Pope Benedict Xvi

The Vatican has denounced as "criminal" a new book of leaked internal documents that shed light on power struggles inside the Holy See and the thinking of its embattled top banker, and warned that it would take legal action against those responsible. Pope Benedict XVI has already appointed a commission of cardinals to investigate the "Vatileaks" scandal, which erupted earlier this year with the publication of leaked memos alleging corruption and mismanagement in Holy See affairs and internal squabbles over its efforts to comply with international anti-money laundering norms.

The Vatican has denounced as "criminal" a new book of leaked internal documents that shed light on power struggles inside the Holy See and the thinking of its embattled top banker, and warned that it would take legal action against those responsible. Pope Benedict XVI has already appointed a commission of cardinals to investigate the "Vatileaks" scandal, which erupted earlier this year with the publication of leaked memos alleging corruption and mismanagement in Holy See affairs and internal squabbles over its efforts to comply with international anti-money laundering norms.

ITALY VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI yesterday urged infertile couples to shun artificial procreation, decrying such methods as a form of arrogance. Speaking at a three-day Vatican conference on infertility, Benedict also reiterated church teaching that marriage is the only permissible place to conceive children. The pope pressed the church ban against artificial procreation, saying infertile couples should refrain from any method to try to conceive other than sex between husband and wife.

Pope Benedict XVI has praised the "great generosity" of American Catholics in welcoming new immigrants and backed the commitment of bishops in the United States to immigration reform. Benedict on Friday held the last of a series of periodic meetings with American bishops over the past few months, saying the church must embrace "the rich patrimony of faith" from newly arrived Hispanic, Asian and African Catholics. He acknowledged that immigration reform — a hot button issue in the election campaign — is a complex civil and political issue.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI offers a personal meditation on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ in his first book as pontiff, criticizing the "cruelty" of capitalism's exploitation of the poor but also decrying the absence of God in Marxism. In "Jesus of Nazareth," released yesterday, Benedict touches on themes that have begun to emerge in his 2-year-old papacy: the spiritual weaknesses of modern materialistic life, in which people seem to think they can do without God. The book also points to a concern of Benedict from his days as prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the...

Pope Benedict XVI has praised the "great generosity" of American Catholics in welcoming new immigrants and backed the commitment of bishops in the United States to immigration reform. Benedict on Friday held the last of a series of periodic meetings with American bishops over the past few months, saying the church must embrace "the rich patrimony of faith" from newly arrived Hispanic, Asian and African Catholics. He acknowledged that immigration reform — a hot button issue in the election campaign — is a complex civil and political issue.

Bishop William E. Lori of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., has been named the 16th Archbishop of Baltimore. Pope Benedict XVI made the announcement Tuesday. Lori will succeed Cardinal Edwin O'Brien, who served as Baltimore's 15th archbishop from October 2007 to August 2011 when he was named grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

Cuba's communist government is making it easier for citizens to see Pope Benedict XVI during his visit this month. The government Labor Ministry says state workers in Havana and Santiago will get paid time off to attend papal events during the pope's March 26-28 trip to the Caribbean island. The pope will come to Cuba after visiting Mexico. Meanwhile, the Communist Party newspaper Granma says Saturday that the capital's main airport terminal will be reserved for the papal trip.

Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston will join Pope Benedict XVI when he visits Cuba next week. Benedict left Friday for Mexico and plans to head to Cuba on Monday, where O'Malley will be there to welcome him. O'Malley departs for Cuba on Saturday. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston said O'Malley has visited Cuba about a dozen times in the last three decades, most recently in 2009, when he visited to support local bishops as part of a delegation from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Pope Benedict XVI has remembered the "numerous victims" of religiously motivated terrorism during an annual reception for diplomats. Benedict said acts of terrorism were especially prevalent last year in Asia and Africa, citing violence in Pakistan and Nigeria. An explosion Christmas Day ripped through a Catholic church near Nigeria's capital, killing at least 15, while last spring Pakistan's sole Christian government minister was assassinated. The pope also expressed hope on Monday that there would be a rapid end to bloodshed in Syria and a speedy start to political dialogue...

Pope Benedict XVI is promoting the church's prescription for coping with the economic crisis: share resources and pare lifestyles down to the essentials. Benedict spoke about economic problems as he made a daylong pastoral visit Sunday to the Tuscan town of Arezzo. During his homily at Mass, he acknowledged that the complexity of the problems makes it hard to pinpoint "more rapid and efficient" solutions to the eurozone crisis, which he noted hits the weakest especially hard and is worrying the young, as they search for hard-to-find jobs.

