Austrian Catholic activists criticize Pope's trip
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Some Catholic Church activists in Austria accused Pope Benedict of devoting too little time to hear ordinary churchgoers' concerns during a visit starting on Friday and said he was risking losing more of his flock.
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Turkish police on Friday appealed for  restraint at planned protests against Pope Benedict's visit to  the Muslim country next week, saying they could harm Turkey's  image.
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The inclusion of prayers calling for conversions has led to sharp criticism of the Vatican.
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Academics and students accuse pontiff of defending the Inquisition's condemnation of Galileo
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Pope Benedict XVI's reference to dark aspects in Islam's history also has opened up another type of backlash for his church: fresh examinations of its past as conqueror, inquisitor and patron of missionaries whose zeal sometimes led to conflict with other faiths.
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ROME (Der Spiegel) - Echoes of an old culture war have been rippling through Europe, as a bishop in Germany calls for Catholics to keep their kids away from a sex-education musical and the Vatican condemns a new gay-rights campaign in Italy. A children's musical about sex and babies, organized by the German government, has been touring the country since 2003 without noticeable friction. But now it's arrived in the city of Fulda, near Frankfurt, and the local bishop has called for a boycott. The Fairytale of Nose, Belly and Butt should be avoided by right-thinking Catholic families, according to Heinz Josef Algermissen, because in the Church's view, "explanations about sexuality belong in the home," and "can't be left to a theater troupe." The show's Web site begs to differ, saying the theory behind the project is that humans are "sexual beings from birth onward," and that children experience "smooching and touching genitals as no less fun or significant than tickling their big toe." Uproar in Italy, too This notion of human sexuality is no doubt as offensive to the Church as the idea that humans might be wired from birth to be straight or gay - which is the assumption behind an Italian ad campaign protested recently by the Vatican. The regional government of Tuscany has planned to use a photo of a newborn child wearing a hospital bracelet with the word "homosexual" as part of a publicity push to combat homophobia. "Sexual orientation," reads the tag line, which will appear on billboards throughout Tuscany, "is not a choice."  Italy's political right, along with some Catholic groups, want the campaign to be withdrawn. The Church's declared position is that homosexuality is a psychological disorder, not exactly a sin - although indulging in gay sex is a sin.
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Jewish groups and politicians in Italy criticise a decision to grant day release to a convicted Nazi war criminal.
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Madonna's plans to stage a mock crucifixion during a Sunday concert in Rome have drawn fire from religious leaders, who have condemned the stunt as "an act of open hostility" toward the Roman Catholic Church.
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Benedict XVI has been known to say incendiary things when out on tour. Vatican officials are hoping for a quiet pilgrimage to Vienna
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Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican's arbiter of doctrinal orthodoxy, has given Catholic voters leeway under certain circumstances to vote for politicians who support abortion rights, U.S. Catholic officials said.
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Crowds have begun converging in central Istanbul for a demonstration called by a small Islamist party against the visit to Turkey by Pope Benedict XVI, which starts on Tuesday.
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In the last open-air mass of his German tour the Pope deplores use of  God's name to justify hatred and fanaticism.
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Pope Benedict XVI is "extremely upset" that Muslims have been offended by some of his words in a recent speech in Germany, the Vatican said Saturday.
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A German cardinal has criticized nostalgia for communism in the former East Germany.
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The arrest of a Catholic priest drew criticism from human rights groups Thursday, who charged that the US-backed government was illegally trying to suppress support for ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
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"The wind has spoken for itself"  Pope Benedict XVI, beset by drab weather and relatively small crowds, ended a pilgrimage to Austria on Sunday by reminding Europeans of their Christian heritage as they grapple with immigration and Islam.Bereft of huge throngs of adoring pilgrims such as the 1 million Brazilians who turned out to see him in May, the German-born pontiff appealed to far smaller gatherings of believers in mostly Catholic Austria not to discard their faith.In a farewell speech, he urged Austrians 'to bring the traditional values of the continent _ values shaped by the Christian faith _ to European institutions.' Read more
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Muslim leaders on Thursday condemned Pope   Benedict over comments he made about Islam on a visit to   Germany and demanded he apologize.