Copyright (c) 2010 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. http://news.yahoo.com/us/religion us Religion News en-us Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:16:50 GMT 5 142 18 http://news.yahoo.com/us/religion http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/nws/th/main_142c.gif http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100209/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_intrigue ap/20100209/eu_vatican_intrigue AP world Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:16:50 GMT <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100209/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_intrigue"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100203/capt.0ef7aab4452046519d09c79d116e3c96.vatican_pope_rom104.jpg?x=130&y=88&q=85&sig=.i9qN4aTI9ld8kEoGqFSLA--" align="left" height="88" width="130" alt="Pope Benedict XVI arrives for the weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)" border="0" /></a>AP - A scandal in Italy's Catholic Church has morphed into a tale of Vatican intrigue complete with forged documents, reports of dueling cardinals and a papal admonishment Tuesday to put the matter to rest.</p><br clear="all"/> <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100209/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_intrigue"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100203/capt.0ef7aab4452046519d09c79d116e3c96.vatican_pope_rom104.jpg?x=130&y=88&q=85&sig=.i9qN4aTI9ld8kEoGqFSLA--" align="left" height="88" width="130" alt="photo" title="Pope Benedict XVI arrives for the weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)" border="0"/></a></p><br clear="all"/> (AP) http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100209/ap_on_re_us/us_texas_church_fires ap/20100209/us_texas_church_fires AP us Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:02:47 GMT <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100209/ap_on_re_us/us_texas_church_fires"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100209/capt.eea8f4c8c8fb4dcd92bb6ee705f89a0d.texas_church_fires_ny126.jpg?x=130&y=89&q=85&sig=hYRuLjUWa8CmlauPEHwuBw--" align="left" height="89" width="130" alt="FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2010 file photo, investigators talk in front of the burned Russell Memorial United Methodist Church in Wills Point, Texas. The seventh church fire this year in east Texas destroyed the sanctuary of the church. A federal official says a fire that destroyed a church last week was the eighth case of arson against a house of worship in Texas this year. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes, File)" border="0" /></a>AP - A spate of recent fires that destroyed or damaged several churches in eastern Texas were intentionally set, likely by the same person or group, federal authorities said Tuesday.</p><br clear="all"/> <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100209/ap_on_re_us/us_texas_church_fires"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100209/capt.eea8f4c8c8fb4dcd92bb6ee705f89a0d.texas_church_fires_ny126.jpg?x=130&y=89&q=85&sig=hYRuLjUWa8CmlauPEHwuBw--" align="left" height="89" width="130" alt="photo" title="FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2010 file photo, investigators talk in front of the burned Russell Memorial United Methodist Church in Wills Point, Texas. The seventh church fire this year in east Texas destroyed the sanctuary of the church. A federal official says a fire that destroyed a church last week was the eighth case of arson against a house of worship in Texas this year. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes, File)" border="0"/></a></p><br clear="all"/> (AP) http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100209/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_haiti_americans_detained ap/20100209/us_us_haiti_americans_detained AP politics Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:41:48 GMT <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100209/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_haiti_americans_detained"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20100204/capt.photo_1265288678239-2-0.jpg?x=130&y=91&q=85&sig=qooAFMaks8DmPGwubvZsjQ--" align="left" height="91" width="130" alt="Laura Silsby, the detained head of New Life Children's Refuge, is the leader of a group of 10 Americans accused of trying to smuggle children out of quake-stricken Haiti. The group is waiting to hear if they will be charged with child trafficking for trying to take children out of the quake-hit nation, where the death toll has risen above 200,000.(AFP/File/Fred Dufour)" border="0" /></a>AP - The U.S.-based lawyer for one of 10 American Baptists charged with child kidnapping in Haiti appealed Tuesday for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to personally intervene in the case.</p><br clear="all"/> <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100209/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_haiti_americans_detained"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20100204/capt.photo_1265288678239-2-0.jpg?x=130&y=91&q=85&sig=qooAFMaks8DmPGwubvZsjQ--" align="left" height="91" width="130" alt="photo" title="Laura Silsby, the detained head of New Life Children's Refuge, is the leader of a group of 10 Americans accused of trying to smuggle children out of quake-stricken Haiti. The group is waiting to hear if they will be charged with child trafficking for trying to take children out of the quake-hit nation, where the death toll has risen above 200,000.