Today in his farewell address at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, the Holy Father made direct reference to the political unrest in Cyprus saying that his accommodations at the Apostolic Nunciature, which is located in the United Nations buffer zone, provided a vantage point from which he witnessed Cyprus’ pronounced division first-hand. “Having stayed these past ...read more

The following is Pope Benedict’s full address from today’s presentation of the Instrumentum Laboris for the Synod of Bishops’ Special Assembly for the Middle East: Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I thank Archbishop Eterovic for his kind words, and I renew my greetings to all of you who have come here in connection with ...read more

This trip to Cyprus has indeed been a full one with, no doubt, reams of fruit yet to come. One highlight of the the trip came to us only after the cameras stopped rolling yesterday. Catholic News Service’s Cindy Wooden writes about a moment involving the grand sheik of a Muslim spiritual movement from northern ...read more

This afternoon in Cyprus, Pope Benedict addressed the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Cyprus, His Beatitude Chrysostomos II, at the Archbishop’s residence in Nicosia. In his address, Pope Benedict called for “full and visible communion” between the Churches of the East and the West; a communion “to be lived in fidelity to the Gospel and the ...read more

While most of us here in Toronto were still tucked in our beds, Pope Benedict XVI’s schedule for his second day in Cyprus had already kicked into high gear and thus the day for the S+L Cyprus crew began at 2:30 am ET. The Holy Father’s itinerary and the groups with whom he will be ...read more

This morning, Pope Benedict XVI landed on Cyprus, a Mediterranean island located south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon. Cyprus, the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, welcomed the Holy Father at 2pm local time. The country’s president, Orthodox clergy, politicians and select Roman Catholic faithful were among those present for the ...read more

Today marks Day 1 of the Holy Father’s three-day visit to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. This being the first time a pope has ever set foot on Cyprus, Pope Benedict XVI’s visit is highly-anticipated, though not without substantial political and ecumenical implications. Cyprus has been a country divided for over 30 years following a ...read more

A basketball game in St. Peter’s square? Yup. It happened in 1955. And though they aren’t fielding a team, you can bet that just like millions around the world, the folks at the Vatican will keep an eye on the World Cup that begins in South Africa on June 11th. When you think of the ...read more

At the Wednesday General Audience Pope Benedict sent a greeting to those gathered in New Orleans for the Catholic Media Convention.  What he said is a great reminder for call Catholic communicators: The theme of your meeting, “Spreading the Good News — Byte by Byte,” highlights the extraordinary potential of the new media to bring ...read more

The fifth and final encounter of the second year of Nothing More Beautiful airs this Saturday. The theme of this episode is Jesus Christ: Revelation of the Trinity. The catechesis talk is given by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada, while the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus Carl ...read more