Germany edition

Benedict_xvi

The following articles have been tagged with "Benedict_xvi":

Pope escapes German seat belt fine

Society: 1 Dec 11
Pope Benedict XVI will not face charges for not wearing a seat belt in his popemobile during a visit to Germany, after officials confirmed normal traffic rules had been suspended for him. READ »

Repentant Catholics drop erotica publisher

Society: 22 Nov 11
The German Bishops’ Conference, which represents the country’s Catholic dioceses, will cut its ties with the publisher Weltbild amid outrage that its catalogue included risqué titles like “The new Kama Sutra” and “Tempted to Sin.” READ »

Berliner Philharmonic premiers 'golden rule' concert

Society: 14 Oct 11
The Berliner Philharmonic unveiled its latest work on Thursday night – which sets out and celebrates the common morality of the six major world religions – and which will open Britain’s Olympic cultural programme next year. READ »

Education minister spent €150,000 on flight to pope

Politics: 1 Oct 11
Education Minister Annette Schavan flew to a personal audience with Pope Benedict XVI using a military jet, at a cost of around €150,000 – despite commercial flights being available - according to a report in Der Spiegel. READ »

Abuse victims say pope 'very upset' at meeting

Society: 28 Sep 11
Two of the five victims of church abuse who had a private meeting with Pope Benedict XVI last Friday have described the encounter. READ »

Schröder unveils plan to better protect kids

National: 27 Sep 11
The German government is launching a new, aggressive effort to protect children and young people from abuse in families, schools and places of worship. READ »

Pope's final message - go back to basics

National: 25 Sep 11
Pope Benedict XVI ended his first state visit to Germany on Sunday evening with a call for the Catholic Church to go back to basics. READ »

Abuse victims meeting leaves Pope 'shamed'

Society: 24 Sep 11
Pope Benedict XVI met victims of sexual abuse by clergy on Friday, an encounter that left him "deeply shaken", Vatican officials said. READ »

Police arrest man who shot at papal security officers

National: 24 Sep 11
Police arrested a man suspected of shooting at papal mass security officers early on Saturday morning in Erfurt, eastern Germany. READ »

Pope pleases Muslims, disappoints Protestants

National: 23 Sep 11
Pope Benedict XVI met representatives of the German Muslim community on Friday before leaving Berlin to head for the heart of Lutheranism. While Muslim leaders were pleased with his comments, he left some Protestants disappointed. READ »

'The MPs who didn't come have missed out'

Analysis & Opinion: 23 Sep 11
Benedict XVI’s address to the German parliament made waves before he had even set foot in the Reichstag building. The Local’s media roundup assess the impact. READ »

Pope urges faith in Church at Berlin mass

National: 23 Sep 11
During a sometimes emotional mass at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium Thursday evening, Pope Benedict XVI called on Germans to stand together with the Catholic Church despite recent scandal and controversy. READ »

Pope says Europe risking its cultural identity

National: 22 Sep 11
Pope Benedict XVI warned on Thursday Europe risked losing its cultural identity at a time when it was being challenged by foreign extremism, in a landmark yet controversial speech to the German parliament. READ »

Protesters rally as pope speaks to parliament

Society: 22 Sep 11
As Pope Benedict XVI addressed the German parliament, Erin Huggins took to the sealed-off streets of central Berlin to see who was demonstrating against him. READ »

Joy, protests and apathy await pope in Germany

National: 22 Sep 11
Pope Benedict XVI's first state visit to his German homeland begins in Berlin Thursday with the threat of angry protests and the lingering taint of Church sexual abuse scandals set to cloud his welcome. READ »

'I liked the Polish pope better'

Analysis & Opinion: 22 Sep 11
As Pope Benedict XVI arrives for an official four-day visit to Germany on Thursday, The Local asked the opinion of average people on the street for the first instalment of our new Zeitgeist series. READ »

