Pope Francis prayed for his predecessor’s passage to heaven as photos of Pope Emeritus Benedict’s body were released by the Vatican.
Cardinal George Pell says Pope Benedict’s legacy is mixed,but his contribution was invaluable for more than fifty years.
Benedict was a conservative intellectual who managed to anger conservative Catholics. His actions normalised papal resignation. Witness all the media chatter about when Pope Francis will follow.
Remarking on the “so much consumerism that has packaged the mystery” of Christmas,Francis said there was a danger the day’s meaning could be forgotten.
Francis,who turned 86 on Saturday,said the letter was to be used if severe and permanent health problems made it impossible for him to carry out his duties.
After speaking,Pope Francis was criticised for saying Chechens are generally crueller than other Russians fighting in Ukraine.
China does not have diplomatic relations with the Vatican,and life has become harder for Catholics after the Communist Party recently launched a crackdown.
For seven centuries the lesson of the hermit pope served as a reminder that it was a job for life. Then Benedict caught the world by surprise.
Pope Francis has acknowledged his ailing health may force him to retire early after he struggled with a week-long Canadian pilgrimage.
Pope Francis has apologised to Canada’s indigenous people on their land for the church’s role in schools where indigenous children were abused.
For women like Gail Gill,the heated global debate about whether women should be allowed into the ordained ministry is deeply emotional.