Pope Benedict apologised on Saturday to victims of child sex abuse by clergy in Ireland and ordered an inquiry there to try to stem a scandal.
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/ 25 December 2009
A woman the Vatican described as unstable jumped over a barricade, lunged at Pope Benedict and dragged him to the floor at the start of his Mass.
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/ 28 October 2009
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has attacked the country’s judicial system as overrun by ”communists” out to destroy him.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Friday dismissed suggestions that he should step down for the good of Italy’s image.
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/ 23 September 2009
Italy’s opposition attacked Silvio Berlusconi’s government on Wednesday over an amnesty that would wipe the slate clean on offences.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s private life was back in the spotlight on Monday.
Pope Benedict went to the West Bank on Wednesday, offering Vatican support for a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Pope Benedict on Thursday told a huge gathering of young people that they were inheriting a planet whose resources had been scarred and squandered.
Pope Benedict, celebrating a stadium Mass for 45 000 people, acknowledged on Thursday that the United States paedophile priests scandal caused ”indescribable pain and harm” to victims but asked Catholics to love their pastors. ”No words of mine can describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse,” he said.
Thou shall not pollute the Earth. Thou shall beware genetic manipulation. Modern times bring with them modern sins. So the Vatican has told the faithful that they should be aware of ”new” sins such as causing environmental blight. The Vatican opposes stem-cell research that involves destruction of embryos and has warned against the prospect of human cloning.