Catholics demand reform ahead of pope visit

Society: 21 Sep 11
Pope Benedict XVI faces a clamour for change as he heads to Germany on Thursday for his first state visit, with calls for reform on many fronts – from recognising gays to ordaining women to the priesthood. READ »

Before pope visit, Merkel warns against 'advance of secularism'

National: 17 Sep 11
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday called for Christians to unite against the advance of secularism as she prepared to welcome Pope Benedict XVI on a landmark visit back to his native Germany. READ »

Pope's visit sparks security lockdown

National: 16 Sep 11
Pope Benedict XVI’s official visit to Germany next week will be accompanied by unprecedented security measures, including ordering residents not to open their windows when the pontiff's motorcade passes and relocating a Muslim extremist. READ »

The morality of pope bashing

Analysis & Opinion: 13 Sep 11
Members of The Left party are boycotting the pope's speech to the German parliament during an official visit to Berlin. For Malte Lehming, leftist attitudes toward Catholicism are no different from right-wing populist bigotry against Islam. READ »

MPs to boycott Pope's Bundestag speech

National: 13 Sep 11
As preparations are finalised for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Germany at the end of the month, a number of MPs have declared they will boycott his speech to parliament. READ »

Pope's visit delays crucial euro-vote

Politics: 31 Aug 11
Germany's parliamentary vote on Europe's next rescue fund will be delayed until September 29 owing to a visit by Pope Benedict XVI, a leading member of Angela Merkel's ruling party said Tuesday. READ »

Berlin's mayor welcomes Pope through gritted teeth

National: 26 Aug 11
Berlin’s openly gay Mayor Klaus Wowereit has extended the Pope an official welcome for his visit next month, but said he could understand those planning to protest against the papal visit. READ »

Stink of manure blowin' in the wind for Erfurt

Society: 9 Aug 11
The city of Erfurt in the the eastern German state of Thuringia has been shrouded in a cloud of stinking manure odour this week. READ »

Website lets parishioners to rate their priests

Society: 4 Aug 11
Germany, like many countries, has struggled with declining church attendance. But could Church visits be boosted if it was easier for parishioners to swap notes on who has the most talented pastor or priest? READ »

Pius ordinations ahead of Williamson appeal

National: 2 Jul 11
The controversial ultra-conservative Catholic group, the Pius Brotherhood, has ordained four new priests just two days before Bishop Richard Williamson’s appeal against his conviction for Holocaust denial. READ »

Tens of thousands expected at Berlin yoga fest

Society: 2 Jul 11
Tens of thousands of yoga fans are expected in Berlin this weekend for a huge festival organized in the German capital's 1930s Olympic Stadium by one of India's best-known gurus, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. READ »

Politicians plan boycott of pope's Bundestag speech

National: 25 Jun 11
Several Social Democratic parliamentarians are planning to boycott the speech Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to give to the Bundestag in September. They accuse the pontiff of oppressing millions around the world. READ »

Mercedes to build greener Popemobile

Society: 21 Jun 11
Mercedes-Benz is making a greener hybrid Popemobile for Benedict XVI, according to a media report. The new vehicle may be ready for the Pope's fall visit to Germany. READ »

Pope visit set to draw huge crowds

Society: 7 Jun 11
Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to his birth country in September is booking out, with one church service already oversubscribed by eager Catholic worshippers and more than 120,000 ticket requests logged for his five public events. READ »

Registration begins for tickets for pope visit

Society: 16 May 11
Want to see the pope during his visit to Germany in September? Those interested in attending services in Berlin, Erfurt or Freiburg can now register online, Catholic Church officials have announced. READ »

Pope's plans for September trip to Germany finalized

National: 12 Apr 11
The plans for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Germany from September 22 to 25 have been finalized with the pope’s stamp of approval, the German Bishops’ Conference said Tuesday in Bonn. READ »

Catholics urge ditching celibacy rule for priests

Society: 3 Mar 11
Facing a dire shortage of priests, influential voices in Germany have begun questioning some central tenets of the Catholic Church including celibacy for the clergy. Kyle James reports. READ »

