https://www.scmp.com/rss/271272/feed Benedict XVI was born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger on April 16, 1927, in Marktl am Inn, Germany. He was the 265th Pope, having been elected in April 2005 following the death of Pope John Paul II. At 14, Ratzinger was conscripted into the Hitler Youth, a legal requirement. In 1945, he deserted the German army and was taken prisoner by the U.S. Army. Ratzinger received a doctorate in theology at the University of Munich in 1953, having been ordained as a priest two years earlier. He is a Conservative... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Gloria Tso Gloria Tso Yves Saint Laurent famously once said that fashion fades, but style is eternal. For designer Filippo Sorcinelli, who fashions garments for one of the world’s most revered religious figures, that statement carries even greater weight. Having dressed three popes – Benedict, Francis and now Leo – for some of their most notable appearances for the better part of two decades, Sorcinelli, 50, is now affectionately known as the pope’s tailor, his intricately embroidered liturgical vestments akin to the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/icons-influencers/article/3349975/designer-filippo-sorcinelli-dressing-last-three-popes-interview?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/icons-influencers/article/3349975/designer-filippo-sorcinelli-dressing-last-three-popes-interview?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2026 19:00:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pope Leo lifted a wooden cross and held it aloft from his waist at the start of the 14 stations of the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum on his first Good Friday as pontiff, marking the first time in decades that a pope has set out to carry the cross to every station. “I think it will be an important sign because of what the pope represents, a spiritual leader in the world today, and for this voice, that everyone wants to hear, that says Christ still suffers,” Leo told reporters this week... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3349008/pope-leo-carries-cross-full-good-friday-procession-first-do-so-decades?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3349008/pope-leo-carries-cross-full-good-friday-procession-first-do-so-decades?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 20:50:00 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pope Leo XIV marked the 56th anniversary of man’s arrival on the moon on Sunday with a visit to the Vatican astronomical observatory in Castel Gandolfo and a call to astronaut Buzz Aldrin. After praying the Sunday Angelus at his summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, Leo headed to the astronomical observatory located in the Pontifical Villas, where he took a close look at the telescopes that have supported celestial exploration from a faith-based perspective for decades. The pontiff was accompanied... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3318937/pope-marks-56th-anniversary-moon-landing-observatory-visit-call-buzz-aldrin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3318937/pope-marks-56th-anniversary-moon-landing-observatory-visit-call-buzz-aldrin?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Jul 2025 23:51:24 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pope Leo asked on Sunday for prayers for China’s Catholics to be in communion with the Holy See, as he made his first public remarks about one of the thorniest foreign policy issues facing his new pontificate. History’s first American pope recalled that on Saturday the Catholic Church marked a special feast day to pray for the church in China. Pope Benedict XVI had initiated the feast day as part of his efforts to unify China’s estimated 12 million Catholics who were divided between an official,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3311757/pope-leo-prays-chinese-catholics-be-communion-rome?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3311757/pope-leo-prays-chinese-catholics-be-communion-rome?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 May 2025 20:21:04 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pope Leo XIV called for a genuine and just peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, in his first Sunday noon blessing as pontiff that featured some symbolic gestures suggesting a message of unity in a polarised Catholic Church. “I, too, address the world’s great powers by repeating the ever-present call ‘never again war’,” Leo said from the loggia of St Peter’s Basilica to an estimated 100,000 people below. It was the first time that Leo had returned to the loggia since he first... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3309936/pope-calls-peace-ukraine-gaza-symbolically-rich-blessing-mothers-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3309936/pope-calls-peace-ukraine-gaza-symbolically-rich-blessing-mothers-day?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 May 2025 22:49:59 +0000 Pope Francis, hospitalised with pneumonia in both lungs, slept “all night long and continues to rest” after suffering two bouts of acute respiratory failure, the Vatican said on Tuesday. The 88-year-old pope was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 with bronchitis, which developed into pneumonia in both lungs, sparking alarm across the globe. On Monday, the pope “experienced two episodes of acute respiratory failure, caused by a significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3300901/pope-francis-had-two-episodes-acute-respiratory-insufficiency-vatican-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3300901/pope-francis-had-two-episodes-acute-respiratory-insufficiency-vatican-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Mar 2025 18:30:55 +0000 Pope Francis did some work during his fourth day in hospital Monday, but the 88-year-old faces a “complex clinical picture” that would require a longer than expected stay, the Vatican has said. The head of the Catholic Church was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday with bronchitis, the latest of a series of health issues in recent years. In a statement earlier Monday, the Vatican said tests had confirmed “a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract that has led to a further... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3299051/pope-francis-condition-complex-hospital-stay-extended-vatican-confirms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3299051/pope-francis-condition-complex-hospital-stay-extended-vatican-confirms?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Feb 2025 16:46:28 +0000 Pope Francis on Sunday renewed his calls for the release of Israeli hostages and an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as fresh truce negotiations between Israel and Hamas were due to begin. “I appeal once again that access to humanitarian aid be ensured to Gaza, and call once more for the prompt release of the hostages seized on October 7 and for an immediate ceasefire in the Strip,” the 87-year-old said in his Easter message in the Vatican, as concerns persist over his health. After... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3257346/pope-francis-leads-easter-vigil-vatican-after-health-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3257346/pope-francis-leads-easter-vigil-vatican-after-health-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Mar 2024 20:02:45 +0000 Pope Francis turned 87 on Sunday, ending a year that saw big milestones in his efforts to reform the Catholic Church as well as health scares that raise questions about his future as pope. Francis celebrated his birthday with cake during a festive audience with children on Sunday morning, and there were “Happy Birthday” banners in St Peter’s Square during his weekly noon blessing. One early present came on Saturday, when a Vatican tribunal handed down a mix of guilty verdicts and acquittals in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3245402/pope-francis-87th-birthday-ends-big-year-efforts-reform-church-cement-his-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3245402/pope-francis-87th-birthday-ends-big-year-efforts-reform-church-cement-his-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Dec 2023 21:40:35 +0000 Pope Francis has come to the defence of the late pope John Paul II who was accused in a recent documentary film of ignoring allegations of abuse by priests and protecting them by transferring them. Francis said the former pope, who was born Karol Wojtyla in Poland, is “these days the object of insulting and unfounded insinuations”. The Catholic Church leader defended the late pope on Sunday before the faithful in St Peter’s Square in Rome. Francis did not say, however, to which accusations he... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3217272/pope-francis-complains-about-unfounded-accusations-against-john-paul-ii?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3217272/pope-francis-complains-about-unfounded-accusations-against-john-paul-ii?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Apr 2023 21:38:08 +0000 Pope Francis marks 10 years as head of the Roman Catholic Church on Monday celebrating Mass with cardinals in the chapel of the Vatican’s Santa Marta hotel where he has lived since his election. The Argentina-born Francis, 86, became the first Latin American pontiff on March 13, 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI who had become the first pope in six centuries to resign. “It seems like yesterday,” he said in a podcast by Vatican News broadcast on Monday. “Time flies. When you gather up today, it is... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3213357/seems-yesterday-pope-francis-marks-10th-anniversary-mass-and-podcast?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3213357/seems-yesterday-pope-francis-marks-10th-anniversary-mass-and-podcast?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Mar 2023 08:54:33 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. The former Pope Benedict died on the last day of 2022, raising mixed feelings among Catholics as we also celebrate the start of 2023. I would like to emphasise three often overlooked aspects of his... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3205324/china-iraq-legacy-and-lessons-former-pope-benedict?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3205324/china-iraq-legacy-and-lessons-former-pope-benedict?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Jan 2023 03:30:13 +0000 Pope Emeritus Benedict’s last words were “Lord, I love you,” his long-time secretary said, quoting a nurse who helped care for the 95-year-old former pontiff in his final hours. Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, a German prelate who lived in the Vatican monastery where Benedict took up residence after his 2013 retirement, said the nurse recounted hearing Benedict utter those words at about 3am on Saturday. The retired pope died later that morning. “Benedict XVI, with a faint voice but in a very... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3205280/benedicts-last-words-revealed-ex-pope-lies-state-vatican?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3205280/benedicts-last-words-revealed-ex-pope-lies-state-vatican?