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VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Benedict will hold talks with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams on Nov 21 in their first meeting since a Vatican initiative making it easier for disaffected Anglicans to convert to Catholicism. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said on Friday the spiritual leader of the 77-million member worldwide Anglican communion will meet the pope while he is in Rome for a conference at a Rome pontifical university. The meeting will take on great significance because it is their first since the Vatican announced a new structure on Oct 20 to welcome conservative Anglicans who want to...

Pope Benedict must be left alone to decide on whether to promote a controversial Nazi-era pontiff toward sainthood... Pope Pius XII has been accused by some Jews of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust during World War Two.... ....Pius did not do enough to save Jews. "(Jewish groups) told him loudly and clearly that if he did anything in favor of Pope (Pius), relations between the Catholic Church and Jews would be definitively and permanently compromised," Benedict's decision to readmit to the Church a bishop who denied the extent of the Holocaust in January also strained ties.

Persecution 1062. Does the dictatorship of the Pope refer to spiritual things only? We cannot use the word dictatorship of the Pope in the ordinary sense of the word. The Pope has supreme authority according to the laws dictated by Christ in the constitution He gave to the Church. The authority of the Pope extends to both spiritual matters and to temporal matters in so far as they have connection with spiritual things. The Catholic Church is not a society of angelic beings, but of human beings who are composed of a spiritual soul and a material body. As...

The Pope said this today upon receiving in audience Delia Cardenas Christie, the new ambassador of Panama to the Holy See. In his address he underlined the "irreplaceable elements that create a healthy social fabric and build a vigorous society." Specifically, he referred to the "defense of such primordial aspects as commitment to social justice, the struggle against corruption, the endeavor in favor of peace, the inviolability of the right to human life from the moment of conception to its natural death, as well as the safeguarding of the family based on marriage between a man and a woman."

....the dates which were “Christianized” and now host Christian “Holy-Days” were originally utilized for “Pre-Christian” (“Pagan”) celebrations. This process reflects the wisdom of the Church and a missionary approach. She has “baptized” them, recognizing the seeds of what was good within them. By immersing them in the beauty of the proclamation of Jesus Christ, the fullness of truth and the source of all goodness, she transforms them into vehicles for transforming culture. The Church is His Body. She is meant to be the home of the whole human race. As the early fathers were fond of proclaiming, the Church is...

www.catholicnewsagency.com Benedict XVI says Church needs to proclaim Gospel on the ‘digital continent’ Pope Benedict XVI Vatican City, Oct 29, 2009 / 11:30 am (CNA).- Addressing the full Pontifical Council for Social Communications today, Benedict XVI urged its members to help communicate the teachings of the Church on the “digital continent” of the ever-changing technological landscape. Reflecting on the role of social networking and increasingly real-time electronic communication, Pope Benedict XVI said on Thursday that "modern culture is established, even before its content, in the very fact of the existence of new forms of communication that use new languages;...

Remnant Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - OCTOBER 20, 2009CONTACT: H. M. OWEN (U.S.), noevolutioninfo@gmail.com or PETER WILDERS (Europe), wilderspeter@gmail.com The Scientific Impossibility of Evolution November 9, 2009 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. St. Pius V University (Rome) In Response to Pope Benedict XVI’s Call for Both Sides to be Heard The 150th anniversary of Darwin’s "Origin of the Species" in November 2009 will be the occasion for a unique conference at Pope Pius V University in Rome presenting a scientific refutation of evolution theory. According to Russian sedimentologist Alexander Lalamov...

ROME (CNS) -- Dissident theologian Father Hans Kung criticized Pope Benedict XVI for his recent opening to discontented Anglicans, charging the pope was "fishing" for the most conservative Christians to the detriment of the larger church. Father Kung said the invitation to traditionalist Anglicans to join the Roman Catholic Church went against years of ecumenical work on the part of both churches, calling it instead "a nonecumenical piracy of priests." The pope's basic message is: "Traditionalists of all churches, unite under the dome of St. Peter's!" Father Kung wrote in an editorial Oct. 28 in the Rome daily La Repubblica....

