Word: pope
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...hard out there for a pope these days. On Thursday, Pope Benedict XVI launched what he is calling "The Year of Priests," exhorting Roman Catholics to spend the coming year honoring the sacrifice of their local pastors and directing priests to encourage each other so that they might, among other things, "be able to live fully the gift of celibacy and build thriving Christian communities...
Overshadowing the Pope's declaration, however, was the news that earlier in the week Father Alberto Cutie - the Miami-based priest and television personality who left the Catholic church last month amid soap opera-worthy scandal - had married his girlfriend of two years. Also making waves was the publication of former Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland's memoir detailing his life as a closeted gay man within the church and the loneliness that drove him to pursue a sexual relationship with another man. Weakland, who stepped down seven years ago when he turned 75, the age when priests typically submit letters...
...three deacons will be ordained at its seminary in southern Germany, with plans for further ordinations at its headquarters in Switzerland and in Winona, Minn. Such unauthorized ordinations are indeed reminiscent of what led to the schism in the first place. (See pictures from the ongoing reign of Pope Benedict...
...German ordinations, recently stated that without Vatican permission the new priests and the ordaining bishop could be excommunicated. The Vatican released a statement Wednesday that the ordinations "must be considered illegitimate," though no mention was made of excommunication. The brief note from the Holy See also referred to the Pope's letter to bishops in March that outlined how the Pius X followers are still largely operating outside of official church auspices and must now enter discussions with the Vatican's doctrinal office to confront outstanding differences. (Check out the problems Benedict XVI faced after trying to reconcile with...
...schisms often boil down to the question of who's in charge. In this specific case, the Lefebvrites want to decide who becomes a priest of the Catholic Church, an authority that for centuries has rested solely in the hands of local bishops, who derive their authority from the Pope himself. One senior Vatican official says that the Pope's unilaterally reaching out to the Society, even with many outstanding issues unresolved, has emboldened rather than humbled the breakaway flock. "They thought all concessions had to come from Holy See," he says. "But they are [now] going to have...