What is love?

The age-old question will be put under the spotlight for three days here in Rome beginning tomorrow (Thursday), when some of the Church’s leading thinkers take part in a conference reflecting on Dietrich von Hildebrand’s philosophy of love.

Entitled ‘The Christian Personalism of Dietrich von Hildebrand: Exploring His Philosophy of Love,’ the conference coincides with the English translation of von Hildebrand’s work: The Nature of Love.

The impressive line-up of speakers include Michael Novak, Rocco Buttiglione, Robert Spaemann, Joseph Bottum, Fr. Charles Morerod O.P., Alice von Hildebrand and Metropolitan John Zizioulas of Pergamon.

For the many who won’t be able to make...READ MORE

Could Pope Benedict’s visit to Cyprus next month become heavily politicized?

In an interview with Terrasanta.net, the Cypriot ambassador to the Holy See, George Poulides, said that the Pope’s June 4-6 visit will act as “a vigorous protest” against the Turkish occupation of the north of the island.

“The moral influence of the Pope is massive,” Ambassador Poulides told me last week. “His mere presence on this wounded island constitutes a vigorous protest against the injustice and the violence that the Cypriot people have undergone, namely the Turkish occupation.”

Cyprus has been territorially divided since Turkish troops invaded the Mediterranean island’s northern region in 1974, which...READ MORE

An enormous crowd turned out in support of the Holy Father Sunday, filling St. Peter’s Square to overflowing.

The Vatican said around 150,000 people attended the Regina Coeli prayer yesterday. Other estimates put the crowd higher, at 200,000.

The pilgrims, many of whom were members of the new movements, had come from all over Italy to show their solidarity with Benedict XVI, and to call for a purification of the Church after the recent disclosures of sexual abuse by clergy over the past 50 years.

The Pope, visibly moved and rejuvenated by the outward expression of support, spoke of his “deep gratitude” for their presence, and repeated what he said on his trip last week to Fatima: that...READ MORE

In the wake of the sexual abuse crisis, the Church in Italy is expecting “tens of thousands” of faithful to gather in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday in a show of support and solidarity with the Holy Father, and for the purification of the Church.

Lay groups and families from dioceses up and down the country are expected to gather in the square from 11am, an hour before Pope Benedict XVI recites the Regina Coeli. They will be led in prayer by Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Italian bishops’ conference.

“We expect lay groups and individual families to come from all over Italy by bus, train or other means, each group organizing themselves to participate in the Regina...READ MORE

Below is the full transcript of Pope Benedict XVI’s briefing with journalists on the papal plane to Portugal this morning, courtesy of Vatican Radio:

Q. - What message will you bring to Portugal, a deeply Catholic country in the past and a bearer of faith in the secular world of today. How can the faith be announced in a context which is indifferent, and sometimes hostile, to the Church?

First of all, good morning to all of you. I hope we will all have a good trip, despite the famous ash cloud which we are above right now.

In terms of Portugal, first of all I have feelings of joy and gratitude for everything this country has done and is doing in the world and in history, the deep...READ MORE

The volcanic ash cloud which has been causing flight disruption over parts of southern Europe appears to be dispersing just in time for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Portugal tomorrow.

Airports in Portugal, Spain and Italy were forced to close over the weekend but have now reopened and as of midday today Rome time, the Vatican said “no changes to the program are forecast”. Portuguese authorities say the cloud of ash remains in the south western part of the country but they predict it will steadily drift southwards, so hopefully it will also mean the Holy Father can return to Rome without problems.

As well as visiting the Marian shrine of Fatima, the Holy Father will be stopping in...READ MORE

As Greece’s economic woes deepen and threaten to spread to other countries, the Vatican has offered a timely reminder of the underlying causes of the global economic crisis and analysed ways forward out of it.

During five days of discussions, members of the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences, joined by a number of leaders in industry and finance, examined the situation under the theme “Crisis in a Global Economy. Re-planning the Journey” – a phrase inspired by Benedict XVI’s social encyclical Caritas in Veritate. (A summary of the highlights of the meeting can be found here).

“Looking into the crisis we considered it to be most of all a moral as well as an economic crisis,”...READ MORE

The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments is to issue its formal approval of the new English translation of the complete Roman Missal later today.

The recognitio comes after nearly ten years of study and sometimes difficult consultation over the new translation of prayers for the Mass.

Today’s development will therefore mark a key step, although when the new Missal will be made available in parishes remains unclear.

Cardinal George Pell, chairman of the Vox Clara Committee, the international group of bishops advising the Vatican about the translation, told the Register yesterday that although formal approval will be given today, the new Missal certainly won’t be...READ MORE