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From the article: But what’s most odd is that the two popes are these two popes, and that the one who spent a third of a century erecting a Catholic edifice of firm doctrine and strict prohibition now must look on at close range as the other cheerfully dismantles it in the service of a more open, flexible Church.

Following an attack by Saracen pirates that damaged St. Peter’s in 846, Pope Leo IV ordered the construction of a wall to protect the holy basilica and its associated precincts. Completed in 852, the 39-foot-tall wall enclosed what was inaugurated Leonine City, an area covering the current Vatican territory and the Borgo district. The walls were continually expanded and modified until the reign of Pope Urban VIII in the 1640s.

Pope Francis hinted that the use of contraceptives may be morally acceptable as a response to the Zika epidemic, during an question-and-answer session on February 18. Speaking to reporters who accompanied him on his return flight to Rome, after a visit to Mexico, the Pope said that "avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil." While abortion cannot ever be justified, he suggested, avoiding pregnancy could be a "lesser evil" in light of the alleged dangers of birth defects. During an interview session that proved controversial even by the standards of this pontificate, the Pope said: * US presidential candidate Donald...

Pope Francis has suggested it is acceptable to use artificial contraception methods in countries affected by the Zika virus. "Avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil," he told reporters en route to Rome following his five-day trip to Mexico. He cited Pope Paul VI's decree in the 1960s that allowed nuns serving in Africa to use contraception due to the threat of rape. He said, "In certain cases, as in this one, such as the one I mentioned of Blessed Paul VI, it was clear." But he maintained the church's stance against abortion calling it "an absolute evil". CDC's advice...

Despite a rush of headlines claiming Pope Francis is softening the Church's stance on contraception. A closer look at his recent remarks could suggest otherwise. During an in-flight press conference on his way back from Mexico, Pope Francis was asked by a reporter about the threat of Zika virus in many Latin American countries. Noting that the virus may be linked to birth defects when transmitted from a pregnant woman to her unborn baby, the reporter asked the Holy Father about proposals involving "abortion, or else avoiding pregnancy" in areas where Zika virus is prevalent. The Pope responded by emphatically...

ABOARD THE PAPAL AIRLINER -- Inserting himself into the Republican presidential race, Pope Francis on Wednesday suggested that Donald J. Trump "is not Christian" because of the harshness of his campaign promises to deport more immigrants and force Mexico to pay for a wall along the border. "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian," Francis said when a reporter asked him about Mr. Trump on the papal airliner as he returned to Rome after his six-day visit to Mexico.

After warning Donald Trump that building a 'huge wall' on the Mexican border is 'not Christian', Pope Francis is returning home to Vatican City.... which is entirely surrounded by an enormous stone wall. The Pope made a direct dig at The Donald before he

Dubbed 'super confessors', for one year only they can absolve sins usually only pardoned by the pope himself. And on Wednesday over 1,000 of these "missionaries of mercy", handpicked by Pope Francis, were sent forth to win back the hearts of those who have left the Catholic Church and open the door to repentant sinners across the world. There are certain evils the Vatican ranks above other sins, from attempting to assassinate the pope to defiling the Eucharist -- the rite of consuming consecrated bread and wine in Church -- by spitting it out or using it in a...

Updated | The Vatican has told new Catholic bishops that they have no obligation to report clerical child abuse, according to reports. During a presentation for newly appointed bishops, French Monsignor Tony Anatrella said they don't have a duty to report abuse because it should be the responsibility of victims and their families to go to the police. The comments were first reported by John L. Allen at the Catholic news site Cruxnow.com earlier this week. Anatrella, a psychtherapist and consultant to the Pontifical Council for the Family and the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, is known for his...

A Spanish scientist working at the Salk Institute in California told Scientific American that Pope Francis personally blessed his cutting-edge research to mix human cells into animal bodies. Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a prominent stem-cell biologist, is engaged in efforts to grow human tissue inside of farm animals such as pigs, sheep, and cows. This type of research is sensitive because scientists have to inject human stem cells into early-stage animal embryos, then try to grow the mixtures inside surrogate animals. Much of Belmonte's work occurs in collaboration with a team in the province of Murcia in his native Spain,...

