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The Next Pope

Habemus Prankam! When The First Black, Latino And Woman Popes Stunned St. Peter’s

Worldcrunch When that moment comes, and the white smoke appears and the bells of St. Peter’s toll, the crowd out in the piazza will start to get rowdy. Then an elderly Cardinal will announce that “We Have A Pope” in the Catholic Church’s still beloved Latin. Habemus Papam…! And that’s when the fun really starts. […]

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The Next Pope

Pack For A Week, Study The Favorites: A Brazilian Cardinal’s Last Thoughts Before Conclave

Press blackout be damned, Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis spoke with Folha de S. Paolo about papal candidates, including fellow Brazilian Scherer. Assis expects a short conclave, but is packed for a long one.

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The Next Pope

Looking For The African Wojtyla: Four Scenarios For The First Black Pope

Benedict XVI himself said Africa deserves to be considered for the papacy.

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Geopolitics

Italy And Israel – A Pair Of Political Stalemates Demystified With Gifs

Worldcrunch In elections, there are winners and there are losers. But what happens when the winner cannot actually claim victory? How can the loser manage to hold all the cards? Both Italy and Israel are famous for getting stuck in just these sorts of Byzantine deadlocks, and coincidentally both Mediterranean democracies are swimming in it […]

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The Next Pope

Five Top Pope Contenders: What Their Home Countries Are Saying

Worldcrunch With the conclave set to begin Tuesday afternoon, the lists of papabili are being narrowed down and scrutinized by the Cardinals gathered at the Vatican. Back in the home countries and dioceses of the top contenders, the secret vote to choose the successor of Benedict XVI can be viewed with a mix of pride […]

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The Next Pope

A Pope From Across The World? The Time Is Now

Most say the cardinals must shake up the Church. That gives better chances to electing a cardinal from South America… or North America.

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The Next Pope

Small Miracles – Why A New Pope Is A Godsend For Rome’s Retailers

ROME – Benedict XVI couldn’t have imagined this, because his thoughts were elsewhere: but the news of his resignation was met with cheers by thousands of people in Rome. Why? Because the resignation of a pope has the same effect as the Olympic Games or a Jubilee for the city of Rome: it brings tourists, […]

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The Next Pope

Adopt-A-Cardinal: An Interactive Way For Faithful To Join Conclave

Worldcrunch VATICAN CITY – The cardinals are meeting at the Vatican this week to lay the groundwork for the conclave to elect a new pope, after this month’s suprise resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. There is much on their agenda: determining Catholicism’s most pressing challenges, looking for the right man for the papal job, clarifying […]

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The Next Pope

Fake Bishop Tries To Sneak Into Cardinals’ Meeting – PHOTOS

LA STAMPA, GAZZETTA DEL SUD (Italy) Worldcrunch VATICAN CITY– The countdown to the conclave is on, and everyone seem to wants in on the action. Indeed one man dressed up as a bishop and headed to the Paul VI auditorium on Monday where the cardinals were meeting to discuss the date for the upcoming conclave, […]

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The Next Pope

Brazilian Cardinals Want To See ‘Vatileaks’ Findings Before Conclave

The Holy See has said that the final report on the scandal plaguing the Vatican would only be delivered to the new pope. But some of those voting for the pontiff want to know the truth.

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The Next Pope

Pope Benedict XVI – An Unlikely German Chapter Of Church History

ROME – The Pope’s resignation is a unique event, although not entirely without historical precedent. Benedict XVI is retiring not in failure but as freely and serenely as Charles V — who wasn’t a pope but an emperor, and one of the West’s major rulers when he put down his crown on October 25, 1555. […]

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The Next Pope

The Perfect Next Pope: A Secret Guide From Anonymous Cardinals

VATICAN CITY – One of the cardinals getting ready to enter the upcoming conclave knows that he himself is not papabile — that is, his is not one of the names being considered as a possible next pope. Perhaps for this reason he has taken the time to lay out to La Stampa, in a […]

