Pope Benedict XVI has shocked the world by announcing that he will relinquish the papacy at the end of the month.

Benedict made his historic announcement at a consistory that was held to approve the canonization of three new saints. In a faltering voice, he read a statement in Latin to the assembled cardinals.

“After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,” he said.

Benedict stated that governing the church required one had to be strong in both mind and body. But since he had come to feel increasingly infirm, it was important that he step down and let someone with a stronger constitution take over.

As required by canon law, Benedict announced that he made his resignation with “full freedom.” And in display of German meticulousness, he also declared that he would “renounce the ministry of bishop of Rome, successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a conclave to elect the new supreme pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.”

Benedict concluded his statement by announcing that he planned to continue serving the church through a life dedicated to prayer.

Although Roman Catholic bishops and archbishops are expected to retire at 75, the pope traditionally holds office for life. Benedict’s predecessor, John Paul II, remained in office despite suffering from a variety of debilitating ailments. But over the centuries, a handful of popes have chosen to step down. Gregory XII resigned in 1415 in order to end the Great Schism, a decades-long ecclesiastical civil war that saw multiple popes in office at the same time. Over a century earlier, Celestine V stepped down after a reign of only five months when he became disillusioned with the nature of the papacy. Hopefully, Benedict’s post-papal life will be more congenial than that of Celestine, who was imprisoned in the castle of Fumone by his successor.

The full text of Benedict’s announcement can be found here.

Image Courtesy : Catholic Church (England and Wales)

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A new Mitt Romney ad is accusing President Obama of endangering the religious freedom in the nation. The video invokes Pope John Paul II and criticizes that Obama is forcing religious institutions to act against their beliefs because of his contraception coverage rule.

Romney’s ad is not the first or the last time Barack Obama will be accused of threatening religious freedom in the United States, many have already expressed their rejection for Obama’s health-care reform claiming it violates freedom of conscience.

Kathleen Parker, Washington Post opinion columnist, explained that Obama’s health-care reform was forcing the Catholic institutions to pay for an insurance that would cover abortive drugs, which is clearly against the Catholic Church fundamental beliefs.

In this new reform Catholic churches and their direct employees are exempt from the rule, but other Catholic-sponsored entities, among which we can find schools and hospitals that employ non-Catholics are non-exempt from the rule. So they are forced to complain or to pay fines in order to avoid the rule that is against their faith.

Timothy Dolan, Wall Street Journal Opinion columnist, said “Religious freedom is the lifeblood of the American people, the cornerstone of American government.” Dolan quotes many of the nation’s founding fathers defending freedom of conscience; he wrote that George Washington declared: “The conscientious scruples of all men should be treated with great delicacy and tenderness; and it is my wish and desire, that the laws may always be extensively accommodated to them,” and added that James Madison also said that “conscience is the most sacred of all property.”

What Dolan criticizes more is the fact that Obama’s administration proposed a religious employer exemption, but this is very narrow because it only applies to religious organizations that mostly serve people of their own religion. Dolan says the Obama administrations has refused to exempt other religious institutions like schools, charities or hospitals, from this rule, which mandates the employers to purchase contraception methods.

Some critics also think the Catholic Church is exaggerating, the L.A. Times editorial states: “Is religious freedom suddenly under attack in America? That’s what the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops and some non-Catholic allies would have you believe. But reports of the demise of this fundamental liberty are greatly exaggerated.”

But the Romney ad has taken advantage of all the criticism Obama has received, a narrator in the video says, “Who shares your values? President Obama used his healthcare plan to declare war on religion,” and adds that “Mitt Romney believes that’s wrong.”

Image Courtesy of  marcn

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LOS ANGELES, US – Charity: Part III of A Mexican Trilogy is the third play (but the second produced) of the trilogy of the epic story of several generations of a Mexican-American family impacted by inspirational figures (FDR, JFK, John Paul II). Latino Theater Company’s Artistic Director, Jose Luis Valenzuela, and its playwright-in-residence, Evelina Fernandez re-teams for this story.

Mexico’s biggest star of stage, Ofelia Medina portrays the matriarch of the Garcia family, born at the end of the Nineteenth Century, before the Mexican Revolution. She steadfastly refuses to die, insisting that she goes on living to protect her family.

It’s 2005, and the family intermittently watches news reports of the death of Pope John Paul II. They have varied responses to the Catholic Church. They’re stricken with grief over the loss of young Emiliano in the War on Iraq. Actually, he’s not quite gone. His ghost frequently visits the family matriarch.

The Garcias’ routine is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of a cousin from Mexico, Juan Francisco (“Frankie”). His aunt Gina is not comfortable with his presence, but he soon gets a job from a gay family friend working in a salon. Frankie believes in what the U.S. represents, and he will make choices that will put him on the road to U.S. citizenship.

Other than Ofelia Medina—one of Mexico’s biggest stars of stage, screen and television — the moving story of the Garcia family stars Esperanza America Ibarra, lauded by the Los Angeles Times (1/4/12) as one of the city’s finest actresses; Rudy Ramos; Evelina Fernandez; Sal Lopez; Geoffrey Rivas; Lucy Rodriguez; Sam Golzari and Jonathan William Cruz.

Presented primarily in English, “Charity: Part III of a Mexican Trilogy” will make its world premier on May 11, 2012 at Los Angeles Theatre Center. The Garcia family is one that hopes, dreams, argues, bickers, but above all, loves each other. It’s a family much, perhaps, like your own.

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The dedication of a new Catholic cathedral in the city of Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea, on December 7, served as a symbol of the nation’s economic development and the vigorous religious life of a country where the church was once violently suppressed.

President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo dedicated the new Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Equatorial Guinea’s easternmost city.  In his remarks, he reminded his countrymen of his government’s efforts to restore religious freedom as one of its first acts upon assuming power.

The previous regime had forced the “closure of churches and persecution of Christians, many of whom were forced into exile,” President Obiang said. “With our arrival, we proceeded to reopen all the churches closed by the former regime. We proceeded to release [political] prisoners, and ecclesiastical activity regained its vigor and normality.”

The event was held on the eve of the feast of the Immaculate Conception in the capital of Wele Nsas province, President Obiang’s birthplace. More than 1,000 guests attended the religious ceremony, including President Francois Bozize of the Central African Republic, papal envoy Francis Cardinal Arinze, and Antoinette Nguesso, wife of the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The attractive new basilica, done in a variation of neoclassical style, is named for the Blessed Virgin Mary, the patron saint of Equatorial Guinea. It can hold up to 8,000 people and took nearly six years to construct. President Obiang presented the plan for the basilica to Pope Benedict XVI during a state visit to the Holy See in 2005 and laid the cornerstone on December 9, 2006.

President Obiang expressed the hope that Pope Benedict would visit the country and recalled the critical role Pope John Paul II played in promoting national healing and renewal during his eight-hour visit to Equatorial Guinea in 1982.

“The Pope arrived at the airport in Malabo, kissed the earth, and blessed our country with his hands raised,” President Obiang said. “The people turned out in such a way that he left with the idea that our country was where he was received with the greatest fervor.” The population of Equatorial Guinea is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic.

After the inaugural Mass, which was attended by five cardinals, 45 bishops, and some 300 priests from the central African sub-region, President Obiang and the Cardinal Arinze cut the ribbon, signifying the official opening of the basilica.

Gasper Furman / Shutterstock.com

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