Word: pontiff
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...Pontiff Has a Point His take on Islam, however clumsy, raises tough truths about reason and religion
...Pope Benedict XVI spoke with reporters on his Alitalia jet just before take-off for his current trip to Germany, an imposing - and familiar - figure in black and red appeared just over the smaller shoulders of the German pontiff. He is Cardinal Angelo Sodano, and for the past 15 years, the husky Italian has served as Secretary of State, effectively the No. 2 post in the Vatican hierarchy. But for the 78-year-old prelate, who'd accompanied John Paul abroad dozens of times, this week's trip with Benedict to Bavaria will be his final assignment in the powerful...
...fact, predict that Bertone - a longtime trusted confidante of the former Cardinal Ratzinger - was handpicked to be Secretary of State in order to usher in a virtual revolution in the way Catholic Church headquarters operates. Through an effort that will be part downsizing, part priority overhaul, the theologian pontiff is said to want Church headquarters to be both a more holy and a more efficient entity...
...true that German Catholicism is as tired as some people think," he said. The 79-year-old pontiff also made an explicit reference to his age, when asked why he was remaining in the southern region of Bavaria (where he will visit his birthplace in Marktl am Inn), foregoing visits to Berlin and other German cities. "I'm an old man," he said, "and I don't know how many more years the Lord will give...
...Seventeen months-and four foreign voyages-into his reign, the pontiff is methodically mapping out what will almost certainly be a shorter papacy than the 26-year reign of Pope John Paul II. He confirmed to reporters on the plane that he plans to take momentous trips to Turkey and Brazil. Back at headquarters, he also seems intent on moving forward with a reform of the Roman Curia hiearchy (see TIME.com on Monday). And while one does get the sense that the Holy Father is pacing himself (he has spent extended periods the last two summers at the relatively calm...