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• n  the head of the Roman Catholic Church

• The pontiff is keen to find seeds of Christian vitality in an increasingly secular Europe.
• Like the pontiff, Gnswein is Bavarian by birth and an academic by training, with a doctorate in canon law.
• Upon accepting, the new pontiff is made bishop of Rome and is honored by each of the cardinals.

• pope
• Catholic Pope
• Roman Catholic Pope
• Holy Father
• Vicar of Christ
• Bishop of Rome

News & Articles

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• Wally Pontiff, Sr. Talks College World Series Bound Tigers
  Wally Pontiff, Sr. Plans to be at this year’s College World Series cheering-on the Tigers as they go for a seventh championship. “He is smiling, and you know Wally loved LSU,” says Wally, Sr. who still collects mementos and tributes to his son Wally Jr. whose life ended unexpectedly 11 years ago.
  June 13, 2013 - ABC 26 New Orleans
• Pope Francis bemoans "gay lobby" at Vatican
  Report from key Latin American church group quoting pontiff appears to confirm rumors of corruption and dysfunction in Holy See
  June 12, 2013 - CBS News
• Pontiff tells kids he never wanted to be Pope in amazing Vatican discussion
  Pope Francis has admitted he never wanted to win the Papal election – and has moved into a Vatican hotel for his ‘psychiatric’ health. The Pontiff made the confessions at an audience with thousands of children from Jesuit schools across Italy and Albania.
  June 8, 2013 - Irish Central

Quotes

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• Bernard Fellay in The Canberra Times
  We seek forgiveness of the pontiff and all men of goodwill for the consequences of such a statement. While we recognise the inopportune nature of these comments, we must restate our sadness that they have also discredited our mission,wrote...
• Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone in Earthtimes
  He (the pontiff) also wishes to express his deep appreciation for this gesture, for the positive spirit which inspired the text and for the call for a common commitment to promoting peace in the world,Bertone wrote.
• Abraham Foxman in Times Online
  We are saddened and disappointed that the pontiff would feel compelled to fast-track Pope Pius at a point where the issue of the record, the history and the coming to a judgment, is still wide open,said Abraham Foxman, a Holocaust survivor...