Benedict
Much of Benedict XVI's papacy necessarily consisted of damage control, most notably relating to the widening scandals relating to child molestation. But beyond the many crises he faced, Benedict's legacy deserves to be measured against the goals that he chose to devote himself to as leader of the Catholic Church. Indeed, the manner in which Benedict attempted to pursue one of his central ambitions—the re-evangelization of Europe—sheds revealing light on his other missteps and failures. READ MORE >>
What Pope Benedict Got Wrong in Cuba
Today’s News Is Like Yesterday’s: Killings In The Muslim World
Actually, I didn’t read this anywhere—no, not anywhere—but in an A.P. dispatch on Yahoo: “Minibus bombing in NW Pakistan kills 19.” While such happenings are quite common in the arc of Islam the details still are gruesome: A bomb ripped apart a minibus in a volatile part of northwestern Pakistan on Monday, killing all 17 people on board and two others in a nearby vehicle, police said. READ MORE >>
The Islamist War Against Christianity
Against the meaning of his entire history as a prince of the church and also against various dicta issued by him later as the Vicar of Christ, Pope Benedict has proclaimed that he will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the conclave convened by Pope John Paul II in the Umbrian town of Assisi. That gathering assembled eminences from the "world religions" to pray together for peace. READ MORE >>
Forgive Not
Gone South
Pope, Repent!
WASHINGTON -- How in the name of God can the Roman Catholic Church put the pedophilia scandal behind it? I do not invoke God's name lightly. The church's problem is, above all, theological and religious. Its core difficulty is that rather than drawing on its Christian resources, the church has acted almost entirely on the basis of this world's imperatives and standards. READ MORE >>
The Pope's real enemy.; Cross Purposes
Left and right found plenty to disagree about in Pope Benedict XVI's September address at the University of Regensburg in Germany, but,on one point, there was virtual unanimity: that the Pope was out to defend the West against the Muslim world. READ MORE >>
Benedictus
SHORTLY BEFORE NOON on the day that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI, I was standing in St. Peter's Square with a smart young Carmelite priest from Ireland. We were watching black smoke pour out of what, for a few days at least, was the most famous chimney in the world. That meant no Pope, yet. READ MORE >>
