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By Cindy WoodenROME (CNS) -- When it comes to the Christian life, too manyseminaries teach students a rigid list of rules that make it difficult orimpossible for them as priests to respond to the real-life situation of thosewho come to them seeking guidance, Pope Francis said."Some priestly formation programs run the risk ofeducating in the light of overly clear and distinct ideas, and therefore to actwithin limits and criteria that are rigidly defined a priori, and that setaside concrete situations," the pope said during a meeting with 28 PolishJesuits in Krakow during World Youth Day.The Vatican did not publish details of the pope's meetingJuly 30 with the Jesuits, but -- with Pope Francis' explicit approval -- atranscript of his remarks to the group was published in late August by CiviltaCattolica, a Jesuit journal reviewed at the Vatican prior to publication. According to the transcript, the pope asked the Jesuits tobegin an outreach to diocesan seminaries and diocesan priests,...
By Junno Arocho EstevesVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Retired Pope Benedict XVI said in an interview that hefelt a "duty" to resign from the papacy because of his declininghealth and the rigorous demands of papal travel.While his heart was set on completing the Year of Faith, theretired pope told Italian journalist Elio Guerriero that after his visit toMexico and Cuba in March 2012, he felt he was "incapable offulfilling" the demands of another international trip, especially withWorld Youth Day 2013 scheduled for Brazil. "With the program set out by John Paul II for these(World Youth) days, the physical presence of the pope was indispensable," he toldGuerriero in an interview, which is included in the journalist's upcomingbiography of Pope Benedict. "This, too, was a circumstance which made myresignation a duty," the pope said.An excerpt of Guerriero's book, "Servant of God and Humanity: The Biography of BenedictXVI," was published Aug. 24 in the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica. Pope Bened...
BERLIN (AP) -- The European Space Agency's Rosetta space probe has captured images of a bright burst of light on the comet it is orbiting, apparently caused by a landslide....
NEW YORK (AP) -- In a new project with National Geographic, Barack Obama becomes the first sitting U.S. president to project himself into virtual reality - in this case, a 360-degree representation of Yosemite National Park....
BAGAN, Myanmar (AP) -- It was a time of conquest and conversions. Above all, it was a time of construction, on a scale never seen before. Over 250 years, from the 11th century onwards, the rulers of Bagan built more than 10,000 magnificent religious monuments....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Cars that wirelessly talk to each other are finally ready for the road, creating the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths, improve the safety of self-driving cars and someday maybe even help solve traffic jams, automakers and government officials say....
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's naval forces will warn or confront any foreign ship entering the country's territorial waters, the Iranian defense minister said Thursday, remarks that came after an incident this week involving a U.S. warship....
PESCARA DEL TRONO, Italy (AP) -- Aftershocks in central Italy rattled residents and rescue workers alike Thursday, as crews worked to find more earthquake survivors and the country anguished over its repeated failure to protect ancient towns and modern cities from seismic catastrophes....
(Vatican Radio) It’s a race against time to reach those people who have been buried under rubble following Wednesday morning’s devastating earthquake in central Italy.Rescue crews worked through the night using heavy equipment and even their bare hands to search for survivors. Residents and volunteers also joined in the search.Rescue teams have come from all over Italy to join in the operation in the hopes of finding more people alive.Pope Francis sent 6 members of the Vatican’s fire service who are helping Italy’s Civil Protection workers search for survivors still under the rubble and assist those already rescued.The death toll has now risen to 247 and there are fears it will rise even further.Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited the affected area on Wednesday pledging ``No family, no city, no hamlet will be left behind.''The hardest hit areas were the towns of Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto which were full of holiday makers at t...
(Vatican Radio) The Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia...better known as the FARC, have signed an historic Peace Agreement, finally ending a conflict which started in 1964. Listen to James Blears report The talks, negotiations, rows, frustrations, pride swallowing and practical compromises leading to peace, have taken four long years, in Havana Cuba. People smiled, hugged and silently wept as the Head of the Government Delegation Humberto De La Calle and the FARC`s Chief Negotiator Ivan Marquez, signed for PEACE, shook hands and smiled with relief. A bi-lateral ceasefire since June has held, and at long last the conflict is at and end. The cost in every sense has been ghastly and appalling. Almost quarter of a million people have been killed, many thousands wounded and maimed, millions more permanently displaced.The points which have been thrashed out, ironed out and inked in, point by agonizing p...
