Three news stories purporting to have inside information on the shape of the election of Pope Francis during the conclave of 2013. For whatever they're worth.

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I'm always curious to see the Church in its most ancient settings, and I couldn't help but notice the work of Pope Shenouda III over the years. I'm afraid that the new guy has his work cut out for him.Egypt's Copts choose new pope for uncertain timesNov 4, 12:51 PM (ET ( Read more... )

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the Opening of the Second Vatican Council, an event that has rightly been called the major religious event of the 20th century, and which went a long way to restoring the thriving diversity of the ancient and medieval periods to the life of the Church, which was increasingly mired in early modern political forms ( Read more... )

Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini, S.J., Emeritus Archbishop of Milan - one of the truly notable successors of the mighty Ambrose of Milan - died yesterday, I just read. It's one of those pieces of bad news I've expected for some time. I was familiar with Martini from my the time of my Master's studies, where it became obvious that he was the great ( Read more... )

I thought that this was an interesting reading of some of Benedict's thinking with regard to his comments in Benin last month, and his thoughts toward "liberation theology," broadly understood. The Lonely Liberation Theology of Benedict XVIby John L Allen Jr on Nov. 20, 2011 NCR Today ( Read more... )

Too funny. I've always thought that writing a snarky guide for reporters writing about Catholicism or religion in general might be a fun, sort of "reverse" form of making clear some points that are popularly confused, or are just favourite old bigotries that people like to repeat for the entertainment and self-righteousness value. So it's great ( Read more... )

As usual, it's always interesting to keep an eye on World Youth Day, even after passing the threshold age of "youth" invited! In particular, I was struck by this CNS article featuring some quotations from Pope Benedict, who as Professor Joseph Ratzinger, was one of the professors instructing my Doktorvater in his own graduate studies. Ratzinger ( Read more... )

For the Catholic Church, it is Easter itself that is the ultimate answer to the horrors of digging up the cases of sexual abuse of children that happened within the Church over the last few generations. I don't think that that's understood in many of the news articles, where there seems to be a desire to hold Benedict XVI accountable even for ( Read more... )

ARTICLES CONTINUED (For my own future reference, and for anyone else interested.)

How a Molesting Case Emerged Decades Later
Top European Clerics Defend Benedict
German archbishop says church failed abuse victims
Christians converge on Jerusalem for Good Friday
More-secular Poland marks Pope John Paul's death
Poland marks John Paul's death on ( Read more... )