Catholic theologians call for end to celibacy for priests

Society: 4 Feb 11
More than 140 Catholic theologians from Germany, Switzerland and Austria called Friday for an end to celibacy as part of sweeping reforms in the wake of a sex scandal that rocked the Church. READ »

Merkel backs Cyprus reunification efforts

Politics: 11 Jan 11
Chancellor Angela Merkel, on the first visit by a German head of government to Europe's last divided capital, voiced her solidarity on Tuesday with Cyprus in its elusive efforts to reunify the island. READ »

From euro crisis to Eurovision

National: 3 Jan 11
What will be the big stories in Germany in 2011? The Local breaks down what could be a difficult year for the government but a triumphant one for the economy, music and women’s football. READ »

Church fears low turnout for pope's Berlin visit

Society: 17 Dec 10
Pope Benedict XVI plans to visit Berlin in September 2011, and even has a parliamentary address on his agenda. But Catholic officials fear the pontiff will draw embarrassingly small crowds and may not hold any public services. READ »

Munich Church hid abuse allegations for decades

National: 4 Dec 10
A report on abuse by clergy in Pope Benedict’s former Archbishopric of Munich shows that at least 159 priests were suspected of sexual or physical abuse while the actual number is thought to be considerably higher. READ »

Holocaust-denying bishop to drop lawyer with neo-Nazi ties

Society: 26 Nov 10
A British bishop appealing a German conviction for Holocaust denial has agreed to drop his lawyer with reported links to far-right groups, the breakaway Catholic fraternity he belongs to said Friday. READ »

Holocaust-denying bishop turns to lawyer with neo-Nazi links

Society: 23 Nov 10
A British bishop appealing his conviction in Germany for Holocaust denial will be represented by a lawyer with reported links to banned neo-Nazi groups, the court said this week. READ »

Most Israelis cannot forgive Germany for Holocaust

Society: 22 Nov 10
Most Israelis still find it impossible to forgive Germany for the Holocaust, a poll published Monday has found. READ »

Pope says condoms are sometimes acceptable

Society: 21 Nov 10
Pope Benedict XVI has said for the first time that using condoms is acceptable "in certain cases", notably to reduce the risk of HIV infection, in a book due out Tuesday, apparently softening his once hard-line stance. READ »

Pope Benedict to visit Germany in 2011

Society: 19 Nov 10
Pope Benedict XVI is to make an official state visit to his native Germany in late 2011, probably in September, the German Bishops' Conference said Friday. READ »

Germany gets two new Catholic cardinals

Society: 20 Oct 10
The Bishop of Munich and Freising, Reinhard Marx, and Bavarian Church historian Walter Brandmüller have been appointed cardinals, the Vatican announced on Wednesday. READ »

Archbishop Zollitsch says Catholic Church 'failed' in abuse scandal

Society: 20 Sep 10
Robert Zollitsch, Germany's most senior Roman Catholic bishop, said on Monday the Church had "failed" in its response to victims of sexual abuse by its priests. READ »

Catholics toughen rules on sex abuse prevention

Society: 31 Aug 10
Germany's Catholic Church unveiled on Tuesday tougher guidelines on investigating and preventing child sex abuse that it hopes will stop a repeat of the hugely damaging scandals of this year. READ »

Catholic priest charged with raping teen girl

National: 24 Aug 10
German prosecutors in Lower Saxony said Tuesday they had charged a Catholic priest with raping an underage girl after a tip-off from a special body set up to combat abuse scandals that have rocked the Church. READ »

Love Parade was cleared for only 250,000 guests

National: 26 Jul 10
The German techno festival where 19 people died in a stampede on Saturday had authorisation for only 250,000 revellers instead of the 1.4 million who organisers said attended, a media report said late on Sunday. READ »

Holy division and cynicism

Analysis & Opinion: 23 Jun 10
What is going on in the Catholic Church? Wracked by sexual abuse scandals, it has now decided to get into an ugly row with disgraced Bishop Walter Mixa. Der Tagesspiegel's Paul Kreiner doubts the pope can usher in a new era of reform. READ »

