THE DAILY TELEGRAPH 11/02/2013 to 17/02/2013 Fr.

Cyril Victor Joseph India Monday 11/02/2013 Gordon Rayner and Nick Squires Pope Benedict XVI resigns: Softly spoken in Latin, the resignation that shocked the world From his throne-like chair on a purple dais in the Sala del Concistoro, part of the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father quietly told, due to an advanced age, is no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. Popes, after all, do not resign, they carry on stoically, no matter how frail, until death. Italians are among the worlds great conspiracy theorists, and there were hypotheses aplenty among the crowds gathering in St Peters Square. The Popes spokesman pointed to a phrase in Benedict XVIs pronouncement in which he said he had made the decision with full freedom. Tellingly the Popes brother, Georg Ratzinger, also a priest, said he had known for months that the announcement was coming, ruling out any suspicion that the resignation had been prompted by events. Pope Benedict XVI resigns: World leaders react As Pope Benedict XVI shocks the world by announcing he is stepping down, Telegraph has collected quotes and reaction from global leaders. Chancellor Angela Merkel, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, David Cameron, The Archbishop of Canterbury, Silvio Berlusconi and others have reacted with surprise and appreciation. While President Barack Obama said, The Church plays a critical role in the United States and the world, and I wish the best to those who will soon gather to choose His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI's successor. While Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York said, He unified Catholics and reached out to schismatic groups in hopes of drawing them back to the Church. More unites us than divides us, he said by word and deed. That message is for eternity. Alex Spillius Could the Catholic Church elect the first black Pope?

Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana and Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria are in the frame to become the first ever black pope, certainly in the modern era. With a Canadian, a Honduran and other Latin Americans among the unofficial frontrunners, the Roman Catholic Church could well elect its first non-European since the Great Schism with the Eastern church in the 11th century when it replaces Benedict XVI. Swiss Cardinal Kurt Koch, head of the Vatican department for Christian unity, said that the church's future was not in Europe."I know a lot of bishops and cardinals from Latin America who could take responsibility for the universal Church," said Archbishop Gerhard Mueller, who now holds the Pope's old post as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.About half the cardinals who can vote are from Europe, even though only a quarter of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics live there.

Tuesday 12/02/2013 Malcolm Moore Pope resigns: Peter Turkson reveals vision for the Church and 'alternative lifestyles' Cardinal Turkson, who holds one of the most important jobs in the Roman Curia and has been repeatedly promoted by Pope Benedict, was quick to take a conservative line on gay marriage and other "alternative lifestyles". He told The Daily Telegraph Tuesday that his biggest challenge, should he be elected, would be to maintain an orthodox Catholic doctrine while "at the same time knowing how to apply it so that you do not become irrelevant in a world that has continuous changes". Cardinal Turkson also said the Vatican needs to "restore and repair" an image that has been "badly compromised by recent scandals". He acknowledged that he will be in the running when 118 cardinals enter into a conclave in the Sistine Chapel next month to select their next leader. John Bingham, and Nick Squires in Rome Pope Benedict XVI's replacement will be 'ideological clone' The new Pope will be chosen in a secret conclave of Cardinals in Rome next month, with only those under the age of 80 eligible to vote. Despite Benedict XVIs expressed intention to withdraw from public life, commentators said he had already

done enough to ensure that his successor could be an ideological clone. John Thavis, a veteran analyst whose book The Vatican Diaries is about to be published, said: Even a pope that dies in office has a strong influence over the selection of his successor because he has appointed many of the cardinals who will be voting. Robert Mickens, Vatican correspondent for The Tablet, said: These are uncharted waters, we have never had an election in which a former pope was still alive. By resigning he has assured that he can have an influence on who becomes his successor. One of his guys is probably going to be elected Pope.

Nick Squires Pope Benedict XVI had secret heart surgery, Vatican admits The fitting of the new pacemaker for the Holy Father was carried out by heart surgeons at the Pius XI medical clinic in Rome. The pacemaker was a replacement for one which had been fitted about 10 years ago, before he was elected John Paul II's successor in 2005. The operation went so well that the Pope made a speedy recovery and did not even miss his weekly Angelus address, which is held each Sunday. "It was an entirely routine procedure," said Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman. "It had absolutely nothing to do with his decision to resign." "It will be interesting to see how we address him, how he will be called," said Father Lombardi. He will become possibly the world's best known retiree.

Wednesday 13/02/2013 Pope Benedict XVI says he has resigned 'for good of the Church' The pontiff was greeted by a standing ovation and chants of "Benedetto", his name in Italian, at his weekly audience in the Paul VI auditorium, with a prominent banner reading "Thank You, Holiness". Vatican sources said his decision was prompted in part by the fact that last March, during an official trip to Mexico, he had a fall which left him deeply shaken. The so-called Vatileaks scandal, in which Benedict's butler, Paolo Gabriele, was convicted in a Vatican court of stealing confidential papers from the Pope's apartment, also had a shattering effect on the German pontiff, insiders said. The Vatileaks affair, as well as controversy over the transparency of the Vatican bank, were key factors in his decision to become the first Pope in nearly 600

years to hand in his resignation, said a cardinal. Raveendran Juvenile in India gang-rape case told night of attack would be 'fun' In the confession, which his lawyers claim was produced under duress, the juvenile said he was told by Ram Singh, the bus driver, "let's go and have some fun today" as he and five others headed out for the night. The 17-year-old is due to appear in court today. He faces up to three years in prison for his alleged role in the deadly attack, but there are calls in India for him to face the death penalty, like his coaccused. The juvenile, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said in a statement seen by the Independent newspaper, that that the victims were then thrown out of the moving vehicle. The group then washed the bus and divided their victim's possessions among them. A member of the juvenile's legal team, who asked not to be identified, claimed police routinely fabricated statements in order to make sure individuals were booked by the courts. He said the confession had "no value in law".