(AFP/File/Fred Dufour)" border="0"/></a></p><br clear="all"/> (AP) http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100209/lf_nm_life/us_poland_church_motto nm/20100209/us_poland_church_motto Reuters topstories Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:34:02 GMT Reuters - A Roman Catholic order in Poland has started to advertise its religious retreats by using the motto of a popular TV program "I've Got Talent." http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100209/ts_nm/us_philippines_elections nm/20100209/us_philippines_elections Reuters topstories Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:49:10 GMT <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100209/ts_nm/us_philippines_elections"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20100209/i/r4085071148.jpg?x=130&y=86&q=85&sig=Ki6Ay96fIjxLgBJYxrCc6A--" align="left" height="86" width="130" alt="Supporters of evangelist preacher and presidential candidate Eddie Villanueva unfurl a Philippine flag, measuring 180 m by 92 m, during the start of campaign period at Luneta park in Manila February 9, 2010. REUTERS/ Cheryl Ravelo" border="0" /></a>Reuters - Philippine politicians launched their campaigns on Tuesday in a wide-open race for the presidency, with poverty, corruption and unemployment the top issues for the impoverished Southeast Asian archipelago.</p><br clear="all"/> <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100209/ts_nm/us_philippines_elections"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20100209/i/r4085071148.jpg?x=130&y=86&q=85&sig=Ki6Ay96fIjxLgBJYxrCc6A--" align="left" height="86" width="130" alt="photo" title="Supporters of evangelist preacher and presidential candidate Eddie Villanueva unfurl a Philippine flag, measuring 180 m by 92 m, during the start of campaign period at Luneta park in Manila February 9, 2010. REUTERS/ Cheryl Ravelo" border="0"/></a></p><br clear="all"/> (Reuters) http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100209/lf_nm_life/us_singapore_religion nm/20100209/us_singapore_religion Reuters topstories Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:48:08 GMT Reuters - Singapore has warned a Christian pastor that his online videos are offensive to Buddhists and Taoists, underlining the city-state's concerns that religion is a potential faultline for its multicultural society. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100208/ap_on_re_us/us_super_bowl_new_orleans ap/20100208/us_super_bowl_new_orleans AP us Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:20:58 GMT <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100208/ap_on_re_us/us_super_bowl_new_orleans"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100208/capt.0c06b5d678df4e0a9f0f1c2062804673.super_bowl_new_orleans_football_lawh101.jpg?x=130&y=99&q=85&sig=t7yvuLDuhlKBNlXBh9qq4A--" align="left" height="99" width="130" alt="New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson waves Monday, Feb. 8, 2010, as he leaves the airport in Kenner, La., after returning from the Saints' 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in the NFL football Super Bowl. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)" border="0" /></a>AP - People lined up by the hundreds to buy Monday's Times-Picayune, which hollered "AMEN!" from its front page. The Saints' Super Bowl victory was a prayer answered in this struggling city, and New Orleans itself seemed different for it.</p><br clear="all"/> <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100208/ap_on_re_us/us_super_bowl_new_orleans"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100208/capt.0c06b5d678df4e0a9f0f1c2062804673.super_bowl_new_orleans_football_lawh101.jpg?x=130&y=99&q=85&sig=t7yvuLDuhlKBNlXBh9qq4A--" align="left" height="99" width="130" alt="photo" title="New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson waves Monday, Feb. 8, 2010, as he leaves the airport in Kenner, La., after returning from the Saints' 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in the NFL football Super Bowl. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)" border="0"/></a></p><br clear="all"/> (AP) http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100208/lf_nm_life/us_religion_health nm/20100208/us_religion_health Reuters health Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:16:30 GMT Reuters - Religious people may have taken comfort from a number of studies over the past two decades showing those adhering to a faith tend to be healthier but a new study casts some doubt on this belief. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100208/lf_nm_life/us_monk nm/20100208/us_monk Reuters topstories Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:19:00 GMT Reuters - He raps. He chants. And this month, Japan's famed hip-hop loving monk, better known as MC Happiness, will tap dance on stage, in the name of Buddhism. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100208/ap_on_re_eu/eu_sweden_handshake_refusal ap/20100208/eu_sweden_handshake_refusal AP world Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:52:53 GMT AP - Sweden's unemployment agency has been found guilty of discrimination for expelling a Muslim man from a job training program because he refused to shake hands with a woman. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100208/ap_on_re_us/us_church_carbon_monoxide ap/20100208/us_church_carbon_monoxide AP us Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:09:49 GMT AP - Thirty-four people are recovering from carbon monoxide poisoning apparently caused by a blocked chimney in a northwestern Pennsylvania church. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100206/ap_on_re_us/us_church_slaying ap/20100206/us_church_slaying AP us Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:11:39 GMT AP - Police have arrested the parents of a suspect in the killing of an elderly parishioner in a church parking lot, alleging the couple threatened to kill a witness. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100206/ap_on_re_us/us_christian_controversy ap/20100206/us_christian_controversy AP us Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:29:19 GMT AP - A Muslim group filed a federal civil rights complaint Friday after a Southern California mayor remarked that he was "growing a Christian community" in a state of the city address last week. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100205/ap_on_re_eu/eu_ukraine_elections ap/20100205/eu_ukraine_elections AP world Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:25:34 GMT <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100205/ap_on_re_eu/eu_ukraine_elections"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100205/capt.2bc222b616794b129fca0fceb2e1e0cf.ukraine_election_xel116.jpg?x=130&y=87&q=85&sig=FnLQgXGjU2e47lzz1zx4Aw--" align="left" height="87" width="130" alt="Ukrainian opposition leader and the Presidential candidate, Viktor Yanukovych greets his supporters during a campaign rally in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 5, 2010. Ukrainian opposition leader Yanukovych and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko will face each other in the second round of the presidential elections on Feb. 7. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)" border="0" /></a>AP - Ukrainian presidential hopeful Viktor Yanukovych tried to look every part the winner Friday evening as he mounted the stage before thousands of cheering supporters to the accompaniment of a victorious fanfare two days before the vote.</p><br clear="all"/> <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100205/ap_on_re_eu/eu_ukraine_elections"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100205/capt.2bc222b616794b129fca0fceb2e1e0cf.ukraine_election_xel116.jpg?x=130&y=87&q=85&sig=FnLQgXGjU2e47lzz1zx4Aw--" align="left" height="87" width="130" alt="photo" title="Ukrainian opposition leader and the Presidential candidate, Viktor Yanukovych greets his supporters during a campaign rally in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 5, 2010. Ukrainian opposition leader Yanukovych and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko will face each other in the second round of the presidential elections on Feb. 7. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)" border="0"/></a></p><br clear="all"/> (AP) http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100205/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_britain ap/20100205/eu_vatican_britain AP world Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:02:53 GMT <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100205/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_britain"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100202/capt.071053d3859d40bba3dd35c546df1bd3.vatican_britain_ny124.jpg?x=72&y=130&q=85&sig=zYMt8ihkftCmAK_0NvtBRw--" align="left" height="130" width="72" alt="FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010 file photo, Pope Benedict XVI looks at white doves that were freed at the end of the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's square, at the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI confirmed Monday, Feb. 1, 2010 he would visit Britain later this year, a trip that has grown fraught following his move to welcome into the Roman Catholic Church groups of Anglicans upset over the ordination of gays and women. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, file)" border="0" /></a>AP - Pope Benedict XVI says he is worried about support in Scotland for euthanasia as he prepares for a visit there later this year.</p><br clear="all"/> <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100205/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_britain"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100202/capt.071053d3859d40bba3dd35c546df1bd3.vatican_britain_ny124.jpg?x=72&y=130&q=85&sig=zYMt8ihkftCmAK_0NvtBRw--" align="left" height="130" width="72" alt="photo" title="FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010 file photo, Pope Benedict XVI looks at white doves that were freed at the end of the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's square, at the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI confirmed Monday, Feb. 1, 2010 he would visit Britain later this year, a trip that has grown fraught following his move to welcome into the Roman Catholic Church groups of Anglicans upset over the ordination of gays and women. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, file)" border="0"/></a></p><br clear="all"/> (AP) http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100205/ap_on_re_us/us_youngstown_shaken_by_slaying ap/20100205/us_youngstown_shaken_by_slaying AP us Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:30:15 GMT <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100205/ap_on_re_us/us_youngstown_shaken_by_slaying"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100205/capt.0ef5083f4c1246dba5b67d5aa390e1ab.youngstown_shaken_by_slaying_cd309.jpg?x=130&y=86&q=85&sig=395445Sot2TzzalMTn9SCw--" align="left" height="86" width="130" alt="Donna Gear talks about the decline of the neighborhood she lives in Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010, in Youngstown, Ohio. The church neighborhood, once populated by those working in the steel mills that disappeared in the 1980s, now is pockmarked by empty lots and abandoned homes, some with the boarded-up doors kicked off. Homeowners are giving way to government-subsidized renters. