News/International

VATICAN CITY - Vatican officials released a pair of unusual statements Feb. 23 condemning some press coverage of the papal transition.

VATICAN CITY - Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien, 74, announced he would not participate in the conclave to elect Pope Benedict XVI's successor because he did not want media attention focused on him instead of the election of a new pope.

VATICAN CITY - In his last week as pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI issued new rules for conclaves, including a clause that allows the College of Cardinals to move up the date for the beginning of the conclave to elect his successor.

VATICAN CITY - Wherever journalists and bookmakers may be getting the names on their lists of top candidates for the next pope, it’s not from the cardinals who will actually vote in the election. Both custom and canon law forbid the cardinals to discuss the matter in such detail with outsiders.

WASHINGTON - Many churches "were the only shelter available to people who lost their homes" during Hurricane Sandy, said Rep. Eliot Engel in arguing for federal assistance to help houses of worship still trying to recover from the storm.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI is considering making some changes to the conclave rules and rituals before he leaves office Feb. 28, the Vatican spokesman confirmed.

MELBOURNE, Australia - Dr. Evelyn Billings, who with her husband, John, pioneered research that led them to develop a form of natural family planning supported by the Catholic Church, died Feb. 16 after a short illness. She was 95.

VATICAN CITY - In trying to help people understand how belief in God is a natural part of life and provides grounding for the values that protect human dignity and peaceful coexistence, Pope Benedict XVI saw Jews and Muslims as natural allies.

TRIER, Germany - The president of the German bishops' conference has asked Pope Benedict XVI's forgiveness for "errors committed against him" in his homeland, adding that most Germans respect him as a "spiritual and intellectual authority."

VATICAN CITY - When they are not in the Sistine Chapel, seated under Michelangelo's frescoes to vote for the next pope, the cardinal-electors will stay in a modern guesthouse that offers them both privacy and space to gather for relaxed conversation.