Dispatches

Years after he had been appointed Bishop of Xai-Xai in Mozambique now Cardinal J lio Duarte Langa 87 was asked how he had reacted to the announcement He explained ldquo Well I think the Holy Father at the time was looking for someone better and not finding anyone exceptional he just settled f

Sixth graders were “really grossed out” by list of possible sins to confess.

In his 40 plus years as a bishop in Colombia Archbishop Jos de Jes s Pimiento Rodr guez did many extraordinary things He attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council mdash he is in fact one of the few remaining fathers of the council mdash and supported its implementation in Colomb

In his 34 years as a priest Archbishop Dominique Fran ois Mamberti 62 has worked on the church rsquo s diplomatic teams in Algeria Chile and Lebanon represented the Vatican at the United Nations served as nuncio to Sudan and apostolic delegate to Somalia and Eritrea been the Vatican rsquo s

In his 20 years as a bishop what has distinguished Archbishop Ricardo Bl zquez P rez 72 is his willingness to enter into the realities of the people that he serves In 1995 he was made bishop of Bilbao a region riven by the violence and terror of the separatist paramilitary group ETA Bilbao

Each year Portugal rsquo s leading newspaper Expresso hands out the Pessoa Prize mdash ldquo the Person rdquo mdash to a figure in Portuguese society who has contributed most to the culture It rsquo s the nation rsquo s most important cultural award Its recipients are writers artists musicia

In Asia says Hanoi Archbishop Peter Nguy n V n Nh n ldquo It is more suitable for us to speak of the life of Jesus in a manner more in accord with how He Himself preached two thousand years ago with His parables An eastern not rationalist fashion rdquo Age 76 now Cardinal Nguy n has s

ldquo The Gospel of the marginalized is where our credibility is found and revealed rsquo Pope Francis told the new cardinals as he spelled out clearly the direction he wants the leadership of the Catholic Church to take in the world today He did so in an inspiring and highly significant homily d

Parliament erupted into a brawl just a few sentences into the president’s speech