Pope Benedict XVI

Gunmen attacked a church in volatile northern Nigeria during a Christmas Eve service, killing six people including the pastor, before setting the building ablaze, residents and police said Tuesday, as the pope deplored "savage acts of terrorism" against Christians in Africa's most populous nation.

Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met Tuesday with internal opposition groups as he pushed a new initiative to end Syria's conflict, while Gulf Arab states urged a rapid political transition in the country.

Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday called for an "end to the bloodshed" and "a political solution" in conflict-wracked Syria in a traditional Christmas message that touched on several other of the world's conflict zones.

Millions of Christians around the world celebrated Christmas on Tuesday as Pope Benedict XVI prepared to deliver his traditional Christmas Day blessing in which he is expected to appeal for peace in war-torn Syria.

Pope Benedict XVI prepared on Tuesday to deliver his traditional Christmas Day blessing to thousands of faithful in St. Peter's Square in which he was expected to appeal for peace in war-torn Syria.

Thousands of people streamed into the West Bank city of Bethlehem to mark Christmas, as the Latin Patriarch urged "men of good will" to seek peace in the Middle East.

Thousands of people streamed into the West Bank city of Bethlehem to mark Christmas, as the Latin Patriarch urged "men of good will" to seek peace in the Middle East.

Pope Benedict XVI said in his Christmas Eve mass on Monday that religion can be corrupted, leading to violence and wars, but refuted critics who claim that denying God's existence would lead to peace.

Pope Benedict XVI pardoned his former butler Paolo Gabriele, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing secret papal memos, but banished the once loyal servant from the Vatican forever.

Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday pardoned his former butler Paolo Gabriele, who was sentenced to 18 months in jail for leaking secret papal memos, but banished him from the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI has lauded a French rabbi's essay arguing that profit is behind a gay marriage push. Pope Benedict XVI has lauded a French rabbi's essay arguing that the government's plans to legalize marriage and adoption for gay and lesbian couples are little more than a backroom deal for ?the exclusive profit of a tiny minority.? Rabbi Gilles Bernheim published his essay, titled Gay Marriage, Parenthood and Adoption: What We Often Forget To Say, in October. Bernheim also maintained that gay nuptials are often supported out of political correctness. Homosexuals rights groups ?will use gay marriage as a Trojan Horse? in a wider campaign to ?deny sexual identity and erase sexual differences? and ?undermine the heterosexual fundamentals of our society,? Bernheim wrote. In his annual Christmas address on Friday given at the Clementine Hall of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, Benedict applauded Bernheim's essay, calling it ?profoundly moving.? The Holy Father also described marriage equa

Pope Benedict XVI on Friday weighed in on a heated debate over gay marriage, saying same-sex unions called into question what it means to be "true men".

Pope Benedict XVI, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, on Friday criticized gay marriage. Pope Benedict XVI, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, on Friday criticized gay marriage. In his annual Christmas address given at the Vatican, Benedict denounced such unions as a manipulation of sexual identity, the AP reported. The pope also dedicated the coming year to promoting family values. ?People dispute the idea that they have a nature, given to them by their bodily identity, that serves as a defining element of the human being,? the Holy Father said in one of his most important speeches of the year. ?They deny their nature and decide that it is not something previously given to them, but that they make it for themselves.? ?The manipulation of nature, which we deplore today where our environment is concerned, now becomes man's fundamental choice where he himself is concerned.? Benedict and the Vatican have increased their opposition as predominantly Catholic France debates the issue

Pope Benedict XVI signed a decree on Thursday recognising the "heroic virtues" of late pope Paul VI, putting him on the first step towards beatification and eventual sainthood.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators turned out in France on Sunday to show support for the government's plans to legalise gay marriage and adoption.

World leaders expressed shock and horror after a gunman massacred 20 small children and six staff Friday in the US state of Connecticut, one of the worst school shootings in history.

A group of protesters demonstrating against Pope Benedict XVI's opposition to gay marriage were turned away by police. A group of protesters demonstrating against Pope Benedict XVI's opposition to gay marriage were swiftly turned away by police as they attempted to enter St. Peter's Square in the Vatican on Sunday as the Holy Father appeared at his studio window to give his weekly address to pilgrims and tourists. Police blocked the activists from entering the square. The demonstrators, estimated at 15, carried signs in Italian and English with sayings such as ?Homophobia = death,? ?Marriage for all? and ?Gay unions don't harm peace, weapons do.? The AP reported that police confiscated the placards of four activists. In his message for the January 1 World Day of Peace, Benedict suggested that marriage equality harms justice and peace. Gay unions are an ?offense against the truth of the human person, with serious harm to justice and peace,? Benedict said. ?We find intolerable the assert

The US school gunman used an assault rifle to pump his mostly six- and seven-year old victims with multiple bullets, authorities said Saturday, as details of the horrific spree became clearer.

US police indicated Saturday they are homing in on the mystery of what triggered the massacre of 20 children and six adults at a school by a young lone gunman.

The bodies of 20 children and six adults slaughtered by a gunman in a quiet Connecticut town were removed from the blood-soaked school Saturday as police searched for a motive in the massacre.