Will the Pope be swayed by bus ads?

In the run up to Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Britain, scheduled to take place later this month, a group called Catholic Women's Ordination (CWO) has unveiled a London bus ad campaign that features signs on the exterior of buses saying "Pope Benedict -- Ordain Women Now!"

The campaign cost the CWO ₤15,000 (Can. $24,332 / € 18,003) for a month's worth of ads. Pat Brown, a spokeswoman for the group, said, "We do not want to be disruptive, but I think the church has got to change or it will not survive."

Meanwhile, the Vatican has asked people planning to attend the Pope's public events in Britain not to bring alcohol or musical instruments. On the other hand, flags and folding chairs are encouraged.

Pope breaks wrist

Pope Benedict XVI, who is holidaying in the Aosta Valley, has broken his right wrist after a fall in his chalet.

After managing to eat breakfast and celebrate Mass without medical intervention, the Pope, 82, went to the hospital in Aosta, where a surgery was performed on his wrist. The operation was reportedly successful.

[This post was written in Istanbul].

Pope prays for peace

In his annual "Urbi et Orbi" (to the City and the World) speech, Pope Benedict XVI has called for a peaceful resolution of conflicts raging in Israel, Palestine, Iraq, Africa and other places. He also spoke out against terrorism, and against violence towards women and children.

The Pope called on politicians to "seek and find humane, just and lasting solutions" to conflicts that are "destroying the internal fabric of many countries and embittering international relations". The Pope also prayed for consolation to be given "to those who live in the darkness of poverty, injustice and war" (BBC).

Is the Pope coming to Quebec next year?

Marc Cardinal Ouellet, the Archbishop of Quebec and the primate of the Catholic Church in Canada, is planning to organise an open-air mass attended by 100,000 people in Quebec City next year as part of it's 400-anniversary celebrations. He has asked Pope Benedict XVI to attend and preside over the mass.

Ouellet said that the mass "will certainly be the culmination of our efforts to re-evangelize Quebec". He explained that "there is a need in Quebec to reconnect with our Christian roots and to revive the Catholic identity" (Windsor Star).

I think, though, that it would take more than a mass to "re-evangelize" Quebec, which has turned into a highly secular society in the last few decades. Big events such as this one may attract the public's attention for a few days or weeks until the next major headline comes along, but if the Church is serious about reviving Quebec's Catholic identity, etc., it has to show its relevance to people's lives, something it has, to some extent at least, failed to do since the Quiet Revolution.

Abdullah of Saudi Arabia visits Vatican

Saudi king Abdullah visited the Vatican today and met with Pope Benedict XVI, in what was the first ever meeting between a pope and a reigning king of Saudi Arabia. A Vatican spokesman later said the two leaders had had a "warm" meeting.

Benedict brought up the issue of the contributions of over a million Christian residents to Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah presented the Pope with a jewel-encrusted gold sword, while Benedict gave the king an engraving of the Vatican made in the 16th century in return. During their half-hour meeting, Abdullah and Benedict also discussed a possible "just solution" to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians (BBC).

Very encouraging. The more mainstream voices emphasise what is common between Muslims and Christians, the harder it should be for extremists on either side to try to stir up conflict.

Bush meets Pope

In a visit to the Vatican, George W. Bush has met Pope Benedict XVI for the first time. The Pope expressed concern about the plight of Christians in Iraq, and called for a "regional and negotiated solution to the conflicts that afflict" the region.

"I was talking to a very smart, loving man," Bush observed (BBC).

Now if only Bush could learn something from him.

[This post was written in Toronto.]

Pope in Brazil

Pope Benedict XVI is visiting Brazil, the country with the largest number of Catholics in the world. He is due to canonise Brother Antônio Galvaão, who is set to become the first Brazilian-born Catholic saint. Catholics account for 64% of Brazil's population.

On 13 May, the Pope is scheduled to open a meeting of about 200 bishops from Latin America and the Caribbean. The main topic under discussion is expected to be the church's steady and large-scale loss of members to various evangelical denominations. Abortion is likely to be another topic under discussion, as politicians in Mexico and Brazil have made several moves to weaken their countries strict anti-abortion laws (BBC).

Man whose eye was "miraculously" healed meets Pope

Six years ago, Phil McCord, facilities manager at a convent near Terre Haute, Indiana, had his eye healed by a miracle, or so he believes. He prayed to Mother Théodore Guérin (1798-1856), who founded the convent. After his prayer, his eye was healed, and 12 different doctors who subsequently examined him were unable to explain the recovery scientifically.

As a result of this reported miracle, which was the second claimed for Mother Théodore, the Catholic Church canonised her in 2006. St Théodore's remains have been disinterred, and placed in a shrine at the convent.

For his part, McCord is planning to convert to Catholicism. He recently met briefly with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Unfortunately, however, his dry cleaner had given him the wrong pair of trousers, and so he had to meet the Pope wearing trousers that were two inches too short (BBC).

Khatami visits the Vatican

Former Iranian President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami is visiting Vatican City, where he has met with Pope Benedict XVI.

In the coming week, the Vatican is planning to host a seminar for diplomats from several Muslim countries, where they will be told about the Catholic Church's interfaith and inter-cultural dialogue initiatives (BBC).

I should add that Khatami's visit can also be seen as part of a continuing "dialogue between civilisations", which is his preferred alternative to the "clash of civilisations" posited by Samuel Huntington and others.

Pope stands by archbishop who was mailed a bullet

Pope Benedict XVI has called Angelo Bagnasco, the Archbishop of Genoa, to express his support, after Bagnasco received a bullet in the mail for opposing an Italian parliamentary bill that would give more rights to unmarried couples, including same-sex ones. Along with the bullet, the package also contained a picture of Bagnasco stamped with a swastika (BBC).

It's odd when liberals adopt fascist scare tactics, eh?

Pope addresses global conflicts

Pope Benedict XVI has used his Easter address at Vatican City's St Peter's Square to discuss and condemn conflicts in Iraq and elsewhere in the world. The Pope said that "Nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn by continual slaughter as the population flees."

He praised the leaderships of Israel and the Palestinians for continuing talks aimed at reaching a peace agreement.

He also discussed the crises in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zimbabwe (BBC).

I'm glad the Pope isn't silent about the various troubled regions of the globe, but I wish the Catholic Church did more to mediate peace and to "speak truth to power".

Putin visits saint's grave

Vladimir Putin has visited a church containing the remains of St. Nicholas of Bari in Italy (Газета.ru).

Earlier, he met both Pope Benedict XVI and Prime Minister Romano Prodi. What's he driving at? One, his visiting the Pope while Patriarch Alexiy of Moscow refuses to meet Benedict makes Putin look like an enlightened man internationally. Secondly, it turns out that the church in Bari that holds the body of St. Nicholas used to belong to the Russian Orthodox Church, so the visit might make some of his domestic constituency happy.