Thursday 14/02/2012 Nick Squires Pope Benedict awoke with blood in his hair after fall in Mexico The incident left the 85-year-old pontiff shaken, alarmed his doctors and precipitated his surprise decision to bring his eight-year old papacy to a close, Vatican sources said. It happened when Benedict got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom while staying in the Mexican city of Leon. Finding himself in unfamiliar surroundings, he could not find a light switch and tripped, hitting his head against a wash basin. Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, confirmed on Thursday that the accident happened but denied that it had any bearing on the Pope's decision to resign. Sayeeda Warsi Pope Benedict XVI has left us with a great legacy on which to build The Popes hugely successful UK visit in 2010 has been cited as an important moment in his Pontificate for UK. It marked 30 years since full diplomatic relations were restored between the UK and the Holy See and despite the very long break in

those ties, it remains our oldest diplomatic relationship, dating back to 1479. Many have argued that the United Kingdom and the Holy See have never enjoyed a stronger bond than under Pope Benedict. Baroness Warsi is Minister for Faith and Communities and Senior Foreign Office Minister says, Pope's decision to step down was, Im sure, not taken lightly and would have been done so after much consideration and prayer. He has left us with a wealth of important scholarly teachings and a diplomatic legacy upon which we can only build. Friday 15/02/2012 Nick Squires Pope Benedict XVI: media led the Church into profanity The Pope has launched a stinging attack against the media, saying that it had led the Church into "profanity" by spreading a message that Catholicism had to modernise and become more inclusive. The Pope blamed the media for wisting and misrepresenting the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, "The media saw the council as a political struggle, a struggle for power between different currents within the Church. It was obvious that the media would take the side of whatever faction best suited their world," he said. It gives the impression that Benedict will be keeping an eye on his successor," Robert Mickens, Vatican correspondent for The Tablet, said. "It puts a lot of pressure on the new Pope and people around him. They are going to feel very uncomfortable saying or doing anything negative about Benedict's papacy.

Saturday 16/02/2012 AFP Remote-control bomb kills 52 in Pakistan A remote-controlled bomb targeting Shiite Muslims killed 52 people including women and children and wounded 200 in Pakistan's insurgency-hit southwest on Saturday, police and officials said. The bomb exploded in a bazaar in Hazara town, an area dominated by Shiites on the outskirts of Quetta, capital of oil and gas rich Baluchistan province. "The death toll is increasing. At least 52 people were killed in the bomb blast," Fayaz Ahmad, a senior police official told AFP. Colonel Maqbool

Ahmad, commandant of paramilitary group Frontier Corps Quetta, confirmed the new toll and warned it could rise. A spokesman for the banned Sunni Muslim extremist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf late last month sacked the provincial government in Baluchistan after meeting Shiite Muslim protesters demanding protection. Harriet Alexander, Nsuta-Wassa, western Ghana Pope's successor: Ghana prays for Peter Turkson the miner's son to reach marbled halls Cardinal Peter Turkson, born in a two-room shack 170 miles from Ghana's capital, is currently the bookmakers' favourite to become the next pope. If selected, it would make him the first African pope in modern times. The 64-year-old Ghanaian was marked as one of the early front runners. "So if, by divine providence, God would wish to have a black man as pope, I say thanks be to God!" Furthermore, he is known to be highly regarded by Benedict; to be a like-minded social conservative against gay marriage, condom use and abortion, and to share his interest in academic study of the scriptures. Back in Nsuta-Wassaw, the several thousand inhabitants are all praying for "their" man to be chosen as the new pope. "It would make us all so, so happy," said Mr Pawosey, his childhood friend. Sunday 17/02/2012 AFP Foreign 'missionaries' arrested in Libya Four foreigners suspected of carrying out Christian missionary activities have been arrested in the Libyan city of Benghazi. Hussein bin Hameida, a security official, told the AFP news agency that an Egyptian, a South African, a South Korean and a Swedish-American were arrested at a printing house, "where they were printing books calling for conversion to Christianity." Libya is a Muslim country and preaching another religion is a crime under Libyan law," he said. Mr bin Hameida said an investigation was still under way and the suspects "will be handed over to the intelligence services soon." Since the 2011 fall of Col Muammar Gaddafi's regime, the small Christian community fears for its safety, especially after a church bombing in December killed two people in the Mediterranean town of Dafniya. The Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli, Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, has said the situation was

"critical" and the "atmosphere very tense."