Bishop J. Peter Sartain / Bishop-elect Joseph Siegel Joliet, Ill., Oct 28, 2009 / 11:09 am (CNA).- The Vatican announced on Wednesday that Pope Benedict has appointed Father Joseph Siegel as an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois.  Bishop-elect Siegel is currently a pastor of Visitation Parish in Elmhurst, Ill. and has served the Diocese of Joliet since his ordination in 1988. “I was both humbled and honored when I received the unexpected news that Pope Benedict had named me to serve as auxiliary bishop of Joliet,” Bishop-elect Siegel said on Wednesday.“I am deeply grateful to our...

www.catholicnewsagency.com Pope calls Catholics to daily meditation on the Bible Pope Benedict XVI Vatican City, Oct 28, 2009 / 10:37 am (CNA).- At today's General Audience in St. Peter's Square, Pope Benedict provided a lesson on the theological renaissance of the 12th century, advising Christians to learn from the monks and set aside time every day to meditate on the Bible, “so that the Word of God will be the lamp that illuminates our daily path on earth."Benedict XVI began his address to the 15,000 faithful by recalling how the 12th century was a time of a spiritual, cultural...

David Gibson's head appears to be spinning over at The Washington Post: When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope in April 2005, all the world rejoiced -- or recoiled -- with the certain knowledge that the cardinals had settled on the one man who would be more conservative than John Paul II. <snip> Thus far, Benedict's papacy has been one of constant movement and change, the sort of dynamic that liberal Catholics -- or Protestants -- are usually criticized for pursuing. In Benedict's case, this liberalism serves a conservative agenda. But his activism should not be surprising: As a sharp...

Top Stories for Thursday, October 29th, 2009: The monastery of St. Thaddeus, according to tradition, was built by the Apostle St. Jude Thad­deus, “ the brother of the Lord” and the first missionary of the Armenians in 66 A. D. It is located in present- day Iran. According to the fifth- century Armenian chronicler Movses Khorenatsi, he is also buried here. If so, then this church is equal in rank with the Roman basilicas of Peter and Paul, the tomb in Compostela of the Apostle James, and the Madras cathedral of the Apostle Thomas, only much less known. It...

Pope Benedict has sure gotten the ball rolling and it seems others want to get into the ecumenical action! Thanks to A Catholic Knight on this one: A Bulgarian Orthodox prelate told Benedict XVI of his desire for unity, and his commitment to accelerate communion with the Catholic Church. At the end of Wednesday's general audience, Bishop Tichon, head of the diocese for Central and Western Europe of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria, stated to the Pope, "We must find unity as soon as possible and finally celebrate together," L'Osservatore Romano reported. "People don't understand our divisions and our discussions," the...

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Parishioners at Our Lady of the Atonement in San Antonio, the largest Anglican-use Catholic parish in the U.S., have plenty to talk about these days. "Everyone is excited, but they have lots of questions," said the pastor, Father Christopher Phillips, about the Vatican's Oct. 20 announcement of a special structure for Anglicans who want to be in full communion with the Catholic Church. Father Phillips -- once an Episcopal priest and now a Catholic priest who founded Our Lady of the Atonement 26 years ago -- doesn't have detailed answers yet for the parish's 500 families. He...

Santiago, Chile, Oct 22, 2009 / 01:03 pm (CNA).- In an interview with the Chilean daily, “El Mercurio,” the Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, Bernard Fellay, acknowledged that the Vatican is considering the possibility of converting the Lefebvrist group into a personal prelature as part of the discussions aimed at bringing about reconciliation. Fellay, who visited members of the SSPX movement in Chile, is one of four bishops whose excommunication was lifted by Pope Benedict XVI last January. Asked about the speculation that the Society of Pius X could be made into a personal prelature similar...

ROME -- Long regarded as a hard-liner on religious doctrine, Pope Benedict XVI also is emerging as the pontiff of interchurch, or ecumenical, relations. The 82-year-old pope's decision Tuesday to amend Vatican laws to make it easier for Anglicans to become Roman Catholic represents his most aggressive attempt to bring more Christians into the Catholic fold.

