THIS week’s controversy about whether Pope Benedict XVI should be compelled to testify about the Vatican’s role in relation to clerical sexual abuse of minors was an absurd publicity stunt. One might have expected it 50 years ago, but not in the 21st century. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the election of John F Kennedy, the first Roman Catholic President of the United States.

Barack Obama joked that he was Superman and had been sent to save planet Earth as he joined his Republican rival John McCain at a high-profile political dinner in New York.

MANY people have been comparing Barack Obama with John F Kennedy, and they are also comparing his wife, Michelle, with Jackie Kennedy.

Former minister Smith to give tribunal evidence today

MOST people who are old enough remember where they were this day 40 years ago. I was heading for Des Moines, Iowa, when a couple of women got on the bus.