EU to offer free trade to Palestinians

BRUSSELS: The European Union says it plans soon to grant duty-free access for Palestinian products.

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EU to offer free trade to Palestinians

Susan Boyle expected to sing for the Pope

LONDON: Singing sensation Susan Boyle is expected to perform for Pope Benedict during his visit to Britain, the Scottish church said on Thursday.

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Susan Boyle expected to sing for the Pope

Vatican Decries Plight of Mideast Christians

By Rachel DonadioIn a document presented here on Sunday by Pope Benedict XVI, bishops from across the Middle East decried the plight of Christians in the region, largely attributing their widespread exodus to the instability caused by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the war in Iraq and unrest in Lebanon.

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Vatican Decries Plight of Mideast Christians

Pope leads Easter Holy Week rituals in Rome

ROME: Pope Benedict XVI washed the feet of 12 priests during a Holy Thursday Last Supper Mass – one of a series of traditional Roman Catholic Holy Week rituals leading to Easter Sunday.

In the late afternoon ceremony at Rome”s Basilica of St John Lateran, the 82-year-old pontiff recalled Jesus” similar act of humility to his disciples at the last meal he shared with them before his death.

Through the gesture and his accompanying words, Jesus wanted to represent the ”world”s purification and reconciliation with God,” the pontiff said in his homily.

Jesus was also choosing the disciples as the first in a ”new priesthood,” Benedict added.

Earlier in another mass, the pontiff reminded modern-day priests of their duties – a call that comes amid a sexual abuse scandal that has shaken the church.

During the Chrism Mass in St Peter”s Basilica, Benedict blessed holy oils, which will be used in Catholic sacraments, including baptisms, confirmations and last rites for the dying.

”Kings and priests are anointed with oil, which is thus a sign of dignity and responsibility, and likewise of the strength that comes from God,” the leader of the world”s 1.1 billion Catholics said in his homily.

Benedict did not refer specifically to the scandal which stems from revelations of widespread sexual abuse of children by priests mainly in Ireland and Germany, but also of cases in Austria, Brazil and the United States.

The pontiff last month in a apostolic letter to Catholics in Ireland, apologized to victims of the abuse and rebuked bishops who failed to act against the perpetrators.

But the pontiff”s gesture has not quelled criticism, including allegations, some directed at Benedict himself, that a cover-up was staged to avoid shaming the Catholic church.

Benedict is scheduled to preside over the traditional Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession in Rome”s Colosseum on Good Friday and an Easter vigil at the Vatican on Saturday.

Pope ’sorry’ for Irish sex abuse

Pope Benedict XVI apologises to victims of child sex abuse by Catholic priests in Ireland and says bishops made “serious mistakes”.

There was no mention of any Vatican responsibility in the scandal and no specific punishments doled out for bishops blamed by victims and Irish government-ordered investigations for having covered up years of abuse.

In a pastoral letter to the Irish faithful, Benedict said: “I am truly sorry for the harm done to generations of Irish Catholics who suffered sinful and criminal abuse at the hands of priests, brothers and nuns.”

“It is understandable that you find it hard to forgive or be reconciled with the church,” he said. “In her name, I openly express the shame and remorse that we all feel.”

Benedict used his harshest words for the abusers themselves, saying they had betrayed the trust of the faithful, brought shame on the church and now must answer before God and civil authorities.

“Conceal nothing,” he exhorted them. “Openly acknowledge your guilt, submit yourselves to the demands of justice, but do not despair of God’s mercy.”

Benedict faulted their superiors, the Irish bishops, for having failed “sometimes grievously” to apply the church’s own law which calls for harsh punishments for child abusers, including defrocking them.

But he didn’t rebuke them specifically for having failed to report cases of abuse to police, saying only that serious mistakes were made and that now they must “continue to cooperate with civil authorities.”

“I recognize how difficult it was to grasp the extent and complexity of the problem, to obtain reliable information and to make the right decisions in the light of conflicting expert advice,” Benedict wrote.

“Nevertheless, it must be admitted that grave errors of judgment were made and failures of leadership occurred. And this has seriously undermined your credibility and effectiveness.”

While the letter doled out no punishment for the bishops, the pope did order a Vatican investigation into some diocese, seminaries and religious orders. Such a move is undertaken only when Rome considers a local church unable to deal with a problem on its own. The Vatican ordered such an “apostolic visitation” into U.S. seminaries after the U.S. clerical sex abuse scandal exploded in 2002.

Who We Are:Baptism Calls Us To Become Pope Benedict XVI

TrendPK.com Who We Are:Baptism Calls Us To Become Pope Benedict XVI:Under the Code of Canon Law for the Latin Church, Deacons, along with Bishops and Priests, are ordinary ministers of that gateway Sacrament. (CCL #861) The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that “Holy Baptism is the basis of the [...]

Denmark ups assistance to Pakistan

TrendPK.com This was announced by Danish Minister for Development Cooperation, Ulla Toernaes during her meeting with Federal Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin on Monday.
During the meeting, Tarin briefed the visiting minister about the state of Pakistan’s economy and the nine-point agenda for economic development of the country.
Toernaes appreciated Pakistan’s role in the [...]

Christmas Eve Around The World

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI’s Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica got off to a tumultuous start Thursday after an apparently deranged woman jumped the barriers and knocked him down on his way to the altar.

In his homily, delivered after the incident, Benedict urged the world to “wake up” from selfishness and petty affairs, and find time for God and spiritual matters.

The 82-year-old pope was unhurt in the fall, said a Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini. The pontiff did appear somewhat shaken and leaned heavily on aides and an armrest as he sat down in his chair.

Footage from the Vatican aired on Italy’s state TV showed a woman dressed in a red, hooded sweat shirt vaulting over the wooden barriers and rushing toward the pope before being swarmed by bodyguards.

Video shot by a witness showed the woman grabbing the pope’s vestments as she was taken down, with Benedict seemingly falling on top of her.

The commotion happened as the pope’s procession headed toward the main altar and shocked gasps rang out through the public that packed the basilica. The procession halted and security rushed to the trouble spot.

Benedettini said the woman who pushed the pope appeared to be mentally unstable and had been arrested by Vatican police. He said she also knocked down Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, who was taken to a hospital for a checkup.

It was the second year in a row there was a security breach at the service. At the end of last year’s Mass a woman jumped the barriers, got close to the pope but was quickly blocked by security.

That woman, too, wore a red sweat shirt, but Benedettini said it was not known if the same person was behind Thursday’s incident.

During the Mass, the pope appeared tired at times but celebrated the ritual without further incident.

For the first time in recent memory, however, Christmas Eve Mass began at 10 p.m. instead of midnight, in what a Vatican spokesman said was an effort to help Benedict preserve his strength for his schedule over the Christmas season.

In the West Bank town of Bethlehem, meanwhile, residents hemmed in by an Israeli security barrier and still recovering from years of violence celebrated their town’s annual day in the spotlight along with pilgrims and tourists. Visitors milled around Manger Square, mingling with clergymen, camera crews and locals hawking food and trinkets.

The region’s top Roman Catholic cleric, Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, reminded listeners in a holiday address that peace remains out of reach. “The wish that we most want, we most hope for, is not coming. We want peace,” Twal said after he passed into Bethlehem in a traditional holiday procession from nearby Jerusalem.

Hours later, an Israeli man was shot and killed in the West Bank in an attack by Palestinian gunmen. Such attacks have become rare in recent years as the West Bank has regained a semblance of normalcy.

The Israeli military identified the man as a resident of a nearby settlement, and a little-known Palestinian faction took responsibility in an e-mail sent to journalists.

Some Christians in other far-flung parts of the world also saw gloom edge out the holiday cheer.

On Thursday, explosions killed at least 26 people across Iraq, most of them Shiite pilgrims. The blasts raised fears of further sectarian attacks at the approach of Ashoura, when Shiites mark a period of mourning and self-flagellation for the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson.

In Baghdad, a marble palace once occupied by Saddam Hussein housed an impromptu Christmas celebration for U.S. soldiers and others far from home.

“I have mixed emotions,” said Lt. Col Timothy Bedsole, 52, an Army chaplain from Alabama who was marking his second Christmas in Iraq. “It’s a very happy time for us as Christians and a very sad time to be away from our families.”