shot and...

The kidnapping of the two Syrian Orthodox archbishops in Syria is an act of retaliation on the part of terrorist Chechen jihadists who are fighting with anti-Assad rebels over the killing of one of two Chechens responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings and the arrest of the other, by U.S. police forces, Turkish newspaper Sabah reported this morning. The two prelates, the Syrian Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo, Yohanna Ibrabhim and the Greek Orthodox bishop Boulos Yaziji were taken hostage on Monday, 30 kilometres from the Turkish border, as they were returning by car to Aleppo. Their driver was killed by...

Bishop Boulos Yazigi of the Greek Orthodox Church, left, and John Ibrahim of the Assyrian Orthodox Church, right BEIRUT –  A church official says two bishops who were abducted by gunmen while traveling in northern Syria have been released.Greek Orthodox Bishop Tony Yazigi says the kidnapped priests, Bishop Boulos Yazigi of the Greek Orthodox Church and Bishop John Ibrahim of the Assyrian Orthodox Church, were released Tuesday and have arrived safely in the city of Aleppo.Yazigi said the two bishops were abducted late Monday from the village of Kfar Dael, and their driver was killed by the gunmen.It was not...

The Vatican has reached agreement with the Lutheran World Federation on a joint statement to be released for the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s theses, the president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity has disclosed. The joint document will be released in June, Cardinal Kurt Koch told Austrian interviewers. In a candid exchange, the cardinal also spoke of some of the main obstacles to ecumenical progress. He listed the continued fragmentation of Protestant groups and the failure of Orthodox leaders to reach their own mutual understanding on the question of primacy.

Two Syrian Orthodox bishops have been kidnapped on the outskirts of Aleppo. While both clergymen are believed to be alive, their driver was killed during the attack. Syriac Orthodox bishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Greek Orthodox Archbishops of Aleppo Paul, who also happens to be the brother of Patriarch John of Antioch and All The East were abducted en route to Aleppo from a town on the Turkish border where they were carrying out “humanitarian work.” As they neared the city, they were met with an armed group in the village of Kfar who forced them out of the car....

The Western media is using an centuries-old playbook in its treatment of Iraqi, Syrian and Egyptian Christians.In 2010 an al-Qaeda front group attacked one of Baghdad's main cathedrals during Sunday mass. More than 50 people were slaughtered. The militants had a clear and simple explanation for this atrocity: "All Christian centres, organisations and institutions, leaders and followers, are legitimate targets for the muhajideen wherever they can reach them. We will open upon them the doors of destruction and rivers of blood." In this environment, it’s no wonder that Christianity is dying in the land of its birth. What’s more puzzling...

Christians escaping the two-year civil war in Syria will soon have their own humanitarian aid camp, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey has said. AFAD, as the agency is known, oversees the country’s humanitarian relief efforts. It said the separate camp for Christians is being built near Mor Abraham Syriac Monastery near the Turkish town of Midyat, about 30 miles from the Turkish-Syrian border. The US bishops’ Catholic Relief Services reported in March that approximately 200 Syrian Christian refugees in that area were sheltering in local churches and were afraid to go to the other 17 relief camps...

MOSCOW, April 16 (RIA Novosti) - The construction of an Orthodox church dedicated to All Saints and a Russian cultural center in Strasbourg will cost €6 million ($7.9 million), the Russian Orthodox Church’s envoy to the Council of Europe said Tuesday. “According to a preliminary assessment, some €6 million will be required, and construction may start this fall, presumably in early October, but only if the financing is received by that time,” said Hegumen Philip Ryabykh, who is also the rector of the All Saints parish in Strasbourg in eastern France. The parish of All Saints in Strasbourg was established...

A striking 71% of Russia's people hope for a visit by Pope Francis to their country, according to a new poll by the Lavada Center in Moscow. Only 9% of those surveyed voiced opposition to a papal visit. Pope John Paul II had long hoped to make a visit to Moscow, but faced steady resistance from the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church. While tensions between Rome and Moscow eased during the pontificate of Benedict XVI, the Moscow Patriarchate continued to insist that further ecumenical progress was needed before a papal visit could take place. The surprising popularity of Pope...

