Pope

Pope Benedict XVI announced on Friday that he will hold a formal ceremony in February elevating 22 new cardinals he has named.

Soon-to-be cardinals include prelates from some notable Vatican offices, Hong Kong, Berlin, Toronto, Prague, Florence, and New York.

The Pope announced the names of the prelates during the last mass of the Vatican’s Christmas celebrations. more >>

Jerzy Kluger, a lifetime friend of the late Pope John Paul II, died on Dec. 31 in Rome clinic of complications with bronchitis following a long-time battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Kluger, a Polish-born Jew, was the last of the remaining childhood friends of the late pontiff who died in 2005, and he was a major influence on the former Pope’s relations with Jews during his papacy.

The boyhood friends met when Kluger was only five years old in their native Poland. Kluger was a year younger than John Paul II, who was born Karol Wojtyla. more >>

The Vatican has announced the opening of a new Roman Catholic Church for disaffected Anglicans and Episcopalians located in Houston, Texas, on Sunday.

Serving as the equivalent of a nationwide diocese, Episcopal priests and other converts can enter the new church together as intact groups and show alliance to the Pope.

Although the new members must oppose contraception and abortion, they will maintain their beloved verses from the Book of Common Prayer. Also, in what a Catholic leader said is “an act of generosity,” priests who are married will be excused from the Catholic requirement of celibacy, while they may not become Bishops. more >>

In his message for World Peace Day 2012, Pope Benedict XVI re-asserted his fight against moral relativism, which he has previously blamed for Britain’s summer riots.

In his new message for the upcoming World Peace Day, to be marked Jan. 1, Pope Benedict focused his attention on the youth, urging them to observe their morals and work for the common good of society.

“Today, a particularly insidious obstacle to the task of educating is the massive presence in our society and culture of that relativism which, recognizing nothing as definitive leaves as the ultimate criterion only the self with its desires,” Pope Benedict said in his message Thursday, as reported by Vatican Radio. more >>

Pope Benedict XVI focused his annual Christmas morning message on "reconciliation and peace," especially in Syria, North Africa, and the Middle East.

The pontiff spoke on the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica Sunday morning to deliver his “Urbi et Orbi,” Latin for “to the city and to the world” speech to thousands of tourists and pilgrims.

“May the Lord come to the aid of our world torn by so many conflicts which even today stain the Earth with blood,” Benedict told the crowd. more >>

The root of the European debt crisis, according to Pope Benedict XVI, is a lack of faith.

In his annual Christmas address to the Vatican yesterday, Pope Benedict spoke about the cause of the European debt crisis. He told the clergy, “As this year draws to a close, Europe is undergoing an economic and financial crisis, which is ultimately based on the ethical crisis looming over the Old Continent.”

“Such values as solidarity, commitment to one’s neighbor and responsibility towards the poor and suffering are largely uncontroversial, but motivation is often lacking for individuals and large sectors of society to praise renunciation and make sacrifices.” more >>