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)" border="0" /></a>AP - In a hard-luck city trying to keep people from moving out, Angeline Fimognari stayed put, often attending Mass twice daily at her beloved "St. Dom's" &mdash; almost a mini-fortress with a 6-foot locked fence and 23 security cameras.</p><br clear="all"/> <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100205/ap_on_re_us/us_youngstown_shaken_by_slaying"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100205/capt.0ef5083f4c1246dba5b67d5aa390e1ab.youngstown_shaken_by_slaying_cd309.jpg?x=130&y=86&q=85&sig=395445Sot2TzzalMTn9SCw--" align="left" height="86" width="130" alt="photo" title="Donna Gear talks about the decline of the neighborhood she lives in Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010, in Youngstown, Ohio. The church neighborhood, once populated by those working in the steel mills that disappeared in the 1980s, now is pockmarked by empty lots and abandoned homes, some with the boarded-up doors kicked off. Homeowners are giving way to government-subsidized renters. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)" border="0"/></a></p><br clear="all"/> (AP) http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_re_us/us_hate_crimes_plea ap/20100204/us_hate_crimes_plea AP us Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:43:21 GMT AP - A man has pleaded guilty to charges he spray-painted swastikas and spread fliers reading "Kill All Jews" around his Brooklyn neighborhood. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_prayer_breakfast ap/20100204/us_obama_prayer_breakfast AP politics Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:22:36 GMT <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_prayer_breakfast"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100204/capt.72915497ff054a59920856ef1a9b1637.aptopix_obama_prayer_breakfast_dcpm118.jpg?x=130&y=61&q=85&sig=daMXWD1K7.8Pqcz1yrQ_sg--" align="left" height="61" width="130" alt="President Barack Obama speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010. Vice President Joe Biden is seen reflected in the teleprompter at right. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)" border="0" /></a>AP - President Barack Obama said Thursday he prays lawmakers can restore a "spirit of civility" to the nation's capital.</p><br clear="all"/> <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_prayer_breakfast"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100204/capt.72915497ff054a59920856ef1a9b1637.aptopix_obama_prayer_breakfast_dcpm118.jpg?x=130&y=61&q=85&sig=daMXWD1K7.8Pqcz1yrQ_sg--" align="left" height="61" width="130" alt="photo" title="President Barack Obama speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010. Vice President Joe Biden is seen reflected in the teleprompter at right. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)" border="0"/></a></p><br clear="all"/> (AP) http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_re_eu/eu_austria_jewish_star ap/20100204/eu_austria_jewish_star AP world Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:41:43 GMT AP - An Austrian dog magazine has pulled a flyer that showed a pit bull wearing a yellow star after protests from the country's Jewish community. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_pope_lent ap/20100204/eu_vatican_pope_lent AP world Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:32:35 GMT <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_pope_lent"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100204/capt.8162f955c45b46febbd4fa785edc9c3c.vatican_pope_lent_rom108.jpg?x=86&y=130&q=85&sig=E8xwvwdkCoPC50LL27uEmQ--" align="left" height="130" width="86" alt="German Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes looks on during a press conference to present Pope Benedict XVI's Lenten message, at the Vatican, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010. The Pontiff blamed ''indifference'' as the fundamental cause of hundreds of millions of deaths in the world from lack of food, water and medicine. Benedict chose justice and injustice the theme of his Lenten message released by the Vatican on Thursday in several languages. Lent, a period of reflection and penitence in the Roman Catholic church, begins this year on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)" border="0" /></a>AP - Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday blamed indifference as the fundamental cause of hundreds of millions of deaths in the world from lack of food, water and medicine.</p><br clear="all"/> <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_pope_lent"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100204/capt.8162f955c45b46febbd4fa785edc9c3c.vatican_pope_lent_rom108.jpg?x=86&y=130&q=85&sig=E8xwvwdkCoPC50LL27uEmQ--" align="left" height="130" width="86" alt="photo" title="German Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes looks on during a press conference to present Pope Benedict XVI's Lenten message, at the Vatican, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010. The Pontiff blamed ''indifference'' as the fundamental cause of hundreds of millions of deaths in the world from lack of food, water and medicine. Benedict chose justice and injustice the theme of his Lenten message released by the Vatican on Thursday in several languages. Lent, a period of reflection and penitence in the Roman Catholic church, begins this year on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)" border="0"/></a></p><br clear="all"/> (AP)