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Church in the WorldPope expected for Lourdes anniversaryFrance Tom Heneghan - 26 May 2007Pope Benedict XVI may visit Lourdes next May to celebrate the one-hundred-and- fiftieth anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary in the southwestern French town, writes Tom Heneghan. Nothing is official, but church sources in France and in Rome point to the familiar signs of papal trip preparations. The invitation has been extended and accepted "in principle", according to the sources. The Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, Jacques Perrier, has just made a trip to Rome, and Alberto Gasbarri, the Vatican's coordinator of papal journeys, is expected in Lourdes soon. According to French sources, Pope Benedict could make the trip on 31 May, the Feast of the Visitation. The anniversary of the first apparition - 11 February - would be a cold winter day in the Pyrenean mountains and unfit for a visit. The 18 apparitions to Bernadette Soubirous continued until 16 July 1858 and the shrine is already preparing for the jubilee (see www.lourdes2008.com). |
 In this week’s issueMaking markets moral Iron and velvet Love in a Catholic climate Someone to talk to A good Lent takes planning South American surprise Can the Church support abuse victims on its own terms? Elena Curti Is the Church too slow in recognising that academies are the future for Catholic schools? Christopher Lamb Goodwin the scapegoat Elena Curti The pain of being a coeliac Catholic Sr M, guest contributor The Church's moral obligation to victims of clerical sexual abuse Speeches from this week's conference in Rome This week in Rome bishops and religious superiors met at the first Vatican-backed symposium devoted to forging a global response to the crisis of clerical sexual abuse that has disgraced ... Archbishop voices 'shame and sorrow' after priest's abuse trial Longley to visit parishes 'damaged' by Walsh Today, Tuesday 7 February, Bede Walsh, who served as a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, has been convicted by a jury, following a 10-day trial at Stoke-on-Trent ...
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