Bishop John Doerfler of Marquette, Michigan, has issued directions for all parishes in the diocese to institute programs that will lead to the congregation chanting the Ordinary parts of the Mass. Following up on the work of his predecessor in Marquette, then-Bishop Alexander Sample (who is now Archbishop of Portland, Oregon), Bishop Doerfler has called for the action to carry out the vision of Vatican II, which encouraged the use of Gregorian chant and congregational involvement in the singing. In a pastoral letter released in 2013, Bishop Sample had also called attention to the Council's directives on liturgical music, as...

Pope Francis held talks with Iran's president at the Vatican Tuesday, calling on Tehran to play a key role in stopping the spread of terrorism as Iran tries to improve its image in the global arena following an agreement on its nuclear program. The pontiff warmly clasped the hand of President Hassan Rouhani in the first official call paid on a pontiff by an Iranian president since 1999. They held 40 minutes of private talks before Rouhani met with other top Vatican officials. The talks "delved into the conclusion and application of the nuclear accord, and the important role that...

UNITED NATIONS DECLARES THE HOLY SEE LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE TO INDIGENOUS PEOPLES FOR EFFECTS AND LEGACY OF RACIST COLONIAL BULLS AND DOCTRINES 14 January 2016 As the result of a comprehensive shadow report and presentations by members of the Apache-Nde-Nnee Working Group submitted to the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) for the Committee's review of the Holy See, the UN CERD Committee has recognized that the Doctrine of Discovery, the Holy See's Inter Caetera and related Papal Bulls are within the legal scope of racial discrimination under...

Germany's ambassador to the Vatican, Annette Schavan, still sees religion as a peacemaker, despite wars and terrorism. In an interview with DW, she calls for more interfaith dialogue and respect between all religions. [...] 'There are warmongers who embrace religion. But that does not mean that religion promotes war. Religion has the great power to bring peace. People are upset by the numerous attacks and wonder, "Should we equate these images of violence with Islam?" One gets the impression that Islam is part of the problem. But that's not true. It must become clear that it is part of the...

A new video has just been released in which Pope Francis very clearly expresses his belief that all of the major religions are different paths to the same God. He says that while people from various global faiths may be "seeking God or meeting God in different ways" that it is important to keep in mind that "we are all children of God". This is the most recent example that shows that the Pope has completely abandoned any notion that a relationship with God is available only through Jesus Christ. As he has done throughout his papacy, he continues to...

How could an organization that claims to speak for God and to be led by the Holy Spirit be so indefatigably committed to a lie? For it isn’t only Bruno Forte: the Pope has said the same thing, and it’s the official policy of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which winks at dissent on any number of actual Church teachings, but moves ruthlessly to suppress voices that dare to suggest that maybe Islam is not a Religion of Peace. It appears as if protecting the image of Islam is more important to Church leaders today than teaching the contents...

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican newspaper has criticized French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo for depicting God as a Kalashnikov-carrying killer, saying it was "woeful" and disrespectful to true believers of all faiths. The cover was an anniversary edition, commemorating the attacks a year ago when Islamist militants killed 12 during an assault on the Charlie Hebdo newsroom in Paris. The cartoon on the cover shows an angry God with blood on his hands and a rifle strapped to his back. "One year later, the assassin is still on the run," the headline says. The Vatican daily newspaper L'Osservatore Romano accused...

Vatican City (AFP) - The Vatican's first accord with the Palestinians -- an agreement that Israel has attacked as counter-productive to the Middle East peace process -- has come into force, the Holy See announced Saturday. The accord was signed in June, just over two years after the Roman Catholic Church recognised the Palestinian territories as a sovereign state in February 2013. The accord covers the operation of the Church in areas of the Holy Land under Palestinian control but its significance has been seen in broader terms as a symbol of growing international backing for a Palestinian state. "With...

An important new statement from the Vatican on the relationship between the Catholic Church, the Jewish people, and Jesus Christ makes many praiseworthy points. At the same time, it misunderstands Jesus' own mission to His Jewish people, thereby undermining fundamental tenets of the New Testament along with the very nature of the apostolic witness.

UN delegates were failing to save the world from a man-made global warming that doesn't exist, loved ones of the San Bernardino innocents butchered by an Islamic terrorism many world leaders claim doesn't exist Dateline:Valley of Tears-The ravening lion thrown up as a 3-D digital projection on the walls of St. Peter’s Basilica during the United Nation’s COP21 gathering will continue to hunt down an unsuspecting humanity. With ravenous jaws, it’s a bold throwback to the days when Christians were eaten alive by the lions Rome set upon them. People of that day saw the spectacle of Christians thrown to...