A clarification from the Pontifical Council on Christian Unity "The title ‘Patriarch of the West’ was adopted in the year 642 by Pope Theodore. Thereafter it appeared only occasionally and did not have a clear meaning. It flourished in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, in the context of a general increase in the Pope’s titles,…

A page of news, at a site for and about Afghan Christians The State Department speaks: “While we understand the complexity of a case like this and we certainly will respect the sovereignty of the Afghan authorities and the Afghan system, from an American point of view, people should be free to choose their own…

The preacher for the Papal Household, whose first sermon we’ve been featuring here, was in New Orleans earlier this month: Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the papal household, visited New Orleans in mid-March to view firsthand the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina and to interview survivors for a television program that airs each Saturday night…

Michael Paulson’s blog on Archbishop O’Malley’s morning: The cardinal-designate this morning led the Boston press corps on a walking tour of the Ponte Sant’Angelo (the Bridge of Angels), which he said was one of his favorite spots in Rome (in part, he confessed, because "it is a footbridge, so you can walk here without worrying…

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