Papal Preacher Calls For a Fast
BOSTON
GLOBE, Dec. 16 — Father Raniero Cantalamessa,
the preacher to the papal household, urged the Pope to call a worldwide day of
fasting and penitence to ask forgiveness for the clergy sexual abuse scandals.
During a pre-Christmas homily at a Vatican chapel, Father Cantalamessa
said the Church had “wept and sighed” recently over “abominations committed by
her very ministers and bishops.” He said the time had come for the Church to
“weep before God,” to publicly express remorse and to show solidarity with the
victims.
Vatican to Put Its Best Foot Forward
THE SPORTING NEWS, Dec. 15 — The
Vatican is getting ready to battle it out with priests in Rome — on a soccer field. According to The Sporting News magazine, the
inaugural Clericus Cup will kick off in February
2007, and the Vatican
will be one of the 16 teams. Pope John Paul II was a keen sportsman and played
soccer in his youth, mostly as a goalkeeper.
Benedict
the Unlikely Pin-up Pope
BBC NEWS, Dec. 17 — Pope Benedict
has agreed to be photographed for a charity calendar produced by the Italian
magazine Famiglia
Christiana. Veteran Vatican observer John
Wilkins said the result, called The Pope
Domestic, shows the Holy Father quite in character. Photographer Giancarlo
Giuliani shot all the photographs in a single day, during Benedict’s vacation
at Castel Gandolfo.
(CNS photo/Alessia Giuliani, Catholic Press Photo)
Italy’s New Legislation Not ‘Anti-family’
AGI, Dec. 11 — Italy’s minister of foreign affairs
Massimo D’Alema said the Italian law regarding
special rights for unmarried and homosexual couples is not anti-family. “Our
law is different from Zapatero’s,” D’Alema said, referring to Spain’s legislation of same-sex
“marriage.” Despite D’Alema’s insistence, however,
the legislation will reward those living in illicit unions, giving them the
same rights as those in traditional marriages.