Details: A Romanian lawyer is suing his local Orthodox bishop and four priests claiming they failed to properly exorcise flatulent demons that were forcing him out of his home.Madalin Ciculescu, 34, accused the five of fraud after they turned up several times to exercise the demons which were responsible for the bad smells that were ruining his business.He claimed that after the failed exorcism the demons even started haunting him at his home at Pitesti in Arges County in central Romania.The case alleging ‘religious malpractice’ is reportedly the first time there has been such an allegation made in a Romanian...

CAIRO (AP) — The leader of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church on Tuesday blasted the country's Islamist president over his handling of recent deadly sectarian violence, including an attack on the main cathedral in Cairo. The remarks by Pope Tawadros II underscore rising Muslim-Christian tensions in Egypt. They were his first direct criticism of President Mohammed Morsi since he was enthroned in November as the spiritual leader of Egypt's Orthodox Christians. They are also likely to fuel political turmoil that has been roiling the country since the ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak two years ago. Egypt is already divided between two...

In the last 3 days more than 500 Syrian Christians of the Assyrian Church have crossed the Turkish border to seek safety from the tragic civil war in progress in their country. According to sources of the Assyrian Church of the East, relaunched by the Assyrian International News Agency, Assyrian refugees are now in Gaziantep, in the southeastern Anatolia region, 50 kilometers from the border with Syria. The Assyrian churches and monasteries, concentrated in the mountainous region of Tur Abdin already host a number of refugees beyond their capacity. To accommodate the new arrivals they are thinking about building a...

One person has been killed in clashes outside Cairo's main cathedral following the funerals of four Coptic Christians killed in religious violence on Saturday. Mourners leaving St Mark's Cathedral clashed with local residents. Police fired tear gas to break up the violence. More than 80 people were injured, the state news agency said. The health ministry said one Christian man was killed. The ambulance service said he was struck with birdshot. Mourners inside the church had earlier chanted slogans against Egypt's Islamist President, Mohammed Morsi. Witnesses told local TV stations that the violence started when a mob attacked mourners as...

1. The Didache “You shall not commit murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit pederasty, you shall not commit fornication, you shall not steal, you shall not practice magic, you shall not practice witchcraft, you shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill one that has been born” (Didache 2:2 [A.D. 70]).1... 2. Justin Martyr “[W]e have been taught that to expose newly-born children is the part of wicked men; and this we have been taught lest we should do anyone harm and lest we should sin against God, first, because we see that almost all...

A funeral for four Coptic Christians killed in the town of Khosous quickly turned violent when unknown assailants swarmed in and began attacking attendees.Youth Union spokesperson Nader Shoukry told Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr that tear gas had been fired inside the cathedral there “without clear reason.” DPA news agency has reported that 25 people have been injured in the clashes.

MOSCOW, April 4 (RIA Novosti) - A dozen church bells decorated with symbols of the Airborne Troops will be sanctified on Sunday in an Orthodox Church in Moscow’s northeast, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said Thursday. Col. Alexander Kucherenko said it was the first time that bells had been decorated not only with images of saints but also with Airborne Troops emblems and army symbols during the casting. “Work to cast twelve bells was funded by donations from the Airborne Troops, veterans of combat and counterterrorism operations and their family members,” Kucherenko said. “The bells will be consecrated in the...

Cairo - The Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, Tawadros II, has expressed his desire to go to Rome to meet Pope Francis. According to Egyptian media sources - such as the daily Al-Masry Al-Youm - the intention was expressed by the head of the largest Christian Church in the Arab world on Wednesday evening, when Pope Tawadros received the visit at the Cathedral of St. Mark of His Exc. Mgr. Jean-Paul Gobel, appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt last January 5. During the meeting between Nuncio Gobel and Pope Tawadros, the intention to make the fraternal cooperation between the Coptic Orthodox...

The Russian military has introduced a high-tech air-dropped church along with a unit of priests trained in parachuting and vehicle assembly to serve the army and navy's Orthodox Christian soldiers in the field. The European country claims its airborne-friendly and ready-to-assemble house of worship is the first the world has ever seen, although similar structures have long been in existence. RIA Novosti, Russian's official news and information agency, shared photos over the weekend on its Facebook page of paratroopers holding exercises near Ryazan, about 124 miles from Moscow. The news agency noted that among the "ordinary paratroopers" were paratrooper priests...