  There was a T-shirt on the market last year for converts to the Catholic faith. Emblazoned on the front were the words, "Member of the Tiber Swimmers Club." After today's amazing announcement from the Vatican, Anglicans no longer need to change into their swimming trunks. Trembling toes no longer need to be dipped in the chilly waters of the Roman river. Anglicans needn't take the plunge: Benedict has built a bridge.   The "personal ordinariate" is a structure whereby Anglicans will be able to come into full communion with the Holy See. Individuals, congregations, parishes, religious communities, whole...

As many as 1,000 priests could quit the Church of England and thousands more may leave churches in America and Australia under bold proposals to welcome Anglicans to Rome. Entire parishes and even dioceses could be tempted to defect after Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to offer a legal structure to Anglicans joining the Roman Catholic Church. His decree, issued yesterday, is a serious blow to attempts by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, to save the Anglican Communion from further fragmentation and threatens to wreck decades of ecumenical dialogue. Dr Williams was notified formally only last weekend by the...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has established a special structure for Anglicans who want to be in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church while preserving aspects of their Anglican spiritual and liturgical heritage, said U.S. Cardinal William J. Levada. The cardinal, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said a new apostolic constitution would establish "personal ordinariates" -- similar to dioceses -- to oversee the pastoral care of those who want to bring elements of their Anglican identity into the Catholic Church with them. Anglican priests who are married will be ordained Catholic priests,...

from Damian Thompson: The Vatican has announced that Pope Benedict is setting up special provision for Anglicans, including married clergy, who want to convert to Rome together, preserving aspects of Anglican liturgy. They will be given their own pastoral supervision, according to this press release from the Vatican: “In this Apostolic Constitution the Holy Father has introduced a canonical structure that provides for such corporate reunion by establishing Personal Ordinariates which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony.”

I first met Sioux City, Iowa Bishop Walker Nickless a month ago at the Serra International gathering in Omaha, Neb. Little did I know then that he was working on his bold first pastoral letter since his installation as bishop four years ago. Ecclesia Semper Reformanda (The Church is Always in Need of Renewal), released yesterday, takes a look at the impact of the Second Vatican Council and sets forth a plan for the people of Sioux City and beyond. In many ways, it’s a pastoral letter unlike one we’ve yet seen. Forty-four years after the close of the...

ROME – Foul-mouthed comedian Sarah Silverman has a new proposal for ending world hunger: Sell the Vatican. In a new profanity-laced monologue making the rounds on YouTube in time for U.N. World Food Day on Friday, Silverman suggests that it's time for the pope to "move out of your house that is a city" and use the proceeds to feed the world's poor. "On an ego level alone you will be the biggest hero in the history of ever!" she said. "Sell the Vatican. Feed the world." The Vatican clearly has no plans to follow suit. On Thursday, a spokesman...

Peggy Chun's portrait of Blessed Father Damien Rome, Italy, Oct 9, 2009 / 06:24 am (CNA).- As the October 11 canonization of the Fr. Damien de Veuster approaches, an art teacher is leading a small group from Hawaii to Rome to present Pope Benedict XVI with a portrait of the saint painted by an artist paralyzed by Lou Gehrig’s Disease, also known as ALS.Fr. Damien, a hero to Hawaiians, ministered to a major leper colony on Molokai where he contracted and eventually succumbed to leprosy in the late nineteenth century.The late artist Peggy Chun had created the artwork with...

In a surprise move, Pope Benedict XVI crowned US President Barack Obama "Holy Roman Emperor" today in a rose garden ceremony.In a statement, the Pope said "Emperor Obama follows in the footsteps of Charlemagne and the Emperor Constantine."In other news, Chinese Premier Hu Jintao announced plans to restore the Qing dynasty, saying that Barack Obama -- a direct descendant of the last Manchu Emperor -- would be China's new Emperor.However, Turkish officials were quick to deny widely published reports of a restoration of the Byzantine Empire. "Turks wiped out the Byzantines in 1453. There are simply no Byzantines here for...

