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• Catholic Church urges Irish to oppose abortion law
• At Christmas Eve Mass, pope urges space for God
• Find room for God in fast-paced world, pope says on Christmas eve
• Pope leads a packed Christmas Eve Mass
• Pope lights Christmas candle in his Vatican window
• Christmas brings fear of church bombs in Nigeria
• Roman Catholic cleric celebrates Palestinian state
• Pakistan's loneliest church celebrates Christmas in Taliban country

Catholic Church urges Irish to oppose abortion law Posted: 24 Dec 2012 04:03 PM PST DUBLIN (Reuters) - The head of Ireland's Catholic Church urged followers in his Christmas Day message to lobby against government plans to legalize abortion. Ireland, the only EU member state that currently outlaws the procedure, is preparing legislation that would allow limited access to abortion after the European Court of Human Rights criticized the current regime. ...

At Christmas Eve Mass, pope urges space for God Posted: 24 Dec 2012 03:12 PM PST VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI marked Christmas Eve with Mass in St. Peter's Basilica and a pressing question: Will people find room in their hectic, technology-driven lives for children, the poor and God?

Find room for God in fast-paced world, pope says on Christmas eve Posted: 24 Dec 2012 02:12 PM PST VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, leading the world's Roman Catholics into Christmas, on Monday urged people to find room for God in their fast-paced lives filled with the latest technological gadgets. The 85-year-old pope, marking the eighth Christmas season of his pontificate, celebrated a solemn Christmas Eve mass in St Peter's Basilica, during which he appealed for a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and an end to the civil war in Syria. ...

Pope leads a packed Christmas Eve Mass Posted: 24 Dec 2012 01:32 PM PST VATICAN CITY (AP) — Heralded by the blare of trumpets, Pope Benedict XVI is presiding over Christmas Eve Mass in a St. Peter's Basilica packed with tourists, Italians and other faithful.

Pope lights Christmas candle in his Vatican window Posted: 24 Dec 2012 09:46 AM PST VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI has lit a Christmas peace candle set on the windowsill of his private studio.

Christmas brings fear of church bombs in Nigeria Posted: 24 Dec 2012 07:49 AM PST MADALLA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Kneeling over a dusty grave on the outskirts of Nigeria's capital, 16-year old Hope Ehiawaguan says a prayer, lays down flowers and tearfully tells her brother she loves him. He was one of 44 killed on Christmas Day last year when a member of Islamist sect Boko Haram rammed a car packed with explosives into the gates of St Theresa's Church in Madalla, a satellite town 25 miles from the center of Abuja. Boko Haram has killed hundreds in its campaign to impose sharia law in northern Nigeria and is the biggest threat to stability in Africa's top oil exporter. ...

Roman Catholic cleric celebrates Palestinian state Posted: 24 Dec 2012 07:19 AM PST BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — The top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land celebrated the United Nations' recent recognition of a Palestinian state in his annual pre-Christmas homily on Monday, saying that while the road to actual freedom from Israeli occupation remains long, the Palestinian homeland has been born.

Pakistan's loneliest church celebrates Christmas in Taliban country Posted: 24 Dec 2012 03:54 AM PST SOUTH WAZIRISTAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - This Christmas, pastor Nazir Alam will stoke up a fire, lay a fresh cloth on the altar and welcome parishioners as they arrive at his church in Waziristan, a Pakistani tribal area known as an al-Qaeda haven. "The lights are all up, and the choir boys are ready. The church is looking its best," said 60-year-old Alam, a former missionary who has celebrated his last ten Christmases there. "There's not much left to do but to pray and rejoice." Outsiders might see little cause for joy. ...

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