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Jan 2023 03:51:24 +0000 Pope Francis marked the Roman Catholic Church’s traditional World Day of Peace on Sunday but the start of the new year at the Vatican was overshadowed by the death of his predecessor, Benedict. Francis presided at a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica as the body of Benedict, who died on Saturday at the age of 95, was being prepared for three days of public viewing in the same church starting on Monday. In accordance with Benedict’s wishes, his funeral on Thursday will be simple, solemn and sober. It... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3205250/pope-francis-marks-new-year-vatican-prepares-mourn-benedict?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3205250/pope-francis-marks-new-year-vatican-prepares-mourn-benedict?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Jan 2023 11:20:31 +0000 Former Pope Benedict died on Saturday in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican, a spokesman for the Holy See said. “With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9.34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican,” the spokesman said in a written statement. Former Pope Benedict, 95, was the first pontiff in 600 years to resign, leaving behind a Catholic Church battered by sexual abuse scandals, mired in mismanagement and polarised between... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3205190/former-pope-benedict-has-died-aged-95?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3205190/former-pope-benedict-has-died-aged-95?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Dec 2022 10:07:34 +0000 Pope Francis said on Wednesday that the former pontiff Benedict XVI, 95, is “very ill”, and urged people to pray for him before going to be by his side. Benedict, who in 2013 became the first pontiff to resign in six centuries, has been in increasingly frail health. “I would like to ask all of you to pray a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict”, Francis said at the end of his general audience at the Vatican. “Remember him, because he is very ill, asking the Lord to console and support... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3204848/pope-says-ex-pontiff-benedict-very-ill-urges-prayer-he-rushes-his-side?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3204848/pope-says-ex-pontiff-benedict-very-ill-urges-prayer-he-rushes-his-side?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Dec 2022 12:40:43 +0000 Thousands of people gathered in St Peter’s Square on Sunday as Pope Francis presided over the beatification of John Paul I, the so-called “Smiling Pope” who led the Catholic Church for just 33 days before dying in contested circumstances. John Paul I, the son of a bricklayer from the Dolomite mountains and a particularly warm and pastoral figure, was elected pope on August 26, 1978, at the age of 65. He died just 33 days later, on September 28, 1978, of a heart attack, making him the shortest... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3191302/pope-francis-beatifies-smiling-former-pope-john-paul-i?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3191302/pope-francis-beatifies-smiling-former-pope-john-paul-i?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Sep 2022 10:48:46 +0000 Cardinal Angelo Sodano, a controversial Vatican power broker for more than a quarter of a century who was accused of covering up one of the Catholic Church’s most notorious sex abusers, has died at the age of 94. Sodano, who had been ill for some time and died on Friday night, was secretary of state under two popes – John Paul II and Benedict XVI – holding the number two post in the Vatican hierarchy for 16 years between 1990 and 2006. It was widely believed that Sodano, together with John... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3179577/cardinal-sodano-controversial-right-hand-man-two-popes-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3179577/cardinal-sodano-controversial-right-hand-man-two-popes-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 May 2022 15:53:16 +0000 Pope Francis denounced fake news about Covid-19 and vaccines on Friday, blasting the “distortion of reality based on fear” but also urging that people who believe such lies are helped to understand true scientific facts. Francis met with Catholic journalists who have formed a fact-checking network to try to combat misinformation about the pandemic. Francis has frequently called for responsible journalism that searches for the truth and respects individuals, and his meeting with the “Catholic... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3165197/coronavirus-pope-francis-denounces-fake-covid-19-vaccine-news?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3165197/coronavirus-pope-francis-denounces-fake-covid-19-vaccine-news?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Jan 2022 14:30:03 +0000 A long-awaited report on sexual abuse in Germany’s Munich diocese on Thursday faulted retired Pope Benedict XVI’s handling of four cases when he was archbishop in the 1970s and 1980s. The law firm that drew up the report said that Benedict strongly denies any wrongdoing. The report also faulted the current archbishop, a prominent ally of Pope Francis, in two cases. The archdiocese commissioned the report from law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl nearly two years ago, with a mandate to look into... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3164141/former-pope-accused-misconduct-over-handling-sexual-abuse-cases?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3164141/former-pope-accused-misconduct-over-handling-sexual-abuse-cases?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jan 2022 13:55:00 +0000 A First Nations group in British Columbia, Canada said on Wednesday a search using ground-penetrating radar has found 182 human remains in unmarked graves at a site close to a former residential school that housed Indigenous children taken from their families. It follows two other reports of similar massive findings at two other such church-run schools, one of more than 600 unmarked graves and another of 215 bodies. In a news release, the Lower Kootenay Band said it began using the technology... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3139372/more-bodies-found-near-canada-residential-school?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3139372/more-bodies-found-near-canada-residential-school?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Jun 2021 19:34:39 +0000 Pope Francis raised 13 new cardinals, including the first African-American, to the highest rank in the Catholic hierarchy on Saturday and immediately warned them not to use their titles for corrupt, personal gain, presiding over a ceremony marked from beginning to end by the coronavirus pandemic. Two new “princes” of the church, from Brunei and the Philippines, did not make it to Rome because of Covid-19 travel restrictions, though they were shown on giant screens watching it from home in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3111794/pope-francis-prepares-elevate-13-new-cardinals-including-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3111794/pope-francis-prepares-elevate-13-new-cardinals-including-first?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Nov 2020 21:42:38 +0000 The Vatican on Tuesday denied a cover-up over a US ex-cardinal accused of sexual abuse, admitting papal mistakes were made but saying Theodore McCarrick’s crimes had for years been nothing but rumours. A 450-page report on who knew what – and whether three consecutive popes overlooked McCarrick’s abuse of at least one teenage boy and a number of male seminarians – accused senior US clergy of providing “inaccurate and incomplete information to the Holy See” about his behaviour. The influential... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3109286/vatican-denies-cover-abuse-us-ex-cardinal-theodore-mccarrick?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3109286/vatican-denies-cover-abuse-us-ex-cardinal-theodore-mccarrick?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Nov 2020 15:10:11 +0000 Former Pope Benedict wants his name removed as co-author of a new book on the issue of priestly celibacy, his personal secretary said, in the latest twist to a saga that has kept the Roman Catholic world riveted. Archbishop Georg Ganswein told Reuters that, at the former pope’s behest, he had asked the principal author of the book, Cardinal Robert Sarah, to contact the publishers to make the necessary changes. The book, From the Depths of Our Hearts, was due to be published in France on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3046126/ex-pope-benedict-wants-name-removed-bombshell-book?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3046126/ex-pope-benedict-wants-name-removed-bombshell-book?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jan 2020 02:27:24 +0000 Former pope Benedict has publicly urged his successor Pope Francis not to open the Catholic priesthood up to married men, in a plea that stunned Vatican experts. The ex-pontiff, who retired in 2013, issued the defence of clerical celibacy in a book written with arch-conservative Cardinal Robert Sarah, extracts of which were published in exclusive by France’s Le Figaro. Benedict’s intervention is extraordinary, given he had promised to remain “hidden from the world” when he retired and pledged... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3045775/former-pope-benedict-rejects-allowing-married-men-join-priesthood?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3045775/former-pope-benedict-rejects-allowing-married-men-join-priesthood?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Jan 2020 22:18:43 +0000 The Two Popes has become an audience favourite on this autumn’s film festival circuit. It took the best film prize at the Middleburg Film Festival in the US state of Virginia in October, and it’s easy to see why. The film is a lively, intriguing and insistently humanistic flight of fancy, featuring imagined conversations between hard-line conservative Pope Benedict XVI and his more progressive successor, Pope Francis. It brims with wit, warmth and some tantalising what-ifs. Whether the fact that... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3040883/two-popes-anthony-hopkins-jonathan-pryce-joy-watch-popes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3040883/two-popes-anthony-hopkins-jonathan-pryce-joy-watch-popes?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Dec 2019 18:00:15 +0000 Pope Benedict XVI has ventured out of retirement to publish an essay blaming the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal on the sexual revolution of the 1960s and church laws that protected priests. His analysis was immediately criticised as “catastrophically irresponsible” – a conflict with efforts by his successor, Pope Francis, to lead the church out of its crisis. “Why did paedophilia reach such proportions? Ultimately, the reason is the absence of God,” Benedict wrote, in the 6,000-word essay... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3005795/retired-pope-benedict-blames-catholic-churchs-child-abuse-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3005795/retired-pope-benedict-blames-catholic-churchs-child-abuse-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Apr 2019 19:28:17 +0000 Stung by accusations of spreading “fake news”, the Vatican has released the complete letter by Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI about Pope Francis after coming under blistering criticism for selectively citing it in a press release and digitally manipulating a photograph of it. The Vatican Secretariat for Communication, which had come under sharp criticism all week for blurring part of a photograph of the letter and for withholding another section, said in a statement there had been “no intent of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2137688/vatican-bows-pressure-lettergate-scandal-turns-public-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2137688/vatican-bows-pressure-lettergate-scandal-turns-public-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Mar 2018 03:50:25 +0000 Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has emerged from his self-imposed silence inside the Vatican walls to publish a lengthy letter to one of Italy's best-known atheists. In it, he denies having covered up for sexually abusive priests and discusses everything from evolution to the figure of Jesus Christ. Excerpts of the letter were published on Tuesday by La Repubblica, the same newspaper which just two weeks ago published a similar letter from Pope Francis to its own atheist publisher. Benedict wrote the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1317735/atheists-challenge-prompts-benedict-xvi-break-self-imposed-silence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1317735/atheists-challenge-prompts-benedict-xvi-break-self-imposed-silence?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The Vatican Diaries by John Thavis Viking Benedict XVI sprang a huge surprise when he stepped down from his papal office, the first pope in 600 years to do so; he no longer had the energy for his task, he said. Now, author John Thavis provides the background for the decision in his excellent The Vatican Diaries, which concludes just before Benedict's renunciation. Thavis, who was the Vatican correspondent for the United States Catholic News Service for more than 25 years, recounts the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/books/article/1207649/book-review-vatican-diaries-john-thavis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/books/article/1207649/book-review-vatican-diaries-john-thavis?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Pope Francis flew in to a papal residence near Rome yesterday for an unprecedented encounter with "pope emeritus" Benedict - the first time a pontiff has met his predecessor. The talks in the town of Castel Gandolfo round off a historic few weeks for the Roman Catholic Church after Benedict became the first pope to resign in 600 years and only the second to do so by choice in 2,000 years. The last pope to resign - Celestine V in 1294 - was locked up and perhaps killed off by his successor,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1198287/pope-meets-benedict-historic-lunch?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1198287/pope-meets-benedict-historic-lunch?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Victims of clergy sexual abuse urged newly-elected Pope Francis to reform the Catholic Church and declare "zero tolerance" for sex crimes as his first official act. "St Francis was the greatest reformer in the history of the church, Pope Francis must do the same," the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or Snap, said in a statement. US-based Snap warned that millions of children remained at risk from paedophile priests because the Church had not yet reversed long-standing policies of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1190954/victims-clergy-sexual-abuse-say-millions-children-remain-risk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1190954/victims-clergy-sexual-abuse-say-millions-children-remain-risk?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 In addition to being the first non-European pope for almost 13 centuries, the new pope's choice of name sets him apart - and establishes a link to the South China coast. Jorge Mario Bergoglio is Latin America's first pope, and his decision to become the first pope ever to go by the name Francis is seen as highly significant. The chosen name draws on the legacy of St Francis of Assisi, the 13th-century founder of the Franciscan Order and a symbol of asceticism. However, it may also be seen as a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1190966/papal-name-francis-honours-saint-who-brought-catholicism-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1190966/papal-name-francis-honours-saint-who-brought-catholicism-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Pope Benedict is gone but far from forgotten as cardinals begin voting for candidates to replace him, with his personal secretary Georg Gänswein one of the last to leave the Sistine Chapel before the start of the conclave. "He has already influenced the outcome," said Vatican expert Bruno Bartoloni, noting that all 115 cardinals who began their secret conclave on Tuesday were named either by Benedict or his predecessor and ideological soulmate Pope John Paul II. Indeed all three cardinals... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1190093/pope-benedict-gone-not-forgotten?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1190093/pope-benedict-gone-not-forgotten?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 India's Catholics may account for less than 2 per cent of the country's population but they will be Asia's most powerful voice in the election to choose a new pope. Five of the nine Asian cardinals with the right to vote at the upcoming papal enclave hail from India, an overwhelmingly Hindu nation where Catholics are also outnumbered by Muslims and Sikhs. Only Italy, America and Germany will be represented by more cardinal electors when they meet in Vatican City. With around 17 million... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1187722/india-asias-unlikely-power-broker-election-new-pope?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1187722/india-asias-unlikely-power-broker-election-new-pope?