Mother Angelica / Bishop Robert Baker Irondale, Ala., Oct 5, 2009 / 05:12 pm (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI has awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Medal to Mother Angelica, founder of the Eternal Word Television Network and also EWTN executive Deacon Bill Steltemeier. The medal is the highest honor the Pope can bestow upon laity and religious.Bishop of Birmingham Robert J. Baker conferred the awards in a brief ceremony following Sunday benediction at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama.Noting that yesterday was the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Bishop Baker recalled the lasting impact...

Pope Benedict XVI went to the Czech Republic — repeatedly de­scribed as a “ religious wasteland” in the European press — to remind Czechs and all Europeans of the continent’s Christian roots which, he said, must be remembered and nour­ished if Europe is to have a future. Reporters for the major Europe­an newspapers pointed out that the Pope went to the former Soviet sat­ellite to mark the 20th anniversary of the “Velvet Revolution,” which saw the overthrow of the Commu­nist government in November 1989, and to celebrate the September 28 feast day of St. Wenceslaus, the na­tion’s patron. The press...

Vatican efforts to reduce incense emissions have proven largely unsuccessful.

  When Newt Gingrich was received into the Church last March, the reactions were predictable. The former Speaker of the House was simultaneously welcomed, jeered, and cynically accused of positioning himself to run for president in 2012.   When I spoke to him last Friday in his Washington, D.C., office, Gingrich was humble and soft-spoken about his new faith. He was also excited about his forthcoming documentary, Nine Days That Changed the World, recounting Pope John Paul II's first trip home to Poland in June 1979 after being elected to the see of St. Peter. Gingrich's wife, Callista, a...

Thousands of believers flocked to the Czech Republic's second largest city Brno in south Moravia on Sunday to greet Pope Benedict XVI and attend a mass he celebrated out in the open. A region with the highest concentration of believers in the largely secular Czech Republic, Brno was a key stage on the pope's visit and pilgrims came from near and far to get a glimpse of him – some arriving well before daybreak to get a good vantage point. Jan Richter attended the mass in Brno and reported on the atmosphere there in the course of the morning. Pope...

Pope Benedict XVI sought to reach out to the heavily secular people of the Czech Republic on Saturday, decrying the "wounds" left by atheistic communism and urging them to rediscover their Christian roots. ...Benedict said Christianity has an "irreplaceable role" to play in their lives. The Czech Republic is one of the most secular countries in Europe, with nearly half the country professing to be non-believers.... Vatican organizers are hoping for a crowd of up to 200,000 people for the pope's Sunday Mass in Brno, in the Catholic heartland of the Czech Republic.... The [papal vespers] service was held in...

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 Summorum Pontificum and reunion with the Eastern OrthodoxBy Brian Kopp A tantalizing headline is making its rounds in Catholic news circles: Is Catholic-Orthodox Unity in Sight? In his Inside the Vatican Newsflash Letter #29 today, Dr. Robert Moynihan examines the implications of recent meetings between Rome and a representative of the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow: A fourth consideration is the relationship of the Roman Catholic Church to the world's Orthodox Churches. It became clear last week, during a very cordial visit to Rome by a representative of the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow, that relations between Catholicism...

Pope Benedict XVI London, England, Sep 23, 2009 / 04:35 pm (CNA).- Various British media outlets reported on Wednesday that Pope Benedict XVI has decided that he will visit Britain next September. Upon hearing the news, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, President of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, said the “prospect of a visit by Pope Benedict fills us with joy.”Although the news of a visit has not been officially announced by either the Vatican or Downing Street, the Pope has received several invitations to visit Britain, most recently from Prime Minister Gordon Brown.Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster reacted...

Pope Benedict XVI is to visit the UK in January 2010, the BBC has learned. It will be the first papal visit to Britain since 1982, when Pope John Paul II's six-day tour drew huge crowds. Then, masses were held in cities including Cardiff, London.... and Edinburgh.

