On April 19th, 2005 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI. Catholic News Service’s Rome Bureau Chief John Thavis reflects on the Holy Father’s six year pontificate. To download Flash Player please click here ...read more

To mark the beginning of Holy Week, Benedict XVI preached on the Lord’s ascent to Jerusalem, which was commemorated liturgically with the blessing of palm branches and the procession with them before Mass. In his homily, the Holy Father said that man seeks to follow Jesus “along the high road that leads to the living ...read more

When Pope Benedict arrives in Madrid on August 18 one of the first things he will do is visit two of the most iconic places in the city…and, of course, meet with the more than one million young people who will be in town to see him. The Holy Father is expected to arrive at ...read more

At last Sunday’s Angelus, Pope Benedict expressed his concern for the safety of the civilian population in Libya. Catholic News Service’s Rome correspondent Carol Glatz and Rome Bureau Chief John Thavis report the Vatican is concerned about what is happening in that country on a number of levels. To download Flash Player please click here ...read more

Pope Benedict has repeatedly urged the universal Church to encourage and support Christians in the Holy Land. One way to do this is financially through the collection traditionally taken up on Good Friday. A letter from the prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches Cardinal Leonardo Sandri was released Monday calling on the faithful to ...read more

Pope Benedict released a flock of doves — a symbol of peace — as he consecrated the Roman parish of St. Corbinian this weekend. Likewise, he revealed that his prayers have been focused on a resolution to the escalating war in Libya. American and British forces launched airstrikes against Libya this weekend. The coalition mission, ...read more

World Youth Day pilgrims are internationally-renowned for being polite. So it must have been in hushed tones that some expressed their dissent. Not to Pope Benedict, who generated enthusiastic responses at the Cologne and Sydney events in ’05 and ’08, respectively. Nor to the selection of this year’s host city, sunny Madrid. But rather, displeasure ...read more

It’s the perfect Lenten reading: Jesus of Nazareth – Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection.  The followup to Pope Benedict XVI’s first volume on our Lord is now available.  Catholic News Service’s Cindy Wooden and John Thavis offer a review. To download Flash Player please click here ...read more

“Quid est veritas?” I will never forget that line, “What is truth?”, from the movie The Passion. I remember quoting it constantly among friends. We were fascinated by the line delivery by the actor who played Pilate. …And perhaps we were looking for the truth. I recalled all this recently when reading parts of Pope ...read more

Who killed Jesus? From the Gospels, we know that he was crucified directly by Roman soldiers. But those who want to attribute blame for his death have drawn in a wider pool of suspects: Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate, the Jewish people, and all of humanity. The question of Jewish culpability in “deicide” is particularly charged, ...read more