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Fighting for life in Europe

Contrary to what one might think if one were only to read the mainstream media, the pro-life movement in Europe has appeared to be growing in recent years. In this article, I spoke with a number of leaders in the field to find out to what extent the growth is real, and what challenges remain.

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/fighting-for-life-in-europe1

Holocaust Memorial Alters Wording on the Wartime Role of Pope Pius XII

In 2012, the Yad Vashem’s Holocaust museum decided to alter a caption describing Pope Pius XII wartime record in saving Jewish lives during World War II, removing some of the harsh judgements but not going far enough according to many in the Church. In this article, I tried to present the views from both sides about an issue that many feel passionate about .

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/holocaust-memorial-alters-wording-on-the-wartime-role-of-pope-pius-xii

Plastic Surgery, Not Just For The Rich and Famous

Is plastic surgery ethical? How does the Church view it? In this 2010 article for the National Catholic Register, I recalled previous papal statements on the issue, and interviewed a Catholic doctor and moral theologian about the practice.

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/plastic_surgery_not_just_for_the_rich_and_famous

A Life Of Faith

Sometimes an atheist or agnostic will say they would like to believe in God, they just don’t know where to start. In this 2012 interview I made with Pope’s theologian, Fr Wojciech Giertych explains how a life of faith begins. The interview was timed to coincide with the Year of Faith which runs until November 2013

http://www.zenit.org/article-35817?l=english

Naming of New Cardinals Prompts Speculation About Next Pope

After Pope Benedict XVI called a Eurocentric consistory in January 2012, many began speculating that his successor will come from Europe. For this article for Newsmax, I explained the possible consequences of the Pope’s decision. He held another mini-consistory later that year in which all of the new cardinals were non-Europeans.

http://www.newsmax.com/EdwardPentin/Cardinals-Pope-Benedict-Successor/2012/01/10/id/423629

Pope Benedict to Join Twitter – First Tweet By Year’s End

I was the first journalist to break the news that the Pope was to join Twitter with his own account. The story was later picked up by Associated Press and reported worldwide. In the article for Newsmax, I spoke with a senior Vatical official about the Twitter initiative which was officially launched in early December 2012.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/pope-benedict-begins-twitter/2012/11/07/id/463292

Interview with Archbishop Gerhard Mueller

In this interview for the National Catholic Register, the new prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith discusses the state of relations with the Society of St. Pius X and his priorities in arguably the most influential Vatican post.

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20120913_interview-muller_en.html

Why Did Vatican II Ignore Communism?

Despite Soviet Communism being at its height in 1962, there were no references to Communism in the Second Vatican Council documents. In this article for Catholic World Report, I spoke with numerous Church scholars to discover the reasons for the omission and speculate on the kind of impact it had on the Church in the years that followed.

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/1798/why_did_vatican_ii_ignore_communism.aspx#.UPwz4YcgGSM

Pope Benedict XVI’s Momentous Year

A look back on the Holy Father’s year with a summary of the top papal stories of 2012.

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/pope-benedicts-momentous-2012?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NCRegisterDailyBlog+National+Catholic+Register#When:2012-12-31%2018:44:01

The Changing Faiths in the Gulf

After a visit to the United Arab Emirates in 2008, I wrote the following piece for Newsweek about the phenomenal growth in the number of Christians living in the Gulf, many of whom are employed as guest workers.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2008/07/18/the-changing-faiths-of-the-gulf.html

“A Good Future”

In this interview for Newsweek, the then-Irish President Mary McAleese shared with me the chances for lasting peace in Northern Ireland, her family’s flight from Belfast because of “the troubles” and her efforts to bridge the sectarian divide.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2007/06/07/a-good-future.html

Who Could Replace Pope Benedict?

Every so often, the secular press will embark on a feast of speculation about the next possible Pope, especially when health issues of the current Pontiff become a cause for concern. That was the case in 2009 when Pope Benedict, then 82, fell and broke his wrist while on holiday. Here was my list of papabile at that time, in an article for Newsweek.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/content/newsweek/2009/07/21/on-deck.html

Road to Sainthood

An analysis for Newsweek on claims that a French sister had been miraculously cured of Parkinson’s disease, paving the way for the beatification of Pope John Paul II.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2007/03/30/road-to-sainthood.html

Blair: Religions Should Play Greater Role in the Peace Process

A 2009 interview with Middle East Quartet peace envoy Tony Blair on chances for peace in the Holy Land, and the possible role religions could and should play in the process – for Terrasanta.net / The Holy Land Review.

http://www.terrasanta.net/tsx/articolo.jsp?wi_number=91223&wi_codseq=%20%20%20%20%20%20&language=en