All tag results for 'pope benedict xvi'

Ha. What a surprise!

While in Spain on Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI criticized Spanish laws allowing gay marriage, easier access to abortions and faster divorces.

Benedict was on his way to inaugurate Barcelona's newest basilica, the Sagrada Familia, while 200 gay and lesbian protesters staged a "kiss in." And a few hundred women also showed up to protest their second-class status in the church and the Vatican's opposition to birth control.

He has spoken out several times in Spain because he feels that the country's stance on these social issues will determine the Vatican's influence in Europe.

Benedict added that families are built on the "indissoluble love of a man and a woman," and rallied against abortion adding that "the life of children (must) be defended as sacred and inviolable from the moment of their conception."

Booooo!

22-year-old nursing student Sergi Benavent said that he was participating in the demonstration to oppose those "who want to love in just one way. This is a peaceful demonstration that there are more ways of expressing one's love."

Truly inspirational.

[Image via Photo Pool/Anwar Hussein Collection/WENN.]

Tags: abortion, barcelona, divorce, gay marriage, pope benedict xvi, spain

So wonderful! And she sounds fantastic!

Susan Boyle had a dream come true today, when she was invited to sing for the Pope while he conducted his open air mass in Scotland (above)!

The mass, which had 65,000 people in attendance, was conducted in Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, Scotland, and Boyle was on hand to perform her hit, I Dreamed A Dream, as well as Catholic hymns Make Me a Channel of Your Peace and How Great Thou Art!

She says:

"It's something I've always dreamed of, it's something I've always wanted to do, and here I am, finally getting the chance."

Wonderful!

See, bb? Who needs to perform a stinky Lou Reed song when you get this kind of opportunity?!

Congratulations on achieving another dream of yours! We're thrilled for you, bb!

Tags: clip, glasgow, inspiration, lou reed, performance, pope benedict xvi, scotland, subo

Wowsa!

Susan Boyle will perform for Pope Benedict XVI during his trip to Scotland next month.

She will sing three times at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow on September 16 including the hymn "How Great Thou Art" and of course, "I Dreamed A Dream." A choir will also accompany the performance.

She says:

"To be able to sing for the pope is a great honor and something I've always dreamed of — it's indescribable. I think the 16th of September will stand out in my memory as something I've always wanted to do. I've always wanted to sing for His Holiness and I can't really put into words my happiness that this wish has come true at last."

Congrats, SuBo!

[Image via WENN.]

Tags: glasgow, performance, pope benedict xvi, religion, scotland

We're not trying to offend anyone, but….

Wow! He really is a horrible monster, isn't he??

Pope Benedict XVI was in Fatima, Portugal today, and despite the disgusting amount of child abuse he let slide in the name of Jesus, he maintained his lovely stance to 400,000 thousand people that abortion and same-sex marriage are the most "insidious and dangerous" threats facing the world today!

According to the pope, all true Catholics must promote the "indissoluble marriage between a man and woman" because they "help respond to some of the most insidious and dangerous threats to the common good today, alongside numerous other forms of commitment, such initiatives represent essential elements in the building of the civilization of love."

Look around, douchebag, because there are far more serious threats in the world - or you know, in your own church! But we all know how much you love to avoid THAT subject!

So, in conclusion, Benedict, you can suck it!

Or would you like that too much?

[Image via WENN.]

Tags: abortion, catholicism, child abuse, equal rights, evil, gay rights, ignorant, jesus, pope benedict xvi

Author and outspoken atheist, Richard Dawkins, has teamed with Christopher Hitchens and a group of lawyers who are determined to charge Pope Benedict XVI with crimes against humanity for his compliance in covering up sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church!

He says:

"This is a man whose first instinct when his priests are caught with their pants down is to cover up the scandal and damn the young victims to silence."

So true. Absolutely disgusting.

He and his team believe that Benedict will not be able to use diplomatic immunity because he is not actually a head of state, at least by United Nations standards.

Wow. It will certainly be interesting to see how this all plays out.

What do U think?? Should the Pope face charges because of his past actions??

[Image via WENN.]

Tags: catholic church, christopher hitchens, compliance, pope benedict xvi, priests, richard dawkins, sex scandal, united nations

Forget about priests abusing young children, The Vatican has bigger things to talk about, like The Beattles! Yes, really.

On the 40th anniversary of the group's break-up, The Vatican has forgiven The Beatles after publicly bashing them for their drug and crazed lifestyles.

The Vatican's newspaper L'Osservatore Romano stated in a front-page article:

"It's true they took drugs, lived life to excess because of their success, even said they were bigger than Jesus and put out mysterious messages, that were possibly even Satanic.

They may not have been the best example for the youth of the day but they were by no means the worse. Their beautiful melodies changed music and continue to give pleasure.

Thirteen albums changed the history of popular music and there is little else to add. The Beatles were the most famous and acclaimed band in the world."

WTF?!?

Why "forgive" The Beatles now? Seriously?!?

This little publicity stunt won't make people forget about the real issue at hand.

People want to hear what's going to happen to those abusive clergy and what exactly went on with all the cover-up reports.

Tags: anniversary, apology, drugs, misconduct, music, pope benedict xvi, publicity stunt, the vatican, wtf

The Catholic Church is defending Pope Benedict XVI from accusations of covering up sexual abuse scandals, but it's become increasingly difficult due to the media coverage.

And they're singling out the New York Times for "targeting the whole church, targeting the pope, and to that we must say `no' in the name of truth and in the name of justice," said Warsaw Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz.

Vienna's Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn also claims that Benedict "had a very clear line of not covering up but clearing up."

He continued:

"I admit that I often feel a sense of injustice these days. Why is the church being excoriated? Isn't there also abuse elsewhere? … And then I'm tempted to say: 'Yes, the media just don't like the church! Maybe there's even a conspiracy against the church?' But then I feel in my heart that no, that's not it."

The Vatican's daily newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, claims that these accusations are a "clear and despicable intention" by the media to strike at Benedict "at any cost."

And in the article posted on the Vatican's site on Wednesday, Cardinal William Levada, wrote, "I am not proud of America's newspaper of record, The New York Times, as a paragon of fairness."

But the Times has fired back!

"The allegations of abuse within the Catholic church are a serious subject, as the Vatican has acknowledged on many occasions," said spokeswoman Diane McNulty. "Any role the current pope may have played in responding to those allegations over the years is a significant aspect of this story."

[Image via WENN.]

Tags: catholic church, new york times, pope benedict xvi, the vatican