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The Next Pope

Bye-Bye Benedict: 17 Front Pages From Around The World As Pope Steps Down

ASSOCIATED PRESS Worldcrunch VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI became the first Roman pontiff in six centuries to step down, boarding a helicopter outside St. Peter’s on Thursday that took him to the Vatican retreat of Castel Gandolfo south of Rome where he will stay hidden from view for the forseeable future. Earlier, the Pope […]

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The Next Pope

On Final Day As Pope, Benedict XVI Vows “Unconditional Obedience” To Successor

LA STAMPA (Italy), VATICAN NEWS (Vatican), BBC (UK), Worldcrunch VATICAN CITY– After a sometimes bumpy eight-year rule, and a surprise decision to become the first pope in 600 years to retire, Benedict XVI steps down from the papacy at 8 pm local time. Benedict met Thursday morning for the final time as pontiff with the […]

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The Next Pope

Cardinal Resigns Amid Abuse Allegations And Conclave Intrigue

BBC, THE GUARDIAN (UK), THE IRISH TIMES (Ireland) Worldcrunch EDINBURGH – Cardinal Kevin O’Brien has announced he will be stepping down as Archbishop of Edinburgh and St. Andrew’s following allegations of “inappropriate behavior” during the 1980s, reports the BBC. The announcement comes three days before Pope Benedict XVI is slated to step down, and Cardinals […]

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The Next Pope

As Resignation Looms, Pope Benedict XVI’s Final Sunday Blessing

LA REPUBBLICA (Italy), VATICAN RADIO Worldcrunch VATICAN CITY– Just four days before his historic resignation, Pope Benedict XVI delivered his final weekly Angelus prayer Sunday from the window of his Vatican apartment. A large crowd below in St. Peter’s Square interrupted several times with applause during the brief address as the 85-year Benedict alluded to […]

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The Next Pope

Catholic Priests Struggle To Make Sense Of Pope’s Resignation

VATICAN CITY – A long queue of men dressed in black is winding silently around St. Peter’s Square: They are Roman priests here to say their last goodbyes to Benedict XVI at a recent Vatican audience. When he decided to resign, did it cross the Pope’s mind that the cross he’d bear would also affect […]

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How The Pope’s Resignation Is Playing Out In The Arab Press

AL-MASRY AL-YOUM (Egypt), AL-SHARQ AL-AWSAT, AL-QUDS AL-ARABI, AL-ELAPH (UK), AL-MUSTAQBAL (Lebanon), AL-RAI (Jordan), GULFNEWS.COM (UAE) Worldcrunch Pope Benedict XVI shocked his Church with the announcement last week that he would resign from the papacy at the end of the month. The reaction in the Western press was, not surprisingly, enormous: newspapers, television and Internet sources […]

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In An Old Pope’s Resignation, Lessons For Aging In Today’s Fast-Moving World

The resignation of Benedict XVI is historic for the Catholic Church, but it also shows the difficulty of growing old in a society of constant demands and real-time technology.

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What Pope’s Resignation Means For Tiny Bavarian Town Where He Was Born

MARKTL AM INN – Not a lot of folks out on the streets on this day after the news arrived. But not because of the wind that slices right through you, or the icy temperature. The 2,700 residents of Marktl am Inn in the German region of Bavaria are holed up inside to avoid the […]

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Pope Appears In Public, Says Resignation Is For “Good Of The Church”

Worldcrunch ROME – Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday made his first public appearance since stunning the world and his Catholic flock with the announcement of his decision to become the first pontiff in nearly 600 years to resign. Telling a crowd in the Vatican auditorium that the historic resignation was “for the good of the […]

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Ratzinger’s Hardest Choice: Inside The Pope’s Historic Resignation

Turns out Benedict XVI had been reflecting on resignation since falling last March. After finally telling the world, the Pope returned to his private quarters where he was overcome by emotion.

