Hell is a place where sinners really do burn in an everlasting fire, and not just a religious symbol designed to galvanise the faithful, the Pope has said.
Pope Benedict XVI has reminded a parish gathering in Rome that Hell, far from being an outdated or outmoded concept, "really exists and is eternal — even if nobody talks about it much anymore".
The Vatican's top foreign diplomat said the Holy See would not support any expansion policy of the EU that would threaten "the principles and values forged by Christianity and that have made Europe a beacon of civilization for the world."
The Holy See gave an overview of its concerns for Europe's future, including issues ranging from fossil fuels to protecting human dignity in scientific research. "Catholics involved in the public field should know that the meaning of their political activities and the future of Europe are at stake."
Pope Benedict XVI gave one of the most powerful public talks of his pontificate on Saturday, speaking to a conference of European leaders convened by the European bishops' conference. Benedict - like Pope John Paul II before him - has repeated the same message in every address to an audience of EU members: Without the faith, the EU is an empty shell, an edifice doomed to collapse.
While a handful of eastern German cities have reached levels of prosperity their neighbors can only dream of, Bavaria, particularly Munich, were rated Germany's most future-oriented regions by a newly released study. Munich ranked as the German city with the best chances for the future. The Bavarian capital also won first place in a 2004 report. "The Munich metropolitan area is clearly Germany's leading economic region."
Porsche AG said it has increased its stake in Volkswagen to nearly 31% in a move aimed at shielding Europe's biggest automaker from hostile takeovers. Porsche's supervisory board, the US equivalent of a board of directors, agreed to the plan on Saturday in part to protect Volkswagen from hedge funds and foreign rivals.
Chancellor Merkel is calling for cooperation. But with whom? The more she talks, the hazier her position on the US anti-missile shield becomes. Her advisors, though, all agree that the project is bad for Europe.
German press...
In the post-EU birthday party glow, Angela Merkel won praise Monday for getting fellow EU leaders to pledge fresh talks on the stalled constitution. But her bid to kick-start reform of the bloc's institutions faces big hurdles in the last 3 months of her presidency, commentators warn.
The Berlin Declaration presented by Chancellor Merkel uses the German word "Glück" – meaning fortune or happiness - but the word has been avoided in other language versions of the declaration.
The Berlin Declaration, a passionate pro-European Union plea, has avoided explicitly mentioning controversial issues like the bloc's Christian roots, enlargement and the EU Constitution, but it could ease some tough diplomatic groundwork still looming for the German presidency.
German Federal Minister of Economics, and one of the leaders of the Christian Social Union, Michael Glos advocated the temporary discontinuing of the expansion of the EU in Berlin on Sunday, but only once Croatia has been granted full membership. "Croatia is a country that belongs to Europe and Turkey is not."
On his 3 day visit to South Korea, the governor of Bavaria, Edmund Stoiber, joined a commemorative ceremony, hosted by the German embassy and the Delegation of the European Commission to Korea. The ceremony was held on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome. "Here in northeastern Asia as well, the EU is seen as a role model for better cooperation. It has worked in Europe because there was the will to reconciliation and a coming to terms with the past."
The US and EU have backed a UN plan for "supervised independence" in Kosovo despite Russian and Serb opposition, with US diplomat Nicholas Burns in Brussels calling for a new UN security council resolution 30 to 60 days from Monday.
Prodi's fragile government faces another nail-biting vote on the Italian peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan. The Senate has to agree the re-financing for the mission. But the parties on the far-left of Prodi's alliance want the 1,800 troops currently deployed in Afghanistan to come home. It is barely a month since Prodi lost a Senate vote on foreign policy and another defeat could spell the end for the prime minister.
The US urged European countries on Monday to provide more troops for Afghanistan and to free them up for combat, as well as to provide further aid to the war-shattered country.
President Ahmadinejad remains popular among Iranians, despite increasing Western pressure. Free hospital treatment and low-interest consumer loans play a part.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told Tehran today the international community wants a negotiated settlement to the problem of Iran's nuclear ambitions.
The British Foreign Office is demanding consular access to 15 British soldiers captured by Iran, but Tehran is refusing and has indicated that the Britons could be put on trial. It has also reacted to harsher UN sanctions by announcing that it is limiting its cooperation with the world's nuclear authority.
Iran says the British sailors it detained are well but has not disclosed where they are being held, Britain said on Monday, as tension over their capture and Tehran's nuclear plans sent oil prices to a 2007 high.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki discusses efforts to resolve the conflict over Tehran's nuclear program, his country's right to resist and its offer to help bring peace to Iraq.
Shhh ... don't tell anyone ...
The long awaited US military attack on Iran is now on track for the first week of April, specifically for 4 am on April 6, the Good Friday opening of Easter weekend, writes the well-known Russian journalist Andrei Uglanov in the Moscow weekly "Argumenty Nedeli." Uglanov cites Russian military experts close to the Russian General Staff for his account. The attack is slated to last for 12 hours - from 4 am until 4 pm local time. Friday is the sabbath in Iran. In the course of the attack, code named Operation Bite, about 20 targets are marked for bombing; the list includes uranium enrichment facilities, research centers, and laboratories.
[WAR: On "Good Friday"? That's not a very good "Christian" thing to do!]
Northern Ireland's arch-rival leaders Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams have agreed a power-sharing deal at historic talks. The two men agreed to form a joint executive on 8 May to run the province.
French national identity was thrust to the heart of the presidential campaign yesterday, as Right and Left clashed over the Socialist candidate Ségolène Royal's controversial call for every household to own a tricolour flag and for all to learn the national anthem by heart. The tussle over what it means to be French and which candidate best lays claim to the issue has gathered pace since Miss Royal shocked fellow Left-wingers by ordering La Marseillaise to be played at the end of her public meetings last week, supplanting the Internationale - the traditional Socialist anthem.
The Trilateral Commission got a ringing "chins up" about the pace of Europe's becoming a superstate while greatly expanding its efforts to establish an "Asian-Pacific Union" similar to the EU and its planned "American Union" covering the entire Western Hemisphere. The ultimate goal of internationalist groups like the Trilateral-Bilderberg cabal is to divide the world into 3 great regions for the profit of the international plutocratic mattoids running the show.
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