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Pope Benedict XVI spoke out amid a debate over plans to legalise civil partnerships in Italy, defending traditional marriage in an address to Catholic worshipper. "We know very well how the family based on marriage forms the natural setting for the birth and education of children, and is therefore a guarantee of the future of all humanity," the pope said at his Angelus prayers. A debate is raging in predominantly Catholic, socially conservative, Italy as the government prepares to put forward a bill later this month to grant legal status to unmarried couples regardless of sexual orientation. The plan has...

Here we go yet again. This time we were off for a week in Italy - Rome, Venice, and Milan with our Rick Steve's Travel Guides in hand. Of all the places we've been so far, the books paid off handsomely in Italy. And next to the Swedes up in Kiruna, the Italians are some of the nicest Europeans we've met to date. No wonder so many Americans were there at the same time as we were. We land in Rome in the evening and catch a cab to the hotel. What can you say about Italian cab drivers? After...

Commentary on Psalm 136(137) "A National Hymn of Sorrow" VATICAN CITY, NOV. 30, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave at today's general audience, which he dedicated to a reflection on Psalm 136(137). * * * 1. On this first Wednesday of Advent, a liturgical time of silence, watching and prayer in preparation for Christmas, we meditate on Psalm 136(137), which has become famous in the Latin version of its beginning, "Super flumina Babylonis." The text evokes the tragedy that the Jewish people lived through during the destruction of Jerusalem, which took place in the...

The city plans to use its power of eminent domain to seize a neighborhood bar and turn the land over to a Roman Catholic high school, which wants the land to expand its football field. That has civil liberties proponents worried. ``This is one of the most egregious cases of eminent domain in the country,'' Steve Anderson of the Institute for Justice in Washington told The Star-ledger of Newark for Friday's editions. The city is seeking to condemn The Golden Cicada tavern and give the land to St. Peter's Prep, which wants to expand its athletic field. The matter is...

The pastor of a Roman Catholic church has been removed after a church inquiry into allegations he sexually abused a minor 18 years ago. In a letter read over the weekend to parishioners of St. Joseph's Church, Metuchen Bishop Paul Bootkoski said the Rev. John Casey has been removed from his post and all active church ministry. He is accused of molesting a minor when he served as a parochial vicar at St. Peter The Apostle Church in New Brunswick. The bishop noted that Casey denies the allegation. Bootkoski said the diocese conducted its own investigation after law enforcement authorities...

Imagine - people posing as doctors and inspectors, just walking into a hospital and demanding information and patient records. Now the Department of Homeland Security is taking action. The last two hospitals where it happened were in Newton and New Brunswick, New Jersey. This really has federal authorities puzzled - intruders masquerading as doctors and inspectors probing hospital security. But there is no evidence the cases are connected, including two in New Jersey. Hospital officials and security experts say the similarities are disturbing. It happened on Easter Sunday. Three men of middle-eastern descent entered a Sussex County hospital posing as...

Pope Benedict XVI greets the crowd during the general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 27, 2005. Benedict XVI held the first general audience of his new pontificate Wednesday, pledging to work for reconciliation and peace. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito) Pope Benedict XVI greets the crowd before the General Audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 27, 2005. Benedict XVI held the first general audience of his new pontificate pledging to work for reconciliation and peace. At left is his personal secretary Georg Gaenswein. (AP Photo/ Massimo Sambucetti) Pope Benedict XVI tours St.Peter's...

In this photo made available by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano,Pope Benedict XVI stands infront of the tomb of St. Peter's inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, April 24, 2005 prior to his installment Mass in St. Peter's Square. (AP Photo/Osservatore Romano) German Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives to lead his first public mass in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican April 24, 2005. To the sound of choirs chanting in Latin and the applause of the crowd, Pope Benedict emerged into a sunlit St. Peter's Square on Sunday for the inaugural Mass that marks the...

Vatican to Open John Paul's Tomb By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer VATICAN CITY - The tomb is a white slab of marble with gray streaks, tucked into an arched alcove, a leafy potted lily at the top and a small red candle burning at the bottom. A marble relief of the Madonna and Child hangs on the wall. Pope John Paul II's name and the dates of his 26-year pontificate are carved with gold in Latin script on the front: "IOANNES PAVLVS PPII." And on another line is the date, using the Roman numerals for the month: "16 X,...

On Wednesday something very special happened at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. For the first time in US history – for the first time in all of history for that matter – a sitting president of the United States led a delegation from the US to The Vatican to pay their last respects to a great spiritual leader and honor the legacy of a visionary whose calling lead him to the reverence and preservation of human dignity. The US delegation, led by the president, included First Lady Laura Bush, the president’s father President George H.W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, Secretary...

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- John Paul's earthly remains lay clothed in crimson vestments, his head on golden pillows and adorned with a white bishop's miter. His hands held a rosary, a pastoral staff was tucked under his left forearm. Swiss Guards stood watch on either side. Karol Joseph Wojtyla was finally at peace, the lines of pain erased from his face after years of crippling disease. ''It was very satisfying for all of us to see him so serene,'' said Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, one of many church officials, diplomats and politicians who paid their respects at the...

A 31-year-old lesbian Episcopal priest in Charlotte, NC wants to start a ministry for prostitutes. So far, so good.[Kelly] Ayer hopes to open a halfway house in which women could receive medical attention and help with addiction, job skills and mental health issues. Among the issues to be worked through: Studies show that a large number of prostitutes were sexually or physically abused as children, often by family members.Only problem is:The goal would be to serve as a presence for women who don't often have someone good to turn to. The unconditional support of presence, Ayer calls it. There also...

Bishop's fury gets McGreevey to flip-flop Metuchen cleric wins review of hospital rule Friday, November 22, 2002 BY JEFF WHELAN Star-Ledger Staff [New Brunswick, NJ] -- Earlier this fall, Gov. James E. McGreevey waded into a bitter, highly charged dispute between two New Brunswick hospitals by hosting a private meeting with the major players at the governor's mansion in Princeton. Metuchen Bishop Paul Bootkoski wanted McGreevey to halt a proposed state regulation allowing Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital to establish a regional perinatal center, which would care for high-risk pregnant women and very ill premature infants. Bootkoski argued the move...