Yahoo! News: Religion News

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• Pope meets Cuba's Fidel Castro, slams U.S. embargo
• Pope urges greater openings in vast Cuban Mass
• Pope, in Cuba, says no limits on 'basic freedoms'
• Pope condemns U.S. embargo as Cuba trip wraps up
• "What does a pope do?" Fidel Castro asks Benedict
• Abuse victim testifies in Philadelphia church trial
• US asks Pope to help in Alan Gross case
• US asks Pope to help in Alan Gross case
• Pope wraps Cuba visit with Mass, Fidel meeting
• Bishop: No decision on Ohio churches re-opening
• Pope Benedict meets Fidel Castro in Havana
• Pope schedules last-minute meeting with Fidel Castro
• Pope urges more church freedom in Cuba
• Thousands massed in Havana for pope's Mass
• Pope wraps up Cuba visit with Mass in Revolution Plaza; meeting with Fidel Castro
• Fidel Castro confirms meeting with pope Wednesday
• Catholic bishop had no "duty" to report child abuse: lawyer

Pope meets Cuba's Fidel Castro, slams U.S. embargo Posted: HAVANA (Reuters) - Pope Benedict called for an end to the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba and met with revolutionary icon Fidel Castro on Wednesday as he ended a trip in which he urged the communist island to change. He also spoke at a public Mass in Havana's sprawling Revolution Square where the Vatican said 300,000 people gathered to hear the 84-year-old pontiff. ...

Pope urges greater openings in vast Cuban Mass Posted: Pope Benedict XVI demanded more freedom for the Catholic Church in communist-run Cuba and preached against "fanaticism" in an unusually political sermon before hundreds of thousands at Revolution Plaza, with President Raul Castro in the front row.

Pope, in Cuba, says no limits on 'basic freedoms' Posted: Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday wrapped up a visit to Cuba with a call for respect of "basic freedoms," pursuing his persistent prodding of the island's Communist authorities to embrace change.

Pope condemns U.S. embargo as Cuba trip wraps up Posted: HAVANA (Reuters) - Pope Benedict criticized the 50-year-old U.S. trade embargo on Cuba as he wrapped up a three-day visit to the Communist-run island on Wednesday, urging reconciliation and greater freedoms. "May no one feel excluded ... from taking up this exciting search for his or her basic freedoms, or excused from this by indolence or lack of material resources, a situation which is worsened when restrictive economic measures, imposed from outside the country, unfairly burden its people," the pontiff said. (Reporting by Simon Gardner; editing by Todd Eastham)

"What does a pope do?" Fidel Castro asks Benedict Posted: HAVANA (Reuters) - Pope Benedict and Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, both octogenarians, joked about their age in a brief meeting on Wednesday and then Castro popped the question: so what do you do? The two world figures chatted for about 30 minutes at the Vatican embassy in Havana near the end of the pope's three-day visit to Cuba, where he called for greater freedom and a bigger role for the Catholic Church in the communist-led nation. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Benedict, 84, and Castro, 85, had an "exchange of ideas" in a "very cordial" atmosphere. ...

Abuse victim testifies in Philadelphia church trial Posted: PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The jury in the Philadelphia Archdiocese pedophilia case on Wednesday got a look at the lurid lives of priests that were allegedly ignored by a top church official now on trial for child endangerment. Testimony by a former altar boy who said he was abused and by a priest who stumbled upon his fellow clergy's misdeeds came during the trial of Monsignor William Lynn, the most senior church official to go to trial in the child sex abuse case rocking the Roman Catholic Church. ...

US asks Pope to help in Alan Gross case Posted: The Obama administration said Wednesday it had asked Pope Benedict XVI to raise with Cuban officials the case of American contractor Alan Gross, jailed on suspicion of espionage.

US asks Pope to help in Alan Gross case Posted: The Obama administration said Wednesday it had asked Pope Benedict XVI to raise with Cuban officials the case of American contractor Alan Gross, jailed on suspicion of espionage.The State Department said ...

Pope wraps Cuba visit with Mass, Fidel meeting Posted: Pope Benedict XVI wraps up his visit to Cuba on Wednesday with an open-air Mass in the shrine of the Cuban revolution, hoping to revive the Catholic faith in this communist-run country. His other appointment: a meeting with Fidel Castro.

Bishop: No decision on Ohio churches re-opening Posted: Parishioners of 13 northeast Ohio churches closed by the bishop but spared by the Vatican must wait to find out if they will re-open.

Pope Benedict meets Fidel Castro in Havana Posted: HAVANA (Reuters) - Pope Benedict met with Cuban revolutionary icon Fidel Castro after saying mass in Havana on Wednesday, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said. The meeting comes towards the close of the pope's three-day visit to the Communist-run island, during which the pontiff has called for greater freedoms, and a bigger role for the Roman Catholic Church in Cuban society. (Reporting by Philip Pullella, Editing by Eric Walsh)

Pope schedules last-minute meeting with Fidel Castro Posted: Former Cuban President Fidel Castro is to meet with Pope Benedict XVI today after a mass in Havana's Revolution Square. The last-minute meeting marks the end of the pope's visit to the communist island that banned religion after the 1959 Revolution.

Pope urges more church freedom in Cuba Posted: Pope Benedict XVI is demanding greater freedom for the Catholic Church in Cuba during a Mass in the shrine of the island's communist revolution. He also denounces fanaticism that tries to impose its truth on others.

Thousands massed in Havana for pope's Mass Posted: Tens of thousands of people have massed in Havana's Revolution Plaza for Pope Benedict XVI's Mass on the final day of his visit to Cuba.

Pope wraps up Cuba visit with Mass in Revolution Plaza; meeting with Fidel Castro Posted: HAVANA - Pope Benedict XVI wraps up his visit to Cuba on Wednesday with an open-air Mass in the shrine of the Cuban revolution, hoping to revive the Catholic faith in this communist-run country. His other appointment: a meeting with Fidel Castro.

Fidel Castro confirms meeting with pope Wednesday Posted: Fidel Castro has announced he will "happily" meet with Pope Benedict XVI.

Catholic bishop had no "duty" to report child abuse: lawyer Posted: KANSAS CITY (Reuters) - A Catholic Bishop in Kansas City did not have a legal obligation to report suspected child sexual abuse by a local priest even if he knew about it, a lawyer for the bishop said on Tuesday. In a preview to the upcoming trial of Bishop Robert Finn of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, a lawyer for Finn asked Jackson County Circuit Judge John Torrence to dismiss the charge against him because he said there was another Diocese official who should have reported the priest to police. "Bishop Finn had no statutory duty to report. ...

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