Riccardo Muti will be conducting a concert in the Vatican in honor of Pope Benedict XVI. He's the second big-name maestro to be conducting for the pope this spring. La Scala opera house announced last week that Daniel Barenboim would conduct Beethoven's Ninth symphony when the pope visits Milan on June 1. According to a statement on his website Sunday, Muti will lead Rome's Teatro dell'Opera in selections from Vivaldi and Verdi in the May 11 concert, which is being offered to the pope by Italy's president in honor of the seventh anniversary of his election to the...

Pope Benedict XVI will attend a concert at the La Scala opera house of Beethoven's Ninth symphony conducted by Daniel Barenboim. The June 1 concert is part of the pope's Milan visit for the World Encounter of Families, which deals with issues relating to the family. Organizers of the June 1-3 papal visit said Friday it will be the first time since becoming pontiff that Benedict, known for his fondness of music, attends a concert in a public theater. He frequently attends concerts inside the Vatican auditorium that are performed in his honor by visiting orchestras.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his birthday in Bavarian style Monday, marking his 85 years with his brother, German bishops, and a musical group from his native land. Benedict began the day with a Mass in which he alluded to his own mortality, saying he would carry on through his final years knowing that God was watching over him. "I am facing the final leg of the path of my life, and I don't know what's ahead," Benedict said in his homily. "I know, though, that God's light is there . . . and that his light is stronger than every darkness.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI implored the Syrian regime on Sunday to heed international demands to end the bloodshed and expressed hope that the joy of Easter will comfort Christian communities suffering because of their faith. Benedict, struggling with hoarseness and looking tired, celebrated Mass on Christianity's most joyous holy day on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica, before a crowd of faithful that swelled to far over 100,000 by the end of the 2-hour ceremony. Only hours earlier the pontiff, who turns 85 on April 16, had led a long nighttime vigil service in the church.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI, carrying a tall, lit candle, ushered in Christianity's most joyous celebration with an Easter vigil service Saturday night but voiced fears that mankind is groping in darkness, unable to distinguish good from evil. F or Christians, Easter commemorates Christ's triumph over death with his resurrection after his crucifixion. "Life is stronger than death. Good is stronger than evil. Love is stronger than hate. Truth is stronger than lies," Benedict, wearing white robes in a symbol of new life, told the faithful in a packed St. Peter's Basilica.

Pope Benedict XVI is promoting the church's prescription for coping with the economic crisis: share resources and pare lifestyles down to the essentials. Benedict spoke about economic problems as he made a daylong pastoral visit Sunday to the Tuscan town of Arezzo. During his homily at Mass, he acknowledged that the complexity of the problems makes it hard to pinpoint "more rapid and efficient" solutions to the eurozone crisis, which he noted hits the weakest especially hard and is worrying the young, as they search for hard-to-find jobs.

LONDON - The Lancet medical journal yesterday accused Pope Benedict XVI of distorting scientific evidence in his statement that condoms worsen the AIDS crisis. It said he should retract the comments. On a trip to Africa last week, the pope told reporters, "You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms. " He then added, "On the contrary, it increases the problem. " France, Germany, and the UN AIDS-fighting agency criticized the comments as irresponsible and dangerous.

ROME - Striking the tone that once earned him the moniker "God's Rottweiler," Pope Benedict XVI denounced "disobedience" in the church in a stern Holy Thursday homily, chastising priests who seek the ordination of women and the abolition of priestly celibacy. Referring to recent initiatives by clerics in Austria and elsewhere, Benedict said that while such priests claim to act "for concern for the church," they are driven by their own preferences and ideas and should instead turn toward a radicalism of obedience - a phrase that perfectly captures the essence of the theologian pope's...

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI began the Catholic Church's Holy Week celebrations with Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square and good news from Cuba. On Saturday, Cuba's communist government agreed to Benedict's request to make Good Friday a holiday, which he made during his visit to the Caribbean island last week. The day, which is celebrated this Friday, marks the solemn commemoration of Christ's death. In the Holy Land, hundreds of Christian pilgrims also marked Palm Sunday, with Masses and processions retracing Jesus's triumphant return to Jerusalem.