Word: pontiff
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...Pontiff's campaign against abortion spills into politics
Ever since the plebiscite was scheduled last November, the Pontiff has repeatedly attacked abortion. On Easter, speaking to 250,000 people in St. Peter's Square, he emphasized his opposition to the practice. He spoke out again a week later during a visit to the Sotto il Monte birthplace of Pope John XXIII. Reaffirming a church statement calling for abortion laws "to be overcome with all legitimate means," he repeated his view that "procured abortion is the killing of an innocent creature. No one can have an attitude of pliant consent or passivity in the face of abortion...
...Chinese response to his Philippines speech was cold, and the "patriotic" Chinese bishops may decide to snub the Pontiff and reject the Vatican's overtures. Even if the status of existing bishops is worked out, the Communist rulers of China may not allow future bishops to be appointed by a Pope in far-off Rome...
John Paul left Nagasaki with the new Japanese nickname of Yuki Otoko (Snowman) and flew to equally chilly Anchor age, where he celebrated an outdoor Mass and took a 90-ft. fling at driving a sled drawn by nine rambunctious huskies. "This was great," said the Pontiff. Then off again, up over the North Pole and back to Rome. To the faithful who braved the Nagasaki blizzard, John Paul had said good-naturedly, "It's good for the faith." So, apparently, was the taxing 20,500-mile journey by the most traveled Pope in history...
...Pope Pius IX published his astonishing Syllabus of Errors, which denounced freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and "the fatuous notion...that the Roman pontiff can be or should be reconciled to liberalism, progress, and modern civilization." Pius meant that the Church should stay away from any political ideologies, conservative or liberal. Nevertheless, the Syllabus became a sign that the Catholic Church was basically a repressive institution, allied with the forces of reaction...