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Historic Papal Resignation – 47 Front Pages From Around The World

Worldcrunch PARIS – After yesterday’s announcement that Pope Benedict XVI would resign from the papacy on Feb. 28, the world’s newspapers reacted today: ITALY UNITED KINGDOM AUSTRALIA ARGENTINA BELGIUM CANADA BRAZIL CHILE COLOMBIA FRANCE GERMANY INDIA USA SPAIN POLAND SWITZERLAND HONDURAS MEXICO PARAGUAY SOUTH AFRICA SWEDEN PORTUGAL THE PHILIPPINES IRELAND AUSTRIA

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Geopolitics

World Press Reacts To Pope Benedict XVI’s Shocking Announcement

Worldcrunch 1. ARGENTINA “Benedict XVI resigns because of waning energy” – Clarin 2. CHINA “Pope announces resignation” – Apple Daily 3. USA New York Times 4. FRANCE “Pope resigns. Benedict XVI doesn’t have “enough energy” to lead the Church. He will be stepping down on Feb. 28.” – Libération 5. ITALY “Pope announces: I will […]

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Pope Benedict XVI To Resign Feb. 28, First Papal Resignation In 600 Years

ANSA, LA STAMPA, VATICAN RADIO (Italy) Worldcrunch ROME– Pope Benedict XVI stunned his Church and the world at large, by announcing that he will resign from the papacy on February 28. He made the announcement himself, in Latin, during Monday morning’s consistory for the canonization of martyrs of Otranto, victims of a massacre in 1480. […]

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Society

Our Top Ten Alternative Titles For The New Dan Brown Novel

BBC, THE GUARDIAN (UK) Worldcrunch NEW YORK– Dan Brown, the bestselling author of the Da Vinci Code, is set to release a new novel on May 14. According to The Guardian, Dan Brown’s dapper, tweed-suited symbologist Robert Langdon, the man who cracked The Da Vinci Code and found The Lost Symbol, is about to embark […]

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Society

Dashing And Devout, Georg Ganswein Is Also Now Pope Benedict’s Most Powerful Servant

VATICAN CITY – The last few days before he was ordained archbishop at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome, “Don Giorgio” Gänswein was without his iPhone or PC, and also well away from the landlines and fax machines and the Vatican’s old-fashioned pneumatic and courier mail systems that are still so much a part of his […]

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Geopolitics

Pope Slams Gay Marriage. Where’s The Tweet?

So far Benedict XVI’s new @Pontifex on Twitter has avoided controversial topics.

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Geopolitics

Morsi’s About-Face In Showdown With Egyptian Judiciary

AL MASRY AL YOUM, AL WATAN (Egypt), AL CHARK AL AWSAT (Saudi Arabia) Worldcrunch CAIRO – ‘Chaotic’ is the only word to describe the Egyptian political scene right now. There is of course the ongoing battle among and within the three main movements in post-Mubarak Egypt: Islamists, secularists and those who still support the old […]

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Society

A Lonely Pontiff? In Trial Of His Butler, Hints Of Benedict XVI’s Isolation

ROME – It was a disquieting statement from the former butler of Pope Benedict XVI, as he took the stand in a Vatican court hearing his case. Paolo Gabriele, who lived for six years in the papal apartment, explained the motives that had led him to photocopy the Pope’s private papers: “Over time, I developed […]

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Geopolitics

The Pope In Lebanon As Middle East Violence Spreads Over Anti-Islam Film

VATICAN CITY – Three years ago, on the eve of Pope Benedict XVI’s departure for the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, it was the murder of Luigi Padovese, the vicar apostolic of Turkey, which loomed over the trip. This time it is the killing of four U.S. diplomats in Benghazi and the uprising across the region […]

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Geopolitics

Did The Vatican’s New Envoy To Israel Help Shield Pedophile Priests In Ireland?

Worldcrunch YEDIOTH AHRONOTH (Israel), LA STAMPA (Italy), THE IRISH TIMES (Ireland) JERUSALEM – The appointment of Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto as Papal Nuncio to Israel last week has sparked controversy in Jerusalem after it emerged that he was linked to the pedophile priests scandal that hit the Irish Catholic Church in 2005.. The country’s biggest-circulation daily […]

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Society

The Devil Makes Him Do It: Meet The Vatican’s In-House Exorcist

At 86, Father Gabriele Amorth still performs several exorcisms per day. He sees the devil everywhere, including in the music of Marilyn Manson. And he’s convinced that Satan – as much as he feared John Paul II – fears Pope Benedict XVI even more.

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