Benedict XVI Archives

Secretary of two popes sheds light on their daily lives

A book of interviews with the Polish Reverend Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki, “Secretary of Two Popes,” recounts the experience of being close to Pope John Paul II and Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. The book reveals that the now Saint John Paul mused about retiring as pope and Benedict’s love for playing the piano and stray cats.

Looking forward to 10 years of Summorum Pontificum

A pilgrimage is being organized to mark the 10th anniversary of Summorum Pontificum, the document by Benedict XVI aimed at broadening access to the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass. According to one of the organizers the document “was not an instrument to divide” but to unite.

Francis and Trump: Latest in tumultuous Vatican-U.S. relationship

When Pope Francis meets Donald Trump, it will be the latest chapter in a story that goes back to George Washington. The Vatican and the United States have never seen eye to eye on everything, but they both understand the important role each has to play in international affairs.

The role of religious freedom today
- Church in the US, Commentary
- May 16, 2017
The former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See (2005-2008), Francis Rooney, says due to its stabilizing role in society, religious freedom can be used as a “soft power” weapon to deter extremist ideologies, as evidenced by Holy See diplomacy. Rooney points to the Vatican using inter-religious dialogue as a platform to nurture an exchange of ideas oriented toward finding an Islamic rationale to combat extremist ideology.
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Cardinal Bertone talks about the third secret of Fatima
- Catholic News Agency, Pope in Fatima, Vatican
- May 13, 2017
The “third secret of Fatima” refers to a message during the apparitions predicting suffering and persecution of the Pope and the Church. Unlike the first two secrets – a vision of hell and a prediction of World War II – the third secret was not initially revealed by Sister Lucia, one of the three children Mary visited in 1917.
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Fatima, the Marian Age, and the Devil’s Century
- Commentary, Pope in Fatima
- May 12, 2017
In the great slaughterhouse of the twentieth century, the sheer scale of lethal evil, organized above all in the communist regimes, appeared to have loosed Satan himself in the world. In this context, the apparitions of Fatima were addressed directly to the wickedness of the twentieth century, as well as to the wickedness of sin that lurks in all of history.
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