Pope taps Vatican official, Archbishop Ranjith, to head Colombo, Sri Lanka archdiocese

October 1st, 2009 Pope Benedict XVI to attend WWII concertVATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI will attend a concert marking the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II being performed by young musicians from around the globe. The Vatican says the Oct.

September 23rd, 2009 UK reports: Pope Benedict XVI to visit BritainLONDON — Pope Benedict XVI next year will make the first visit to Britain by a pontiff in decades, British media reported Wednesday. Journalists traveling to New York with Prime Minister Gordon Brown reported on the planned visit.

September 17th, 2009 Vatican sees end to tensions with Russian OrthodoxVATICAN CITY — Relations with the Russian Orthodox church have vastly improved, possibly paving the way for a papal visit to Moscow or a historic meeting between the pope and the Orthodox patriarch outside of Russia or the Vatican, a senior Vatican cardinal said Thursday. Cardinal Walter Kasper told Vatican Radio "we have overcome all the tensions in recent years." He spoke after meeting with Archbishop Hilarion, head of external relations for the Moscow patriarch's office.

August 31st, 2009 Pope accepts Scranton bishop's resignationVATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the early retirement of a U.S. bishop who has denounced nuns for sponsoring lectures by gay-rights advocates and directed priests to deny communion to abortion backers, the Vatican said Monday.

July 27th, 2009 Vatican says pope fell looking for light switchROME — The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI was looking for a light switch in the bedroom of his Alpine chalet when he tripped and broke his wrist while on vacation 10 days ago. Papal spokesman the Rev.

July 18th, 2009 Vatican: Pope learning to cope with castLES COMBES, Italy — The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI spent a calm night after breaking his wrist in his Alpine vacation chalet and is learning to cope with the cast on his right arm. Vatican spokesman the Rev.

July 10th, 2009 Obama delivers letter to pope from Sen. KennedyVATICAN CITY — President Barack Obama has given Pope Benedict XVI a personal letter from ailing Sen.

July 10th, 2009 Obama meets with Pope Benedict XVIVATICAN CITY — President Barack Obama is meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Shaking hands with the pope, Obama said it was "a great honor" to meet him.

July 10th, 2009 Obama at Vatican to meet with Pope Benedict XVIVATICAN CITY — President Barack Obama has arrived at the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. Obama's motorcade arrived at the Holy See on Friday, greeted by Swiss Guards in their colorful uniforms.

July 1st, 2009 Controversial Brazilian bishop retiresVATICAN CITY — The Vatican has announced the retirement of a Brazilian archbishop who caused a major stir when he declared that those involved in an abortion for a 9-year-old rape victim were excommunicated. The Vatican said Wednesday that Pope Benedict XVI had accepted the resignation submitted for reasons of age of 76-year-old Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho of Olinda and Recife.

June 30th, 2009 Vatican chapel with Michelangelo frescos restoredVATICAN CITY — The Vatican says the restoration of a chapel that includes two Michelangelo frescoes has been completed. The Cappella Paolina, or the Pauline Chapel, in the Apostolic Palace is used by the pope and is not open to the general public.

June 5th, 2009 Pope meets with Irish churchmen after abuse reportVATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has met with Ireland's top churchmen following the publication of a damning report detailing decades of rapes, humiliation and beatings at church-run reform schools in Ireland. The Vatican says they briefed the pope on the report.

May 13th, 2009 Pope gunman wants to convert to ChristianityANKARA, Turkey — The gunman who shot Pope John Paul II says he would like to convert to Christianity at a baptism ceremony at the Vatican after his release from prison in January. In comments relayed by his lawyer on Wednesday, Mehmet Ali Agca also says he wants to visit the grave of Pope John Paul II, meet with Pope Benedict XVI and produce a television documentary on the Vatican.

May 12th, 2009 Former Catholic bishop of Milwaukee says he's gayNEW YORK — A Roman Catholic archbishop who resigned in 2002 over a sex and financial scandal involving a man describes his struggles with being gay in an upcoming memoir about his decades serving the church. Archbishop Rembert Weakland, former head of the Milwaukee archdiocese, said in an interview Monday that he wrote about his sexual orientation because he wanted to be candid about "how this came to life in my own self, how I suppressed it, how it resurrected again." Called "A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church: Memoirs of a Catholic Archbishop," the book is set to be released in June.

January 27th, 2009 VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI Wednesday expressed 'solidarity' with the Jewish people and asked four recently reinstated bishops to adhere to the Second Vatican Council which prescribes brotherly relations with Jews. The pope during his general audience said the reality of the Nazi mass murder of Jews, known as the Holocaust, or Shoah, cannot be cancelled through any form of denial.