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Cardinals have set Tuesday as the start date for the conclave to elect the next pope, signaling that they were wrapping up a week of discussions about the problems of the church and who best among them might lead it. The conclave date was set on Friday afternoon during a vote by the College of Cardinals. Tuesday will begin with a Mass in the morning in St Peter’s Basilica, followed by the first balloting in the afternoon. In the past 100 years, no conclave has lasted longer than five days. That... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1186765/cardinals-set-tuesday-start-date-conclave?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1186765/cardinals-set-tuesday-start-date-conclave?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:13:29 +0000 Tsang should use surplus to help the poor With his sixth budget, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah failed to alleviate the problem of the wealth gap in Hong Kong. Tsang obviously feels it is important to be cautious, but there are times when you can be over-cautious. Citizens from low-income families will not have been happy with the budget. Despite having a large surplus, Tsang failed to announce measures that would help the poor. Again we had one-off handouts, when long-term policies... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1185778/letters-editor-march-8-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1185778/letters-editor-march-8-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Clergy sex abuse victims have listed a "dirty dozen" potential papal candidates and urged the Roman Catholic Church to "get serious" about protecting children, helping victims and exposing corruption. "We want to urge Catholic prelates to stop pretending that the worst is over regarding the clergy sex abuse and cover-up crisis," said David Clohessy, director of the United States-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. We want to urge Catholic prelates to stop pretending... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1185624/clergy-sex-abuse-victims-list-dirty-dozen-likely-papal-candidates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1185624/clergy-sex-abuse-victims-list-dirty-dozen-likely-papal-candidates?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Making bespoke clothes is tricky when you don't know who will wear them. But Gammarelli, the Roman tailor that has dressed every pope since 1922, gets around that by catering for every eventuality. Unveiled in its window on Sunday were three ivory cassocks in small, medium and large - a choice which it hopes will keep all options covered no matter who emerges from the Sistine Chapel as the next leader of the Catholic Church. Alongside the robes would go a white skullcap, a red velvet cape and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1180464/popes-tailor-has-all-cassock-sizes-stocked-successor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1180464/popes-tailor-has-all-cassock-sizes-stocked-successor?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The resignation of Britain's top Catholic cleric over claims of sexual misconduct has dealt the church a "serious blow", his replacement admits. Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who resigned last week as the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, admitted on Sunday that his sexual conduct had "fallen below the standards expected of me". Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, who has temporarily taken over O'Brien's role as administrator of the Archdiocese of Edinburgh and St Andrews, on Monday told an evening... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1180461/british-cardinals-sin-severe-blow-church?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1180461/british-cardinals-sin-severe-blow-church?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Catholic cardinals yesterday pressed for more information about the "Vatileaks" scandal as a series of meetings got under way to prepare for a conclave to elect a new pontiff after Pope Benedict's sudden resignation. Even before the discussions began, the first day was overshadowed by revelations of another scandal, with Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien admitting that he had engaged in sexual misconduct not befitting a priest, archbishop or a person of his position. Sex scandals will be among the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1177219/cardinals-begin-pre-conclave-talks-electing-pope-vatican?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1177219/cardinals-begin-pre-conclave-talks-electing-pope-vatican?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Australia's most senior Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, has criticised Pope Benedict, describing his historic resignation as destabilising and questioning his governance skills. Pell, Australia's representative at this month's secret conclave to elect a successor, said Benedict was a "brilliant teacher" but "government wasn't his strong point". "I think I prefer somebody who can lead the church and pull it together a bit," Pell said in a candid interview. He pointed to the so-called "Vatileaks"... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1163686/stinging-words-pope-top-australian-cleric-george-pell?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1163686/stinging-words-pope-top-australian-cleric-george-pell?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Draw held for subsidised homes Almost 60,000 applicants are eagerly waiting to find out if their number has come up in the ballot for flats in the Housing Society's latest project. Some 988 flats will become available at Greenview Villa in Tsing Yi. Families earning no more than HK$40,000 and single people earning HK$25,000 or less were eligible to apply. The flats are priced at 30 per cent below the market rate.   