Will the next pope be Italian?
After a Pole and a German, will the Roman Catholic Church revert to an Italian leader once again?
25 February 2013
Historic week looms for Vatican with papal resignation
Pope Benedict XVI's final Sunday prayers in St Peter's Square will signal the start of a week in the Vatican that will make history with the first voluntary papal resignation in more than 700 years.
Vatican's popeless interim -- the 'Sede Vacante'
After the pope's resignation on Thursday the Catholic Church will enter a period known as "Sede Vacante" ("Vacant Seat") in which a cardinal takes over interim powers before a new pope is elected.
Pedophilia scandals weigh on body to elect next pope
Activists fighting for truth and justice for victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests hold out little hope for progress under the next pope as controversy brews over a US cardinal who covered up for predator clerics.
Canadian papal contender not a prophet in own land
Canada's Cardinal Marc Ouellet, a mainstream conservative churchman who once said becoming pope "would be a nightmare", is now widely seen as the North American candidate for the job.
Islamic clerics seek dialogue with new pope
Senior Muslim clerics in Egypt believe Pope Benedict XVI's abrupt resignation could reopen the way for dialogue with the Catholic Church, severed after Benedict's controversial 2006 remarks on the Muslim prophet.
13 February 2013
Outgoing pope prepares for monk's life in Vatican
Pope Benedict XVI, who has announced he will resign on February 28, will retire to a monastery tucked away inside the historic walls of the Holy See: so once the new pope is elected.
12 February 2013
Pope announces resignation in historic move
Pope Benedict XVI announced he will resign as leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics on February 28 because his age prevented him from carrying out his duties -- an unprecedented move in the modern history of the Catholic Church.
Christ, Mohammed draw divisions among Bulgarian Roma
Nothing illustrates better the arrival of a new wave of Islam among Roma in Bulgaria's southern town of Pazardzhik, whose imam Ahmed Mussa is on trial for spreading radical ideology.
Pork found in British prisons' halal food
Britain's Ministry of Justice suspended a supplier of halal meat to prisons on Friday after traces of pork were found inside meat pies and pasties.
03 February 2013
New Anglican leader says job application was 'joke'
The incoming leader of the world's Anglicans said his application to become the Archbishop of Canterbury was "a joke" and he was "just a very, very ordinary Christian".