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Category - pontiff

  • 16 Mar 2013
    A new pope: headlines are simple; the truth is complex

    When Pope Francis first emerged into the blinking glare of global publicity, most people had little idea who he was, says Simon Barrow. The initial attempts to fill the media void with headlines, soundbites and images still leaves us bereft of deeper understanding. We need time to grow that, and to realise that it is the fruits of action rather than heated rhetoric that will get us closer to the complexity of truth.

  • 9 Mar 2013
    Papal conclave prepares to meet next week to elect pontiff

    The conclave to elect the next Pope has been announced as beginning on Tuesday 12 March 2013, ending much speculation since the cardinals gathered.

  • 20 Feb 2013
    Cardinal Turkson child abuse blunder may damage papal prospects

    Cardinal Peter Turkson may have badly damaged his prospects of becoming pope by suggesting that child sexual abuse is not a major problem in churches in Africa because homosexuality is looked on negatively. The remark is not only offensive but also reveals a dangerous ignorance that may undermine attempts to protect children.

  • 14 Feb 2013
    Middle East peace and Benedict's successor

    The successor to the Pope Benedict XVI needs to build on the work done by his predecessor in attempting to encourage peace with justice in the Middle East and North Africa, regional expert and Ekklesia associate Dr Harry Hagopian told Premier Christian Radio on 12 February 2013.

  • 12 Feb 2013
    Lutherans pray for Catholics at a time of global transition

    In contrast to the contentious and bloody history that divided them in the past, Lutherans across the world are praying for Catholics as they seek a new pope.

  • 12 Feb 2013
    Benedict XVI leaves a mixed legacy on ecumenical dialogue

    One of the possibly unintended consequences of Benedict’s announcement that he is to step down as Pope - something unprecedented in the modern era - is that it might set in motion a dynamic that creates renewed opportunities for ecumenical dialogue by offering a new perspective on the role and place of the papacy, writes long time observer Dr Stephen Brown. He offers an assessment of both the plusses and minuses of the pontiff's period in office from the perspective of inter-Christian relations.

  • 11 Feb 2013
    Abuse survivors will continue legal action against Pope

    Sex abuse survivors say they want the resignation of Pope Benedict to strengthen the struggle for true accountability within the Catholic Church.

  • 11 Feb 2013
    Papal change, the Middle East and beyond

    Ecumenical advisor, Middle East analyst and political consultant Dr Harry Hagopian, who is also an Ekklesia associate, has been doing the round of television stations today (11 February 2013), commenting on the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the wider implications of the decision about who will succeed him.

  • 11 Feb 2013
    Will Cardinal Martini's '200 years out of date' comments echo in the Conclave?

    Not long before he died in August last year (2012), the Catholic Archbishop of Milan and papal candidate Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini's final comments on the Church were that its leadership was “200 years out of date” - bureaucratic, pompous, autocratic, inflexible and seemingly remote from the spirit of Christ on key issues.

  • 11 Feb 2013
    World churches chief 'respects decision' of Benedict XVI to resign

    “We have to respect fully the decision of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to resign,” the general secretary of the World Council of Churches said today.