Pope Pushes Up Date for Conclave to Choose His Successor
L’Osservatore Romano Vatican-Pool/Getty Images(VATICAN CITY) — With his resignation set for Thursday, Pope Benedict XVI published a declaration on Monday to allow the College of Cardinals to begin choosing his successor almost immediately after he ste…
Vatican Disputing Scandal Rumors Amid Pope’s Resignation
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images(VATICAN CITY) — As Pope Benedict XVI prepares to step down from the papacy this Thursday, the Vatican has also been forced to deal with reports in the Italian media about an alleged scandal involving gay clergy being blackm…
Cardinal Roger Mahony Tweets, But Not About Deposition
Eric Thayer/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Cardinal Roger Mahony is clearly excited about his trip to Rome.On the eve of the cardinal’s sworn deposition in a lawsuit over a priest accused of molesting 26 boys in his archdiocese in 1987, Mahony sent…
Vatican Furious over ‘False’ News Reports
Joe Raedle/Getty Images(VATICAN CITY) — In an impromptu briefing on Saturday morning, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi responded again to the worldwide distribution of “unverified, unverifiable, or even false” news stories.Lombardi decl…
As the Pope Goes, So, Too, Do His Tweets
L’Osservatore Romano Vatican-Pool/Getty Images(VATICAN CITY) — It wasn’t long ago that Benedict XVI became the first pope to bless us all via Twitter. But as His Holiness is set to resign at the end of this month, apparently his Twitter account …
Russian Meteor, Wild Road Madness Exposed in Country’s Dashcam Craze
YURI KADOBNOV/AFP/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — They are the videos everyone is talking about. Rare images of a meteor streaking across the Russian sky in a bright, fast-approaching ball of fire. The drama was captured on numerous dashboard cameras and then …
LA Cardinal Will Attend Conclave Despite Criticism
Eric Thayer/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony has made it clear that he plans to attend the upcoming conclave to elect a new pope. His decision has received widespread criticism.“It sends the wrong message,” said K…
US CEO Defends Criticism of French Workers
FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/AFP/Getty Images(QUINCY, Ill.) — Maurice Taylor, CEO of Titan International Inc., made headlines when he declined to invest in a struggling French factory because its “so-called workers” get high wages for working three-…
Poll: Outgoing Pope Popular, But Not as Much as His Predecessor
Joe Raedle/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The Catholic Church has rebounded in overall public esteem in the United States as it’s moved away from the height of its child abuse scandals a decade ago, a trend that’s continued under the now-departi…
Moscow Seeks Dialogue to End Syrian Conflict
ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — Russia’s top diplomat said on Wednesday that Syria’s warring sides run the risk of “mutual destruction” if they don’t soon reach a settlement to end their conflict that began in March 2011.After talks with …
Nudes Tour Naked Men Exhibit at Vienna Museum
ALEXANDER KLEIN/AFP/Getty Images(VIENNA, Austria) — What better way to appreciate naked men than getting naked yourself?That’s how more then 60 art lovers decided to experience the “Nude Men From 1800 to the Present Day” exhibit at the Leo…
Russians Blame Texas Parents for Adopted Boy’s Death
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(MOSCOW) — The emergency room death of a 3-year-old boy adopted from Russia is being called “murder” by officials in Moscow, but Texas officials investigating the case say they don’t know where the Russians are getting their clai…
More than $50M of Diamonds Stolen from Plane in Belgium
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(BRUSSELS) — In a brazen heist right out of the movies, thieves drove onto Belgium’s airport tarmac on Monday night and stole more than $50 million of diamonds from a plane without firing a single shot.It took them fewer than fiv…
Kate Middleton Shows Off Baby Bump
John Stillwell – WPA Pool/Getty Images(LONDON) — Royal bump watchers got a new glimpse of the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge on Tuesday as Kate Middleton stepped out to speak to women recovering from addiction.Middleton, 31, appeared at Hope House in S…
Russian Meteor: Close Encounters and Plans to Prevent Impacts
Chad Baker/Photodisc/Thinkstock(MOSCOW)– As if Friday’s massive meteor explosion over central Russia weren’t enough, just hours later a large asteroid buzzed dangerously close to Earth.And that evening, the California sky was lit up by a f…
Body of Russian Politician Discovered in Barrel of Cement
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(MOSCOW) — The badly-beaten body of a Russian politician was found in a barrel full of cement, in what investigators said they believe was a murder ordered over an $80 million debt.Mikhail Pakhomov was a city council member in Li…
Russian Meteor: Rushing to Cash in on the Blast
Chad Baker/Photodisc/Thinkstock(CHELYABINSK, Russia) — The shattered glass and broken walls caused by the massive explosion of a monstrous meteor over this remote, industrial Russian city is not even cleaned up, and people are already trying to cash i…
Catholics Could Have New Pope by Palm Sunday
L’Osservatore Romano Vatican Pool via Getty Images(ROME) — The conclave to elect a new pope might begin sooner than expected, the Vatican said on Saturday, meaning Roman Catholics could have a new pontiff well before Easter.“This time and situat…
Pope Benedict XVI Appoints New Boss to ‘God’s Bank’
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(VATICAN CITY) — It was more than just a routine personnel matter Friday for Pope Benedict XVI to name a new president of the Vatican Bank: German lawyer Ernst von Freyberg. The appointment may well be the last of the pope&…
Meteor Falls in Russia, More than 1,000 Injured
Hemera/Thinkstock(MOSCOW) — More than 1,000 people were injured Friday when the largest meteor to strike the Earth in two generations disintegrated above the Russian city of Chelyabinsk located about 1,000 miles east of Moscow in the Ural Mountains.Da…