St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. Zenit yesterday published a pair of articles that provide corroboration of Daily Blog entries posted last week by Edward Pentin here and here, indicating progress on the road to unity between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. One of the Zenit articles is an analysis by Robert Moynihan of Orthodox Archbishop HilarionÂ’s visit to Rome. Moynihan highlights the significance of the meeting that took place Sept. 18 between Archbishop Hilarion, who is chairman of the Department of External Affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, and Pope Benedict XVI . Writes Moynihan, On Sept. 18, inside Castel Gandolfo,...

Video about Joe Wilson and politicians across the world and includes Pope. Various scenes of politicos having food fights, etc. States Obama turned the other cheek just like the Pope.

68 Protestant Leaders Applaud Encyclical Call on All Christians to Respond to "Caritas in Veritate" WASHINGTON, D.C., AUG. 28, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's latest encyclical was lauded by 68 Evangelical Protestant community leaders from the United States, Canada, England, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. In a message released last month, titled "Doing the Truth in Love," a group of university leaders and professors, press editors and presidents of various institutions signed a message to "applaud" the Pope's encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate." The message called on Christians everywhere to "read, wrestle with, and respond to 'Caritas in Veritate' and...

St. Augustine of Hippo Rome, Italy, Sep 4, 2009 / 10:08 am (CNA).- In a letter he sent Thursday to Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity,  Pope Benedict XVI has underscored that the teachings of St. Augustine are a path seeking unity with the Orthodox. The message from the Pope was sent to Cardinal Kasper as the 11th Inter-Christian Symposium gathered in Rome. The meeting was organized by the Franciscan Institute of Spirituality of the Pontifical University Antonianum and the Aristotle Orthodox Theological Faculty of Thessalonica.In his message, the Holy Father expressed his gratitude...

British human rights lawyer, Cherie Blair has called on the Church to reconsider its opposition to artificial contraception because it may be holding back women's careers. Ms Blair is wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair. She told an audience at Edinburgh International Book Festival she believed the church should be "more positive" about permitting women to use artificial birth control as a means of regulating their fertility, UK's The Herald reports. A devout Catholic who encouraged her husband, Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister, to convert from Anglicanism after he left office in 2007, Mrs Blair has previously...

Many American Catholics followed the daylong funeral and burial rites for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy looking for signs of the ongoing struggle between the traditionalist and liberal wings of their Church. The passing of the most notable U.S. Catholic politician of his generation seemed to be a perfect catalyst for such ecclesiastical drama. Some traditionalists hoped (in vain) that Kennedy, a longtime abortion rights and gay-marriage supporter, wouldn't even be allowed a Catholic funeral. Others hoped (also in vain) that Boston's Archbishop, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, who has declared that voting for pro-choice Catholic politicians "borders on scandal," would sit out...

Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Aug 30, 2009 / 11:14 am (CNA).- At Sunday’s Angelus prayer in the courtyard of Castel Gandolfo’s apostolic palace, Pope Benedict XVI recalled the previous week’s liturgical memorial of St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine of Hippo and model and patron of Christian mothers. “Much is recounted about her in her son’s autobiography ‘The Confessions,’ a masterpiece among the most read works of all time,” Pope Benedict said. “There, we understand that St. Augustine imbibed the name of Jesus with maternal milk and was educated in the Christian religion by his mother, the principles of which...

There was a poignant footnote to President Obama's historic July 10 meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Behind closed doors in the papal library, Obama handed Benedict a letter that Senator Edward Kennedy had asked him to personally deliver to the Pontiff. *snip* In the eyes of the traditionalist wing of the Church, however, Kennedy should have been asking the Pope for forgiveness. The Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano reported Kennedy's death, praising his work on civil rights and fighting poverty, but noted that his record was marred by his stance on abortion. As of yet, unlike some...