Secret Mixa file details alcohol and sexual abuse

National: 21 Jun 10
Secret documents contain serious allegations of alcoholism and sexual abuse against controversial former Augsburg bishop Walter Mixa, media reports said on Monday. READ »

Mixa wants his case reviewed by Vatican

National: 16 Jun 10
Controversial former Augsburg bishop Walter Mixa, who resigned over allegations of child abuse and misusing Catholic Church funds, said Wednesday he was forced out and plans to have his case investigated by the Vatican. READ »

Mixa returns to bishop's palace quarters in 'defiance'

Society: 14 Jun 10
Controversial former Augsburg bishop Walter Mixa has returned to live at the bishop’s palace despite his resignation over alleged child abuse and misuse of church funds, a media report said on Monday. READ »

Archbishop investigated for abetting sex abuse

National: 2 Jun 10
Prosecutors said Wednesday they were investigating Germany's top archbishop on suspicion of abetting child abuse, in the case of a man who said he was molested in the 1960s with the clergyman's knowledge. READ »

Study uncovers 205 cases of Jesuit abuse

National: 27 May 10
At least 205 children suffered sexual or physical abuse at Jesuit-run German institutions in recent decades, often with those in charge aware, according to a study released Thursday. READ »

Investigation into sex abuse by Mixa dropped

National: 14 May 10
German prosecutors said on Friday they were discontinuing an investigation into charges of sexual abuse by former Catholic Bishop Walter Mixa, who resigned last month amid claims he had beaten children and misused Church funds. READ »

Pope accepts Mixa's resignation

National: 8 May 10
Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of controversial Augsburg Bishop Walter Mixa following Friday's revelations about his alleged sexual abuse of children. READ »

Bishop Mixa investigated for sex abuse

National: 7 May 10
Controversial Catholic Bishop Walter Mixa, who resigned last month amid claims he had beaten children and misused Church funds, is being investigated now for sexual abuse, prosecutors announced Friday. READ »

Catholics relieved by Mixa's resignation

National: 23 Apr 10
As Germany’s 25 million Catholics await word on whether the Vatican has accepted embattled Bishop Walter Mixa’s resignation, senior Church members on Friday expressed relief over – and respect for – Mixa’s decision to step down. READ »

Priest says he was bullied into taking fall for Pope in abuse scandal

National: 18 Apr 10
The church official who initially said it was his fault that a paedophile priest was given succour in Pope Benedict XVI’s former diocese has broken ranks, alleging he was bullied into taking responsibility to protect the pontiff. READ »

Holocaust-denying bishop Williamson sentenced to fine

National: 16 Apr 10
Renegade British Catholic bishop Richard Williamson was fined €10,000 by a German court Friday for Holocaust denial in a case that has deeply embarrassed the Vatican. READ »

Williamson's Holocaust trial to start Friday – without him

Society: 14 Apr 10
British bishop Richard Williamson is declining to face court in person when his trial for Holocaust-denial begins Friday, according to his lawyer, who has said he will represent the absent clergyman. READ »

Pope Benedict's birthplace vandalised

National: 13 Apr 10
The house in the Bavarian town of Marktl am Inn where Pope Benedict XVI was born has been vandalised by critics of the Catholic Church's handling of a massive sexual abuse scandal in Germany, the police reported on Tuesday. READ »

Number of Jesuit abuse victims continues to climb

Society: 10 Apr 10
Some 10 weeks after abuse cases at Jesuit education institutions came to light, the number of victims continues to climb. Around 170 people are now believed to have been abused by Jesuits in Germany. READ »

Hitler may have tried stealing the Shroud of Turin

Society: 8 Apr 10
New research shows that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler may have tried to steal the famous Shroud of Turin, but was thwarted by the Vatican, an Italian media report said this week. READ »