In his interview to the MEDIA, a Hierarch of the Antiochian Orthodox Church, Bishop Luke of Seidnaya, has disclosed the scale of persecutions suffered by Orthodox Christians of this region since the very beginning of the uprising against the regime of Bashar Al-Assad, reports Agionoros.ru. By now, 138,000 Christians have been banished from their homes and at the same time Christian Churches are systematically destroyed. "They are killing people. A human life is of no value for them," in such words Bishop Luke is describing the situation in the country. Thus, in the city of Homs, anti-government forces have committed...

When Margaret Thatcher negotiated with Communists about human rights, she had a self-imposed rule. It was to deliver the same message in private as in public. That was, and is, unusual. Politicians prefer bold and indignant speeches at home to bruising confrontations with foreign leaders face to face. But you have to do it. The reason is simple. It is because, whatever someone's ideology, he will not take you seriously as a human being if he thinks you don't really care about the causes you espouse. When the Soviet leaders understood that Ronald Reagan and Mrs Thatcher were deadly serious...

Even if not immediately. Francis can reform Vatican(ANSAmed) - ANKARA, MARCH 25 - The Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I who attended last week the mass inaugurating the pontificate of Pope Francis, believes the reunification of the Orthodox and Rome Churches 1,000 years after the Great Schism of 1054 is possible, the Turkish press reports. Speaking at a meeting at the university of Kadir Has in Istanbul, Hurriyet reports, Bartholomew I said he believed 'there is a possibility for the next generations to see the churches of the East and West reunited'. 'This will probably not happen during my life',...

Last week, Pope Francis received a collection of world religious leaders in his first ecumenical and interreligious event. His address to them contained diplomatic niceties and specific expressions of good will aimed at Orthodox, Protestants, Jews, and Muslims.His remarks to the latter recognized that Muslims “worship the one living and merciful God, and call upon him in prayer.” In this he echoed the 1964 dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, which gave a nod to “the Mohammedans, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge...

(Vatican Radio) As the Easter Triduum approaches, Catholic leaders in Libya say the faithful are undeterred by recent bouts of persecution against Christians in region. On March 14, St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church in Benghazi suffered an arson attack. Last month, several Christians were arrested for proselytising, among them a Christian bookstore owner charged for having a large number of Bibles. Speaking with Vatican Radio’s Ann Schneible, Aid to the Church in Need press officer John Newton explained that the “main challenges that Christians are facing across the region seems to be a clamp-down on the display of religious symbols,...

Representatives of non-Muslims who have emigrated from Anatolia have responded to the call by Minister of Culture and Tourism Omer Celik for them to return home. They say they are hopeful but in practice, there are still many questions to answer. President Abdullah Gul, while receiving a Syriac delegation, said, “Do not forget this land.” President Gul took Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan Yusuf Cetin with him on his recent visit to Sweden. Celik issued a call “to return home” to the non-Muslims who have left Anatolia. Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc had taken Laki Vingas of the...

“We are brothers�… in humility“We are brothers.�–Pope Francis to Emeritus Pope Benedict today at Castel GandolfoThe Icon of Mary that Pope Francis Gave as a Gift to Emeritus Pope Benedict Today Was… a Russian Icon The present and former Pope met today, in a moment without precedent. And the words which remain are the ones spoken by Pope Francis to Benedict: “We are brothers.�As Nicole Winfield put it in her comprehensive Associated Press dispatch today: “The two men in white embraced and showed one another the deference owed a Pope in ways that surely turned Vatican protocol upside down: A...

JERUSALEM (CNS) -- U.S. President Barack Obama, visiting the West Bank city of Bethlehem, stopped twice to light candles for his family and himself: first at the Church of Nativity grotto, where Christian tradition holds that Jesus was born, then at the adjacent Catholic Church of St. Catherine. On the last leg of his four-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Obama also took time for a few moments of private prayer and contemplation, said Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, who was the first to greet the American leader inside the church, welcoming him as "a messenger of peace...