BREAKING NEWS: Benedict Becomes First Pope To Retire In 600 Years (Update)
By BosNewsLife News Center with additional reports from Rome, Vatican City and reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos
ROME/VATICAN CITY/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- As the doors closed and the Swiss Guards left his summer residence, Benedict XVI became the first pontiff to retire in some 600 years, following a moving farewell address to thousands in which he urged the Catholic Church to remain united in one of the most challenging times in its history.
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Global Christmas Celebrations Overshadowed By Violence (ROUND-UP)
By BosNewsLife News Center with reports from Vatican, Africa, Asia and Middle East
Pope Says Syrian Christian Woman Killed For Faith In Christ
By BosNewsLife News Center
VATICAN CITY/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Pope Francis has called a Christian Syrian woman "a martyr" after hearing she was killed by Islamic militants for refusing to deny her faith in Jesus Christ. The leader of the world's one billion Catholics told the faithful in St. Peter's Square that he spoke with the young woman's widow during his visit Saturday, April 16, to the Greek island of Lesbos where he also visited refugees held in an overcrowded detention center.
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Dozens Of Catholic Missionaries Killed In 2011
By BosNewsLife News Center
VATICAN CITY/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- The Vatican's missionary news agency says more than two dozen priests, nuns and lay Catholics were killed worldwide in 2011, BosNewsLife monitored Monday, January 16.
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NEWS ALERT: Italy Police Say 12 Migrants Drowned For Faith In Christ
By BosNewsLife News Center
TRIPOLI/ROME/WASHINGTON (BosNewsLife)-- Italian police say they have detained 15 Muslims who allegedly threw 12 Christians from an overcrowded migrant boat after they expressed faith in Jesus Christ. Vatican Radio, citing survivors, reported that the Christians had been praying for their lives during during a recent crossing from Libya.
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NEWS WATCH: Veteran Kills 13 in Serbia Shooting
Listen to this BosNewsLife report via Vatican Radio: ![RealAudio](http://en.radiovaticana.va/global_images/ra_icon.gif)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife
BELGRADE/BUDAPEST(BosNewsLife)-- A 60-year-old war veteran has killed 13 people in a shooting spree near Serbia's capital Belgrade,including his own son, mother and a two-year-old cousin, local police said.
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Pope Urges World To Tackle Christian Persecution
By BosNewsLife News Center
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN (BosNewsLife)-- Pope Francis urged the world on Easter Monday not to remain “silent and inactive” amid the "unacceptable crime" of the persecution of Christians around the world.
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NEWS WATCH: Hungary Sentences Eight Over Embryo Trade
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Pope And Evangelicals Tackle Persecution Of Christians
By BosNewsLife News Center with reporting by Philippa Hitchen
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN CITY, VATICAN (BosNewsLife)-- Pope Francis and leaders of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) group agreed Thursday, December 14, to cooperate on tackling the "worst persecution" of Christians in church history despite "major theological differences", officials said following talks in the Vatican.
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NEWS ALERT: Pope Apologizes For Catholic Persecution Of Pentecostals
By BosNewsLife News Center with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos
VATICAN CITY (BosNewsLife)-- The head of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) has praised Pope Francis’ for apologizing for "the persecution of Pentecostals by Catholics in the past" during a historic meeting southern Italy.
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