Vatican denies pope failed to stop paedophile

National: 26 Mar 10
The Vatican on Friday dismissed a fresh allegation by The New York Times that Pope Benedict XVI failed to bar the transfer of a known paedophile priest while he was the archbishop of Munich. READ »

Trust in Catholic Church plummets amid abuse scandal

Society: 24 Mar 10
Trust in the Catholic Church has taken a heavy blow, a poll released Wednesday revealed, with barely one in six Germans saying they had confidence in the Church in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal. READ »

Minister lauds Bavarian church for taking sex abuse to the law

National: 22 Mar 10
German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger praised Bavaria’s Catholic conference of bishops on Monday for their commitment to work with law enforcement to clarify accusations of child sex abuse at Church institutions. READ »

Zollitsch says pope 'warning' German clergy

National: 20 Mar 10
Archbishop Robert Zollitsch on Saturday said Pope Benedict XVI's letter to Irish Catholics expressing remorse for child sex abuse by priests was also a warning to Germany's clergy. READ »

Merkel: paedophilia not just a Church problem

National: 17 Mar 10
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday said that sexual abuse of children was not solely a problem facing the Catholic Church in Germany, amid a snowballing scandal over paedophile priests. READ »

Church suspends priest whom Benedict helped

National: 16 Mar 10
The Catholic priest at the centre of a paedophilia scandal that has embroiled Pope Benedict XVI was suspended from duty late Monday amid revelations he was still working with children 25 years after he was convicted of sexual abuse. READ »

Catholic groups chastise pope's silence on sex abuse scandal

National: 15 Mar 10
German Catholic groups on Monday criticised the pope's silence over a snowballing child sex abuse scandal rocking his native country's Church. READ »

Pope helped priest accused of child abuse

National: 13 Mar 10
The Pope has become embroiled in Germany's Catholic child sex abuse scandal after his former diocese confirmed he approved church accommodation for a priest accused of forcing an 11-year-old boy to perform oral sex. READ »

Church to appoint child sex abuse watchdog

National: 12 Mar 10
The head of Germany's Catholic Church issued a new apology to victims of paedophile priests as he met the pope Friday and announced the creation of a watchdog to counter abuses. READ »

Child abuse scandal spreads to Catholic dorm

National: 10 Mar 10
A Roman Catholic dormitory near Frankfurt closed in 1981 on Wednesday became the latest religious institution enmeshed in a child abuse scandal now involving over two-thirds of Germany's dioceses. READ »

Pope's brother oblivious to choir sexual abuse

National: 8 Mar 10
Pope Benedict XVI's brother has said he was never aware of sexual abuse in the famous boys choir in Regensburg he headed for three decades. Meanwhile politicians are demanding a longer statute of limitations for such crimes. READ »

Catholic abuse scandal hits famous boys' choir

Society: 5 Mar 10
The child sexual abuse scandal in Germany’s Catholic Church continued to spread on Friday as a spokesperson confirmed abuse at Regensburg’s cathedral school for their famous boys' choir, the Domspatzen. READ »

Catholic school sex abuse scandal widens

National: 15 Feb 10
A scandal over sexual abuse by Jesuit priests at an elite Berlin school in the 1970s and 80s widened on Monday as the college's rector said he expected more than 100 victims to come forward. READ »

Third man confesses in Jesuit sex abuse scandal

National: 3 Feb 10
A scandal over sexual abuse by Jesuit priests in Germany in the 1970s and 80s snowballed Wednesday as a third teacher confessed, more victims came forward and further schools were implicated. READ »

St. Pius X brotherhood attacks Catholic bishops

National: 8 Jan 10
A priest from the controversial Catholic splinter group the Society of St. Pius X on Friday attacked several German bishops for allegedly betraying Pope Benedict XVI and the Church. READ »

The Local's year in review

National: 31 Dec 09
As 2010 kicks off, The Local takes a look back at some of the stories that caught our attention during the past year in Germany. READ »

Catholic official calls for end to celibacy for priests

Society: 24 Nov 09
Alois Glück, the new head of Germany’s main Catholic association, on Tuesday called for an end to celibacy vows for priests. READ »

Court summons Holocaust-denying British Bishop Williamson

National: 10 Nov 09
A British bishop who denied the Holocaust took place has been summoned to appear in a German court for inciting racial hatred, a court spokesman said on Tuesday. READ »

Prosecutors pursue charges against Holocaust denying Catholic bishop

National: 15 Oct 09
Prosecutors in the Bavarian city of Regensburg have submitted a request to press charges against the controversial Catholic bishop Richard Williamson for inciting hatred by denying the Holocaust. READ »

Fundamentalist Catholics defy Vatican to ordain three priests

National: 27 Jun 09
The rebellious fundamentalist Catholic Pius Brotherhood challenged the Vatican again on Saturday by ordaining three new priests – against the will of Pope Benedict XVI. READ »

Merkel pips Dalai Lama for world popularity and power

Politics: 29 May 09
Chancellor Angela Merkel is among the world’s best-loved and most-influential politicians in the world – second only to US President Barack Obama and ahead of the Dalai Lama, according to a new poll. READ »

German Jews slam Pope Benedict’s Yad Vashem visit

National: 12 May 09
The German Jewish Council has slammed Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem as “disappointing” and lacking “credibility” in light of his failure to address concerns about the Pius Brotherhood. READ »

Berlin votes to keep religion classes voluntary in schools

National: 26 Apr 09
Ethics classes imposed after an "honour killing" in Berlin's Muslim community will stay compulsory after supporters of religion lessons failed on Sunday to force a change via referendum. READ »

Hamburg bishop says condoms can't be 'taboo'

Society: 19 Mar 09
A Hamburg bishop on Thursday said the Catholic Church must rethink its “taboo” stance on condoms, contradicting controversial comments made by Pope Benedict XVI blaming them for making the AIDS epidemic worse. READ »

Jewish council calls Williamson's apology a 'third-class regret'

National: 27 Feb 09
Bishop Richard Williamson has apologized for his denial of the Holocaust, Catholic news agency Zenit reported late on Thursday, but Germany’s Central Council of Jews in Germany rejected the statement. READ »

Holocaust denying bishop told to quickly correct 'stupidity'

National: 11 Feb 09
A bishop has been ordered by the head of his ultra-traditionalist Roman Catholic fraternity to retract his denials of the Holocaust, news magazine Der Spiegel reported late on Tuesday. READ »

Chancellor and pope try to bury hatchet in Holocaust row

Politics: 8 Feb 09
Pope Benedict XVI and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have held a telephone conversation to try to put a row over a Holocaust-denying bishop behind them, a joint statement said Sunday. READ »

Holocaust-denying bishop refuses to recant without 'evidence'

National: 7 Feb 09
A Catholic bishop rehabilitated by the pope who denies the Holocaust has refused to recant his statements until he sees "evidence," he said in an interview published on Saturday. READ »

Catholic groups urge Germans to back pope

Society: 6 Feb 09
Two German catholic groups on Friday appealed to fellow members of the faith to back the pope in the row over a Holocaust denying bishop, condemning what they see as a "manipulative media campaign." READ »

Praise and anger for Merkel's pope criticism

National: 4 Feb 09
Chancellor Angela Merkel faced both praise and derision in Germany on Wednesday after criticising Pope Benedict XVI for welcoming a Holocaust-denying bishop back into the Catholic Church. READ »

Merkel: Pope's comments on Holocaust denial 'insufficient'

National: 3 Feb 09
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday joined a growing chorus of criticism in Germany calling for Pope Benedict XVI to clarify the Catholic Church’s position on rehabilitating a bishop who is a known Holocaust denier. READ »

A German Pope's dangerous dance with Holocaust deniers

Analysis & Opinion: 2 Feb 09
Following the rehabilitation of Holocaust denier Richard Williamson, the Catholic Church and Pope Benedict XVI must not sanction the St. Pius X Society's ideology, argues the German Jewish Council’s Stephan Kramer. READ »