News

With the election of Francis I of Argentina as leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, questions abound. Will he liberalize his church, perhaps relaxing the celibacy requirement for priests and seeking a greater Vatican role in the political life of Europe and beyond? Will he be the final pontiff before Christ’s return? Was his election in fact predicted by a medieval monk?

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” That old saying that simply means one should not be unappreciative for gifts. Yet, many are less-than-thankful about the “gift” described in the news recently as the “horse-for-beef scandal” now affecting Europe and the United Kingdom.

After nearly eight years as leader of the largest religious organisation on the face of the earth, Pope Benedict XVI has tendered his resignation in an announcement last Monday that startled the world. With his resignation set to occur on February 28, 2013, a new pope will soon afterward be selected by a conclave of Roman Catholic cardinals assembled at the Vatican in Rome. Observers are wondering what this unexpected and monumental change will mean for Roman Catholicism, and for the struggling European Union.

The presidential inauguration address on January 21, 2013 contained a phrase that should send a shudder of dismay to everyone who has any understanding of the Bible. Before a rapt audience, reported to be at least a million people on the Mall in Washington DC, and with millions more watching worldwide, President Obama declared: “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like everyone else under the law—for if we are to be truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”

It reads like something straight out of a disaster movie. A volcanic eruption lasting nine hours and ejecting 15–30 million tons of sulphur dioxide. The second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century happened to coincide with the arrival of Tropical Storm Yunya a mere 75 kilometers away, covering the majority of the island of Luzon in a mixture of ash and water. There was great damage, but it could have been worse. What made the difference?