Pope Benedict XVI with Cuban leader Fidel Castro (R) during a meeting on March 28, 2012 in Havana Pope Benedict XVI has denounced the US economic embargo on Cuba, saying such punitive measures “unfairly burden” the ordinary Cuban people. “Restrictive economic measures imposed from outside the country unfairly burden its people,” the pope said on Wednesday in reference to US economic... 

A disturbing Federal Security Services (FSB) report on the warning letter delivered to Chinese State Authorities this past November by Cardinal Paolo Romeo, the Archbishop of Palermo, stating that Pope Benedict XVI [photo top right] would be assassinated during this year is, indeed, a “valid threat.” According to this FSB report, the current turmoil in the Roman Catholic Church is “unprecedented”... 

A secret document prepared for Prime Minister Putin by Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is claiming that President Medvedev confirmed in his extended meeting with Pope Benedict XVI [photo right] yesterday that the new planet named Tyche (pronounced ty-kee) by NASA [NASA rendering 2nd photo right] will be appearing in the Earth’s night sky by 2012. Though the existence of this planet had long... 

In a first for the Vatican and British broadcaster BBC, Pope Benedict XVI Friday was given a radio slot to deliver a Christmas message to the people of Britain. The pope, 83, said he remembered his September visit to Scotland and England with great fondness. ‘I want you to know that I keep all of you very much in my prayers during this holy season,’ he said. The message was broadcast only... 

Pope Benedict XVI said Thursday that Christians suffer more religious persecution than any other group, denouncing lack of freedom of worship as an “intolerable” threat to world security. The message reflected a pressing concern by Benedict in recent months for the plight of Christian minorities in parts of the world, especially in the Middle East. “Sadly, the year now ending has... 

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban with Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican earlier this month. Life must be protected from the moment of conception, Hungary’s ruling party said in a draft of the country’s new constitution that would effectively introduce a complete ban on abortion after several decades of liberal laws. Pope Benedict XVI earlier in December told the Hungarian ambassador it was “desirable... 

Proud Gay Portuguese president Anibal Cavaco Silva has approved a law authorising gay marriages, making Portugal the sixth country in Europe to allow same-sex unions. Mr Silva, a practicing Roman Catholic from Portugal’s main opposition centre-right party, says he has put his “personal convictions” aside in deciding to approve the legislation. The law, adopted in February by the centre-left... 

Pope Benedict XVI A retired Italian bishop has provoked fury by reportedly suggesting that Zionists are behind the current storm of accusations over clerical sex abuse shaking the Vatican and the Catholic Church. Monsignor Giacomo Babini, the Bishop Emeritus of Grossetto, was quoted by the Italian Roman Catholic website Pontifex as saying he believed a “Zionist attack” was behind the criticism... 

Rev. Lawrence Murphy Arthur Budzinski says the first time the priest molested him, he was 12 years old, alone and away from home at a school for the deaf. He says he asked the Rev. Lawrence Murphy to hear his confession, and instead the priest took him into a closet under the stairs and sexually assaulted him. Budzinski, now 61, was one of about 200 deaf boys at the St. John’s School for the... 

At least three dozen people have been injured in the riots between migrant workers and residents of the Italian town of Rosarno Pope Benedict XVI has denounced the riots that have torn southern Italy over the last few days, and called for residents in the Calabrian town of Rosarno to recognise that migrant workers have equal rights. ‘Let there never be violence in the name of God,’ he said,... 

Pope Benedict XVI hit out at the mass media on Tuesday, accusing it of deadening sensitivity to violence, exploiting individuals and ignoring everyday acts of love and kindness. Speaking during a ceremony in Rome’s historic Piazza di Spagna, where he paid homage to a statue of the Virgin Mary, the pope said the media ”poisoned” people’s souls. ”It recounts, repeats and... 

At his weekly general audience in the Paul the VI hall today, Pope Benedict continued his catechesis on the Christian culture of the Middle Ages. In the catechesis, the Holy Father turned to the monastic reform linked to the great monastery of Cluny in France. Founded eleven hundred years ago, Cluny restored the strict observance of the Rule of Saint Benedict and made the Church’s liturgy the centre... 

The patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia says he will announce to the world Friday the unveiling of the Ark of the Covenant, perhaps the world’s most prized archaeological and spiritual artifact, which he says has been hidden away in a church in his country for millennia, according to the Italian news agency Adnkronos. Abuna Pauolos, in Italy for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI this...