Details expected of papal conclave More details will emerge of when a successor... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1160615/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1160615/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday admitted “stormy waters” during his pontificate as he held his last audience in St Peter’s Square before tens of thousands of pilgrims on the eve of his historic resignation. Benedict toured the Vatican plaza in his famous “popemobile”, stopping to kiss children and waving to the crowd of more than 100,000 gathered under a bright, cloudless sky. Some in the throng held up huge banners with messages such as “Benedict, we’ll miss you!” and “The pope is the heart of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1159893/pope-bids-farewell-huge-crowds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1159893/pope-bids-farewell-huge-crowds?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Feb 2013 09:56:03 +0000 Hope for handouts in budget Hongkongers will be keeping one eye on their wallets and another on the television as Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah delivers his budget plan. Tsang is expected to take advantage of the healthy surplus in the government account to offer handouts and tax breaks, although government sources have hinted that these will be less generous than last year's.   EU debates banking regulations Members of the European Parliament and diplomats will stage talks in Brussels... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1159424/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1159424/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Pope Benedict XVI will have the official title of “pope emeritus” and continue wearing the papal white cassock after he resigns on Thursday – the first leader of the Catholic Church to do so since the Middle Ages, the Vatican said. Benedict can still be addressed as “Your Holiness Benedict XVI” and will have the additional title of “Roman pontiff emeritus”, spokesman Federico Lombardi told the Vatican press corps on Tuesday. Benedict can also still wear a white cassock normally reserved only for... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1159304/benedict-become-pope-emeritus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1159304/benedict-become-pope-emeritus?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:55:24 +0000 Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Britain's most senior Catholic cleric, resigned with immediate effect in the wake of allegations of inappropriate behaviour. O'Brien announced in November that he was planning to resign in view of his 75th birthday next month, but he said on Monday: "The Holy Father has now decided that my resignation will take effect today, 25 February." O'Brien, who is leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, added: "Looking back over my years of ministry: For any good I have been... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1158553/britains-top-catholic-cleric-cardinal-keith-obrien-resigns-amid-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1158553/britains-top-catholic-cleric-cardinal-keith-obrien-resigns-amid-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Pope Benedict delivered an emotional last Sunday prayer in St Peter's Square, saying God had told him to devote himself to prayer but assuring supporters he would not "abandon" the church. Casting a shadow over his appearance, however, were allegations of "inappropriate behaviour" by Britain's most senior Catholic cleric, Cardinal Keith O'Brien. Tens of thousands of supporters turned out for the historic prayers ahead of the pope's formal resignation on Thursday, often interrupting the pope with... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1157829/pope-benedict-vows-not-abandon-church-last-sunday-prayer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1157829/pope-benedict-vows-not-abandon-church-last-sunday-prayer?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Affluence not tied to growth in population The government is sending out conflicting signals. On the one hand, we face a shortage of everything: we compete for hospital beds, milk powder, school places, housing, and even when we die, we compete for a place for our ashes. The entire policy address was devoted to how we attempt to address these problems. Then all of a sudden, the government says we need more people. More people means more shortages. I always sympathise with the younger generation,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1156594/letters-editor-february-23-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1156594/letters-editor-february-23-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Beijing on Monday called for Pope Benedict XVI’s successor not to interfere in China’s internal affairs, highlighting enduring tensions with the Vatican after the pontiff’s surprise resignation. Asked about the pope’s decision to step down, which stunned the world when it was announced last Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the Vatican “should not interfere in China’s internal affairs”. The phrase is often a reference to perceived challenges to the authority of the ruling... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1153266/china-pope-reaction-reflects-tensions-vatican?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1153266/china-pope-reaction-reflects-tensions-vatican?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Feb 2013 11:37:58 +0000