Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict said in a historic announcement he no longer had the mental and physical strength to run the Roman Catholic Church and would become the first pontiff in more than 700 years to resign, leaving his inner circle "incredulous".

Pope Benedict XVI looked ''frail'' the last time Dunedin Roman Catholic Bishop Colin Campbell saw him just over a year ago.

The papacy is one of religion's enduring institutions, with history teaching that St Peter - or Simon Peter, one of Christ's disciples - was the first pope within the Catholic Church. Every pope is seen as St Peter's successor; the rightful superior to all other bishops.

Pope Benedict has launched a campaign to bring lapsed believers back to the Roman Catholic fold, opening a major convention of bishops on what the Vatican has termed the "new evangelisation" of the developed world.

Pope Benedict called for peace in the Middle East at a concert by conductor Daniel Barenboim's West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, made up of young musicians from Israel, the Palestinian territories and Arab countries.

Pope Benedict and Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, both octogenarians, joked about their age in a brief meeting and then Castro popped the question: so what do you do?

Some 1.5 million pilgrims flooded Rome on Sunday to watch Pope John Paul II move a step closer to sainthood in one of the largest Vatican Masses in history, an outpouring of adoration for a beloved and historic figure after years marred by church scandal.

The step forward by the Pope on condom use might be small but it is nevertheless significant.

Pope Benedict XVI strongly defended traditional families and the rights of the unborn, directly attacking Spanish laws that allow gay marriage, fast-track divorce and easier access to abortions as he dedicated Barcelona's iconic basilica, the Sagrada Familia.

Pope Benedict XVI apologised to five people who were molested by priests as children in his latest effort to defuse the sex abuse crisis shaking his church, as thousands of people angered at the Vatican's response marched in central London in the biggest protest of his 5-year papacy.

British police have arrested six London street cleaners over an alleged threat to Pope Benedict XVI on the second day of a papal trip to Britain that has brought both a warm welcome from Catholics and renewed anger over the clerical sex abuse scandal.

The Pope started his official state visit to Britain amid controversy, expressing his "shock and sadness" at the child sex abuse scandal rocking the Catholic church.

As Pope Benedict XVI takes his campaign to revive Christianity in an increasingly secular Europe to Britain tomorrow he faces a daunting task in a nation largely at odds with his policies and where disgust over the church sex abuse scandal runs high.

Pope Benedict XVI has strongly defended celibacy for priests as a sign of faith in an increasingly secular world during a rally that has drawn some 15,000 priests from around the world.

Pope Benedict XVI has promised the Catholic Church will take action to confront the clerical sex abuse scandal, making his first public comments on the crisis days after meeting with victims.

Pope Benedict XVI met yesterday with a group of clerical sex-abuse victims and told them with tears in his eyes that the Catholic Church would seek justice for paedophile priests and implement "effective measures" to protect young people from abuse, the Vatican and victims said.

Pope Benedict XVI has broken his recent silence on the clerical abuse scandal,  noting recent attacks on the church and the need for "we Christians" to repent for sins and recognise mistakes.

Pope Benedict XVI will visit Scotland and England in September in a four-day visit combining preaching and diplomacy, Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday.