Word: xvi
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...never been known for his flexibility. As a university theologian and the Vatican's top doctrinal watchdog, the German prelate consistently stuck to his intellectual guns, sometimes stepping on sensibilities in the process. That unbendable belief in his own truth may have indeed gotten the now Pope Benedict XVI into trouble with his provocative September speech about faith and violence that sparked anger throughout the Muslim world. But the papacy often requires old men to learn new tricks. And so on Tuesday, as he set off on the most delicate mission of his life, the 79-year-old Pontiff...
When Pope Benedict XVI travels to Turkey this week, most of the world's attention will be focused on the Christian-Muslim religious divide. But the pontiff is also crossing a political fault line: The gulf between Europe and the Near East has been much in the news lately because of Turkey's troubled attempts to join the European Union. Ankara is keen to become a full member, but Europeans are having second thoughts. Skeptics, including the Pope himself, are openly questioning whether a mostly Muslim nation of 70 million can ever really be part of Europe...
...make pilgrimages. Pope John Paul II turned these spiritual journeys into worldwide media events, from his first return to his Polish homeland to the masses he conducted before millions in the Philippines and his Millennial-year arrival in the Holy Land. Though lacking some of the same flair, Benedict XVI's first four outings beyond Italian soil have largely followed similar pilgrimesque itineraries: warming up to a million young Catholics at World Youth Day in Cologne, paying homage to his predecessor in Poland, trying to turn back a wave of Spanish secularism in Valencia, and returning two months...
...blessed perks of absolute monarchy. Pope Benedict XVI is one who knows them well. The 265th successor of St. Peter is the unchallenged head of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, with the last word on everything from the naming of bishops to his regular rewritings in stone of the church's opposition to abortion, euthanasia and women priests. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, also carries a big spiritual stick as the leader of the world's 70 million strong Anglican Church. But his rule is neither monarchical nor absolute, since he is appointed by the Queen (or King...
...reflect the belief of jihadist groups, such as al-Qaeda, that their religion mandates the use of any means necessary, including suicide bombers and the mass killing of civilians, to bring about the world's submission to Islam. In an Oct. 12 "Open Letter to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI," 38 distinguished Islamic religious authorities, including Grand Muftis in Turkey, Egypt, Russia, Syria, Kosovo, Bosnia and Uzbekistan, wrote that "jihad ... means struggle, and specifically struggle in the way of God. This struggle may take many forms, including the use of force." The signers delicately criticized some acts of Muslim terrorism...