Vatican Media Watch
Pope John Paul II the ‘Pope of Divine Mercy’
ASIANEWS, April 23 — Pope Benedict’s referral to Pope John Paul II as the “Pope of Divine Mercy” sparked applause among the tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Regina Coeli, AsiaNews reported.
In his moving reference, the Holy Father mentioned John Paul II’ Encyclical Dives In Misericordia and his consecration of the shrine in Kraków in 2002 devoted to Divine Mercy.
Thanks to the Polish Pope the traditional Dominica In Albis (Low Sunday or the Octave Day of Easter) became Divine Mercy Sunday, “making the most of the spiritual experience of a humble nun, St. Faustina Kowalska”, canonized by John Paul, the Pope said.
“The mystery of God’s merciful
love was at the center of the pontificate of my venerated predecessor,” said
Benedict, who added, “
Film Advertisement on Church Removed
ANSA, April 24 —
The enormous poster, featuring a
picture of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and the upcoming film’s title, was plastered a few weeks
ago on the scaffolded façade of the
Father Marco Fibbi, a spokesman for
Msgr. Marco Frisina,
an official at the vicariato
(headquarters of the Rome Diocese), said, “The
Da Vinci Code is a clever piece of commercial
exploitation. But sticking a huge advert on the facade of a church is a blatant
provocation. In front of a church in the historical center! They’ll soon be
putting them on the front of the Vicariato.”
Pope’s
REUTERS, April 24 — Pope Benedict’s visit
to the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz next month has taken on added significance
in the wake of the recent anti-Israel rhetoric from
Veteran Israeli statesman Shimon
Peres said the visit will be a reminder that the world cannot treat lightly
comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has called for
“There were times when Hitler was taken [lightly] and we regretted it later on,” said the former Israeli prime minister, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994. He said the Holy Father’s voice must to be heard in international affairs and called on religious leaders to condemn the use of violence.
“To hear the voice of the Pope is
extremely important and I told this to the Pope,” said Peres, who visited the
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- May 7-13, 2006