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16 May, 2015

Angel of Peace medal

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pope with PA leaderThe Pope presents presents Abbas with a medallion with the angel of peace on it, and praises his efforts at establishing a Palestinian State peacefully.

This gift is appropriate since you are an angel of peace destroying the bad spirit of war.

13 May, 2015

Israel: Treaty does not promote peace process

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Israel is releases a statement about the Vatican’s treaty recognizing Palestine as a State.

This move does not promote the peace process and distances the Palestinian leadership from returning to direct and bilateral negotiations. Israel will study the agreement and will consider its steps accordingly.

Vatican recognizes Palestine

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The Vatican announces it will sign a treaty that includes official recognition of the “State of Palestine.” Vatican Official:

Yes, it’s a recognition that the state exists. The treaty concerns the Catholic Church’s activities in that territory and both parties are expected to sign it soon.

25 Feb, 2015

Vatican statement

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The Vatican issues a statement regarding Francis’ comments about ‘Mexicanization’. Rev. Federico Lombardi:

The pope intended only to emphasize the seriousness of the phenomenon of the drug trafficking that afflicts Mexico and other countries in Latin America. It is precisely this importance that has made the fight against drug trafficking a priority for the government.

24 Sep, 2014

Ambassador arrested

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Jozef WesolowskiThe Vatican says that former Holy See ambassador Józef Wesołowski has been placed under house arrest and will face a criminal trial over child sex charges. The action against 66-year-old Wesołowski is the first time the Vatican has charged a high-ranking official with paedophilia. He faces up to 12 years in prison.

11 Mar, 2002

‘Myth of the pedophile priest’

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Penn State University professor of history and religious studies Philip Jenkins writes in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that the concept of the ‘pedophile priest’ is a ‘myth’:

As a description of a social problem, the term is wildly misleading. Crucially, Catholic priests and other clergy have nothing like a monopoly on sexual misconduct with minors.

He says that while news media have portrayed child abuse cases within the Catholic church as a crisis of celibacy, in research conducted over 20 years, he has found no evidence that Catholic clergy or other celibate denominations are more likely to be involved in child abuse:

Literally every denomination and faith tradition has its share of abuse cases, and some of the worst involve non-Catholics. Every mainline Protestant denomination has had scandals aplenty, as have Pentecostals, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews, Buddhists, Hare Krishnas – and the list goes on. One Canadian Anglican (Episcopal) diocese is currently on the verge of bankruptcy as a result of massive lawsuits caused by decades of systematic abuse, yet the Anglican church does not demand celibacy of its clergy.