Pope Benedict XVI created 22 new cardinals this morning at a celebration of the fourth ordinary public consistory of his pontificate in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The new cardinals, the Holy Father said in his homily, “are entrusted with the service of love: love for God, love for his Church, an absolute and unconditional love for his brothers and sisters, even unto shedding their blood, if necessary, as expressed in the words of placing the biretta and as indicated by the color of their robes.”

They are asked, he added,  “to serve the Church with love and vigor, with the transparency and wisdom of teachers, with the energy and strength of shepherds, with the fidelity and courage of martyrs....READ MORE

After Pope Benedict XVI named 22 new cardinals last week, a large number of whom were Italian (seven in total, six of whom head Vatican departments), the Holy Father could be on the verge of appointing a fellow German to head the all-important Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

German newspapers have been discussing for some time the possibility that the Bishop of Regensburg, Gerhard Ludwig Müller, is being lined up to succeed Cardinal William J. Levada as prefect of the CDF. The speculation is likely to increase after Bishop Müller met the Pope in private audience today immediately following this morning’s weekly general audience.

Long Beach, Ca.-born Cardinal Levada, 75, is...READ MORE

This morning in the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI delivered the following address to diplomats accredited to the Holy See. Religious freedom, the Arab Spring, the Middle East peace process, the economic crisis, education and the environment were all key themes.

***

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is always a particular pleasure for me to receive you, the distinguished members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, in the splendid setting of this Sala Regia, and personally to offer you my cordial good wishes for the New Year. Before all else, I thank your Dean, Ambassador Alejandro Valladares Lanza, and the Vice-Dean, Ambassador Jean-Claude Michel, for the...READ MORE

Archbishop Timothy Dolan and Archbishop Edwin O’Brien are among 22 prelates and distinguished clergymen to be made cardinals at a consistory on February 18th.  Pope Benedict XVI made the announcement today at the midday Angelus for the celebration of the Feast of the Ephiphany.

The full list (Vatican Radio):

1. Msgr. Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples;

2. Msgr. Manuel Monteiro de Castro, Major Penitentiary;

3. Msgr. Santos Abril Y Castellò, Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major;

4. Msgr Antonio Maria Veglio, President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People;

5. Msgr. Giuseppe Bertello,...READ MORE

Pope Benedict XVI’s address in the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Assisi, before representatives of the world’s religions and non-believers:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Distinguished Heads and Representatives of Churches, Ecclesial Communities and World Religions,
Dear Friends,

Twenty-five years have passed since Blessed Pope John Paul II first invited representatives of the world’s religions to Assisi to pray for peace. What has happened in the meantime? What is the state of play with regard to peace today? At that time the great threat to world peace came from the division of the earth into two mutually opposed blocs. A conspicuous symbol of this division was the Berlin Wall...READ MORE

To mark its 25th anniversary, Pilgrimages for Life, a French apostolate dedicated to praying for the unborn around the world, today is holding a special day of pilgrimage, remembrance and intercession for all children who died before and at birth without sacramental baptism.

The apostolate, which is also marking 10 years since it was blessed by Bl. Pope John Paul II, calls on all the faithful to remember these children “with love and to unite their innocent blood to the Precious Blood of Jesus in offering to them to the Mercy of the Father with hope through the Eucharist.”

The apostolate is based at the Marian shrine of Notre Dame de Grâces (Our Lady of Grace in Cotignac in southern...READ MORE

Pope Benedict’s talk with 60 seminarians in Freiburg im Breisgau has now been published (full text below).

One particularly interesting paragraph is when the Pope discusses a scientific spirit of understanding. “There ‘s a good side to this,” he says, “even if it often conceals much arrogance and nonsense. The faith is not a parallel world of feelings that we can still afford to hold on to, rather it is the key that encompasses everything, gives it meaning, interprets it and also provides its inner ethical orientation: making clear that it is to be understood and lived as tending towards God and proceeding from God. Therefore it is important to be informed and to understand, to have an...READ MORE

“Wherever God is present, there is hope: new and often unexpected horizons open up beyond the present and the ephemeral. In this sense I accompany in my thoughts and prayers the path of the Church in Germany.”

FULL TEXT:

Mr President of the Federal Republic,The Distinguished Representatives of the Federal Government,

of Baden Württemburg and its Communities,

Dear Brother Bishops,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Before leaving Germany, I would like very much to thank you for these days, so moving and eventful, spent in my native land.

I am grateful to you, President Wulff, for welcoming me in Berlin in the name of the German people and now, at the moment of my departure, for again honouring me...READ MORE