Pope Plans Christmas Album

Pontiff heralds holiday without incident

(AP) - Pope Benedict XVI ushered in Christmas Eve with an evening Mass today amid heightened security concerns following the package bombings at two Rome embassies and Christmas Eve security breaches at the Vatican the past two years running. Benedict made his way down the central aisle of St. Peter's Basilica at the start of the Mass without incident; with his normal phalanx of bodyguards on either side, he stopped twice to bless babies held up to him from the pews. More»

Cardinal fractures hip in Christmas Eve assault by woman

(AP) - Pope Benedict XVI delivered his traditional Christmas Day blessing today, looking tired and unsteady but otherwise fine hours after being knocked down by a woman who jumped the barrier at the start of Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. The Vatican said the 82-year-old Benedict was unhurt in the fall and that his busy Christmas schedule would remain unchanged. French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, an 87-year-old Vatican diplomat, fractured his hip in the commotion and will be operated on at Rome's Gemelli hospital. More»

(NEWSER) - Pope Benedict XVI's broken wrist kept him from joining his hands in prayer as he celebrated Mass today, AFP reports. "What pains him the most is to be no longer able to bless with his right hand and to be no longer able to clasp his hands together," said one of his closest officials. His cast also keeps him from writing a follow-up to his 2007 book, Jesus of Nazareth. "The pope already had the text's structure outlined in his head." More»

Pontiff uses midnight Mass to speak out against harm to environment

(NEWSER) - Pope Benedict XVI ushered in Christmas with a traditional midnight Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, using his homily to speak out against the degradation of the environment and man's selfishness, reports Agence France Presse. The leader of the world's 1 billion Catholics lamented our "polluted world whose future is at risk," in an address broadcast worldwide. More»

Continues Vatican battle against rampant consumerism

(NEWSER) - Continuing the Vatican's battle against rampant consumerism on the occasion of Jesus' birthday, Pope Benedict XVI today blasted a pervasive "materialistic mentality" in "the way of living out and perceiving Christmas." The pontiff urged pilgrims gathered below his window on St. Peter's Square instead to "fill your hearts with redeeming hope," reports the AP. More»