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Where news and faith intersect around the world.

March 19, 2013 14:33

Pope Francis focuses on the poor, the media focus on the sex abuse scandal

The new pope delivered a sermon at the investiture Mass today amid news coverage that focused on his response to clergy sex abuse.
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Cardinals attend the Inauguration Mass for Pope Francis in St Peter's Square on March 19, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican. The inauguration of Pope Francis was held in front of an expected crowd of up to one million pilgrims and faithful who crowded into St Peter's Square and the surrounding streets to see the former Cardinal of Buenos Aires officially take up his position. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

ROME — Under blue skies, Pope Francis at his investiture Mass today at St. Peter's Square called on international state officials there to be "protectors of one another and of the environment...We must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness."

An estimated 200,000 people packed the square and streets surrounding the basilica.

The pope's sermon, amid the beauty and solemnity of a Latin Mass, spoke specifically to representatives of governments seated aside the altar, from US Vice President Joe Biden to Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe.

"I would ask to all of those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill,” he said. “Let us be 'protectors' of creation, protectors of God's plan inscribed in nature...keeping watch over our emotions, over our hearts."

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March 19, 2013 13:17
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Iraq War anniversary attacks signal escalation of Sunni-Shia strife

At least 56 Iraqis are reported dead in Sunni-on-Shia bombings in Baghdad.
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People look at the remains of a car bomb explosion near the fortified 'Green Zone' in the capital of Baghdad, on March 19, 2013. A wave of attacks and explosions in Iraq killed more than 50 people and officials delayed provincial polls, highlighting security concerns on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion. ( Sabah Arar/AFP/Getty Images)

A coordinated series of attacks targeting civilians in Shia Muslim areas of Baghdad is the latest deadly example of sectarian violence consuming Iraq 10 years after the US-led invasion.

Recent reports place the death toll of the 12 bombs planted near restaurants, bus stops and work sites at more than 56 people, with more than 200 injured. Sunni extremists, part of a tiny group of Iraq's second-largest religious sect, have been blamed for the attacks. 

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Aaron Schrank, Omar Shamout, and Tricia TongcoMarch 18, 2013 11:57

Older Irish Catholics hope a new pope means a new direction for the church

The faithful say they hope that Pope Francis will bring change to a church suffering from scandal, despite the new pope's staunchly conservative views on social issues.
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A man sits inside St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland. (Omar Shamout/GlobalPost)

DUBLIN — Newly elected Pope Francis may be staunchly conservative on many social issues, but the same can’t be said for some older, devout Catholics in Dublin.

Margaret Devlin, 62, celebrates Mass at her local church daily. She’s excited about a change in Vatican leadership, but disagrees with the new pope’s stance against gay marriage.

“If you’re gay, you’re gay,” Devlin said. “I think they have a right to be happy with a partner."

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March 18, 2013 11:45

Two discordant 'dirty war' narratives of Pope Francis continue

Though skepticism of the Vatican is warranted, could it be right about Father Bergoglio's past in Argentina?
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People stand next to an image of Pope Francis following Sunday Mass outside the Metropolitan Cathedral on March 17, 2013 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Francis was the archbishop of Buenos Aires and is the first ope to hail from South America. (Mario Tama/AFP/Getty Images)

ROME — The news from Argentina on what Pope Francis did, or didn't do during the years of the dirty war has shadowed the early days of his papacy, prompting the Vatican to denounce reporting to that effect.

Could it be, on this one, that the Vatican may be right?

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Aaron RossMarch 15, 2013 15:41

Ghana: a model of interfaith tolerance

In this outwardly religious country, harmony between Muslims and Christians is part of the social makeup.
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A man walks on February 17, 2013 toward the St. Frances de Sales Cathedral in Cape Coast, Ghana. (Chris Stein/AFP/Getty Images)

ACCRA, Ghana — Ghanaians wear their faith on their sleeves — and on car windows, storefront signs, t-shirts, and just about anywhere else one could conceivably affix a religious message. In the capital Accra, there is the “Jesus is Alive Wheel Alignment and Tyre Balancing” shop. Near the Ivorian border, one can find “Jesus Jesus Enterprise.” Common messages include, “Everything by God” and “God Time is the Best.”

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Megan O'Neill and Paresh DaveMarch 15, 2013 09:36

Jesuit priests in Ireland see hope in Francis

The election of the first-ever Jesuit pope signifies a desire for change in the church, say Irish priests. Can Francis avoid becoming a 'prisoner' of the Vatican?
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Inside a Dublin Church (Omar Shamout/GlobalPost)

DUBLIN — The morning after being selected to lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, Pope Francis returned to the Roman hotel where he stayed during the conclave to retrieve his luggage and pay his bill.

It was one of the new pontiff's personal, everyman gestures that drew notice from Jesuit priests in Ireland. They see in Francis a leader, shaped by the Jesuit tradition, capable of reorienting the Catholic Church's relationship with its members.

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March 14, 2013 16:40

How the media failed to predict the next pope

Why did so many media outlets fail to include Cardinal Bergoglio in the scores of profiles, predictions and analysis that surrounded the conclave?
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Jorge Mario Bergoglio attends his first private Mass as Pope Francis in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore on March 14, 2013 in Rome, Italy. A day after thousands gathered in St Peter's Square to watch the announcement of the first ever Latin American Pontiff it has been announced that Pope Francis' inauguration mass will be held on March 19, 2013 in Vatican City. (L'Osservatore Romano/Getty Images)

BOSTON — Like most newsrooms, GlobalPost covered yesterday’s announcement of a new pope as the story broke, frantically receiving calls and posts from our correspondent in Rome, updating our live blog and readying profiles of the supposed frontrunners. But when the new leader of the Catholic Church stepped onto that balcony, we were surprised at the pick.

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March 13, 2013 17:52

Pope Francis I on human rights

The new pope may represent a change for the church as the first from Latin America, but his views on some social issues aren't much of a departure.
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VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MARCH 13: Newly elected Pope Francis I appears on the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican. Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as the 266th Pontiff and will lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (Peter Macdiarmid/AFP/Getty Images)

Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was named the new leader of the Catholic Church today.

The election of Pope Francis I, as he has chosen to be named, symbolizes several firsts for the church as he is the first pope from Latin America, and the first Jesuit to be elected pope. But will he also represent a new approach when it comes to the church’s stance on social issues? Here's what we know:

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March 13, 2013 16:34
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Pope Francis I: A voice for the poor

Charles Sennott explains why Cardinal Bergoglio, now Pope Francis I, has been regarded as the 'conscience of the church' when it comes to poverty and inequality.
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Newly elected Pope Francis I appears on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican. Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as the 266th Pontiff and will lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (Peter Macdiarmid/AFP/Getty Images)

GlobalPost co-founder Charles Sennott covered the Vatican for many years and has written three books on the global church. Speaking from New York, he commented on the selection of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the new pope today:

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March 11, 2013 17:20

Waiting for the conclave at Santa Maria Maggiore

A walk through one of the world's most historic churches reveals a modern puzzle.
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The Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Italy. (Jason Berry/GlobalPost)

ROME — Over the weekend, as cardinals shunned the press to preserve the secrecy of a conclave two days off, I made pilgrimage to Santa Maria Maggiore, the great church facing a traffic circle on the Esquiline Hill. In a city of monumental churches, this mammoth papal basilica holds within the paradox of beauty and power that colors the oldest church in Christendom.

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