If a Latinist were asked to translate the phrase caritas in veritate into English without more information, he would almost certainly reply "love in truth." In the German translation, caritas becomes simply Liebe [love] . However, in the English version of this encyclical, caritas is rendered "charity." The English word is derived from the Latin, but the use of one for the other is a choice that seems to me to require a little explanation. Caritas, like "charity" as that word is used in theology, is not so much an emotion as an operation of the intellect. "Love" can cover...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Toward the end of his encyclical "Charity in Truth," Pope Benedict XVI included a brief but strongly worded analysis about the "increasingly pervasive presence" of modern media and their power to serve good or immoral interests. The two pages on communications were barely noticed in an encyclical that focused on economic issues, but they underscored the pope's cautionary and critical approach to today's media revolution. In particular, the pope zeroed in on the popular assumption in the West that the penetration of contemporary media in the developing world will inevitably bring enlightenment and progress. "Just because...

Nancy Pelosi and the Pope The Pope and Nancy Pelosi are on the same stage in front of a huge crowd.. The Madame Speaker and The Pope, however, have seen it all before. To make it a little more interesting, Madame Speaker says to the Pope, "Did You know that with just one little wave of my hand I can make every Democrat in the crowd go wild?" He doubts it, so she shows him. Sure enough, the wave elicits rapture and cheering from every democrat in the crowd. Gradually, the cheering subsides. The Pope, not wanting to be outdone...

As observers continue to decipher the meaning of Benedict XVI’s latest encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, all appear to agree that the passage of note, the passage that may prove historic in its implications, is the one that is already becoming known as the “world political authority” paragraph: In the face of the unrelenting growth of global interdependence, there is a strongly felt need, even in the midst of a global recession, for a reform of the United Nations Organization, and likewise of economic institutions and international finance, so that the concept of the family of nations can acquire real teeth....

In a stunning display of audacity, President Obama took the opportunity of a conference call with ministers to strongly imply that his opponents were misrepresenting his healthcare plan and "bearing false witness" before reminding them that "I am my brother's keeper." OK Mr. President... other than the fact that the majority of misrepresentation and lies seem to be coming from your White House, as far as I know the Bible never says that "I am my brother's keeper." Genesis 4:9 asks "Am I my brother's keeper?"... but the question is unanswered. Even if the answer is YES... how does that...

Interview by Jeremy Lott | July 2009 issue Christopher Caldwell is a political writer whose work has appeared in, among other publications, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and The American Spectator. He writes a weekly column for the Financial Times and serves as a senior editor for The Weekly Standard.CWR interviewed Caldwell in May about his first book, Reflections on the Revolution in Europe (Doubleday). A correspondent for the New York Times called Reflections “a dense and important book about whether Europe’s identity…can absorb or survive a fast growing Muslim population.”CWR: How long did it take you to write this book?Christopher...

PHOENIX, August 5, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a short but stunning talk before some 90 Bishops, eight Cardinals and 1000 Knights, the Primate of Canada, Quebec City Archbishop Marc Cardinal Ouellet, addressed the subject of unity at the 127th annual Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus last night.  Ouellet spoke of the "hard winter" Pope Benedict XVI had to "suffer" this past year as he was "harshly criticized both within and outside the Church and was not adequately defended by those who share his ministry."The two biggest controversies that sparked criticism of the Pope in recent months from the liberal, mainstream media,...

The Boston Globe won a 2003 Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Catholic Church's decades-long cover-up of priests who sexually abused children. There is a Pulitzer Prize waiting for the reporter who can figure out why the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church, considered by Catholics the personal representative of Jesus Christ, has become an advocate for one of the most corrupt organizations on the face of the earth-the United Nations. The U.N. has been rocked by scandals involving U.N. "peace-keepers" who sexually abuse women and children, the failure to protect populations in danger of genocide, and financial corruption....

ROME, August 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - When the Italian drug agency approved the sale of the deadly abortion drug RU 486 late Thursday night, senior Vatican officials responded strongly saying that doctors who prescribe it and the women who take it risk excommunication. The Italian Pharmaceuticals Agency (AIFA) said the drug, to be sold under the brand name Mifegyne, would not be sold in pharmacies and only be administered by physicians in hospitals. Bishop Elio Sgreccia, a bioethics professor, author and former vice-president of the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV) told Corriere della Sera newspaper, "This is a compound which...