And So The Election For Pope Begins

March 12, 2013 Subscribe · Forward And So The Election For Pope Begins By Crispian Balmer and Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY, March 12 (Reuters) - Roman Catholic cardinals prayed for divine help on Tuesday, hours before a conclave to elect a new pope to tackle the daunting problems facing the Church at one of the most difficult periods in its history. The cardinals, including the 115 aged under 80 who will vote for the next pope, filed into St. Peter's Basilica as choirs sang at the ritual solemn Mass that precedes a conclave. They prayed that God would inspire them to choose the right man to replace Pope Benedict, who abdicated abruptly last month saying he was not strong enough to confront the woes of a Church whose 1.2 billion members look to Rome for leadership.  Continue reading... Dutch Catholic Girls Abused At Home, In Church WATCH LIVE: Mass For The Election Of The Pope New Report Reveals 'Disturbing Impacts' Of NYPD's Muslim Spying Conclave Is The Final Stretch Of Long Campaigns For Papacy The Top Contenders For Pope Vatican Releases New Details On Pope Election Will The Pope Replacing Benedict XVI Be Even More Of A 'Tough Guy'? Sistine Chapel Plays A Key Role In Electing A New Pope Blogger: Pope May Actually Be Gay After All 10 Things Church Can Learn From Geeks Jewish Modesty At The ER On Friday Night REV. MICHELLE L. TORIGIAN Women's History Month and God's Call If you are a woman feeling called into ordained ministry or other church leadership, know that there are many sisters and brothers in Christ who will support and love you in your journey. Continue reading... HARRIS ZAFAR Islam and Free Speech: Principle vs. Privilege Opponents of Islam claim it denies freedom of speech and censors those who insult Islam. This is factually incorrect. After all, the Prophet Muhammad called differences of opinion a blessing in society and never sought to censor or threaten those who verbally attacked him. Continue reading... AUBREY ROSE Discovering Huntington's Fallacy in Turkey As a Christian American studying international law half way across the world in Turkey, I'm constantly confronted with the question of Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations." But in this era, Turkey doesn't have to abandon Islam to progress as a democracy and realize human rights. Continue reading... CHRISTIAN PIATT The Ikea Effect, Slow Church and Laboring Our Way Into Love We have succumbed to the trends of the surrounding culture, employing professionals to prepare the perfect space and the ideal services to accommodate all comers. All you have to do is show up. But if I don't have to invest anything into the community, the community doesn't really matter. Continue reading... ROBERT J. MORGAN Being Quiet in a Clamoring World Let's rethink our schedules and build some quiet zones into our daily dockets. Power down the clamor. Say no to noise, at least for a few minutes each morning. It may not pull the plug on the blender, but we'll undoubtedly go into each new day feeling juiced. Continue reading... Received this from a friend? Sign up for alerts from The Huffington Post here. Unsubscribe here.