ON October 31, 1992, Pope John Paul II apologised on behalf of the Vatican for the persecution of Galileo Galilei over 350 years earlier. Poor Galileo had the nerve to say that the sun, not the earth, was the centre of our universe.

Pope Benedict XVI today marked the 500th anniversary of the laying of the first stone of the current St. Peter’s Basilica, saying he hoped it would awaken Catholics’ desire to be “living cornerstones” of the church’s growth.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern’s role in securing the EU constitution was recognised at the lavish, €13 million signing of the agreement yesterday in Rome.