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• Palestinian president Abbas invites pope to Middle East
• Brazil mulls Church exception on gay rights
• Most Norwegian bishops favour religious gay marriages
• Pope holds crisis talks on fate of Germany's 'luxury bishop'
• Pope hears first-hand about high-spending German
• Abbas meets pope, invites him to visit Holy Land
• Philippine quake damages centuries-old churches

Palestinian president Abbas invites pope to Middle East Posted: 17 Oct 2013 11:15 AM PDT Vatican City (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas during a Vatican audience on Thursday invited Pope Francis to the Middle East, saying he would "walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ".

Brazil mulls Church exception on gay rights Posted: 17 Oct 2013 10:35 AM PDT Brasília (AFP) - Brazil's congressional commission on human rights and minorities has approved a text that if approved by lawmakers would grant the Church a legal right to reject gay marriage.

Most Norwegian bishops favour religious gay marriages Posted: 17 Oct 2013 10:32 AM PDT Oslo (AFP) - Most of Norway's 12 bishops favour religious same-sex marriage but may settle for a simpler civil ceremony because the issue remains controversial, the Church of Norway which professes the Lutheran Christian faith said Thursday.

Pope holds crisis talks on fate of Germany's 'luxury bishop' Posted: 17 Oct 2013 08:31 AM PDT VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis held crisis talks on Thursday on the fate of Germany's "luxury bishop" who is under intense pressure to resign for spending some 31 million euros ($42 million) on an ultra-luxurious residence. The pope, who has tried to set an example of austerity by renouncing the spacious papal apartments for a small residence in a Vatican guest house, held talks with Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, head of the German bishops' conference. ...

Pope hears first-hand about high-spending German Posted: 17 Oct 2013 07:58 AM PDT VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis, who has said he wants a church for the poor, has been briefed about a scandal in Germany involving a bishop's 31 million euro ($42 million) residence and renovation project.

Abbas meets pope, invites him to visit Holy Land Posted: 17 Oct 2013 06:17 AM PDT VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday invited Pope Francis to visit the Holy Land, matching an invitation from Israel. The pontiff, who has made many appeals for peace in the Middle East since his election in March, has already told Israel he will visit and is widely expected to make the trip next year. "I invited him to the Holy Land," Abbas said after a 30-minute private audience with the pope in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, their first meeting. ...

Philippine quake damages centuries-old churches Posted: 16 Oct 2013 06:00 PM PDT LOON, Philippines (AP) — The earthquake that killed at least 156 people in the central Philippines also took its toll on the region's historical and religious legacy by heavily damaging a dozen or more churches, some centuries old.

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