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Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Protesters in Ferguson pressed pause yesterday as the city welcomed Thanksgiving, decorating boarded-up storefronts with some Dr. Seuss inspiration and gathering for church services — a stark contrast to previous days of outrage over the grand jury decision in the Michael Brown case.

The Vatican has altered the English version of a ground-breaking overture to gay people.

Vivian Boyack, 91, and Alice 'Nonie' Dubes, 90, held hands as they exchanged vows in the First Christian Church in Davenport, Iowa.

Tipperary manager Eamon O’Shea has backed calls for chaplains to become part of inter-county backroom teams.

The Rev. Ian Paisley has effectively accused the Irish Government of provoking the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings which claimed the lives of 33 people.

CLEAR ISLAND WALK, WEST CORK

The Pope has temporarily expelled a German bishop after a €30m scandal over the cost of a new residence, but he refused to remove him.

Tanzanian police have said a Catholic priest was attacked by acid at a busy business area on the island of Zanzibar.

Pope Francis has cheered fellow Argentine Lionel Messi and other soccer stars as he led a rally of sorts at the Vatican for Argentina and Italy’s national teams ahead of their eagerly awaited friendly match.

Pope Francis has criticised the Brazilian church’s failure to keep its flock from straying to evangelical churches, challenging the region’s bishops to be closer to their people to understand their problems and offer them credible solutions.

Religious observers are asking: “Is Pope Francis an exorcist?” after an incident in St Peter’s Square.

Black smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel earlier today, meaning Roman Catholic cardinals did not elect a pope in their second or third rounds of balloting.

The Vatican is now waiting for five more cardinals to reach Rome before setting the date for the conclave to elect a new pope.

The pope is to be known as “emeritus pope” after he retires and will continue to wear a white cassock, the Vatican has announced.

Former New York mayor Ed Koch, the combative politician who rescued the city from near-financial ruin during three City Hall terms, has died aged 88.

Tens of thousands of mourners sobbed, sang, prayed and vowed to cherish the Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s teachings today as they said goodbye to their self-proclaimed messiah and “True Father,” whose death earlier this month shed light again on his controversial religious and business empire.

The Catholic archbishop-elect of San Francisco has apologised for his arrest on suspicion of drunken driving, saying he brought “shame” and “disgrace” on himself and the church.

The Pope’s butler and a fellow lay employee are to stand trial over documents stolen from the pontiff’s private apartment.

The Vatican has blamed the media for fuelling the scandal over leaked documents and insisted there were no power struggles or problems of unity in the Holy See's governance.

The Pope’s butler has been arrested in its embarrassing leaks scandal, adding a Hollywood twist to an already remarkable tale of power struggles, intrigue and corruption in the highest levels of Catholic Church governance.

The pope began his eighth year today after spending the waning days of his seventh driving home his view of the Catholic Church, with a divisive crackdown on dissenters and an equally divisive opening to a fringe group of traditionalists.

The earthquake-devastated cathedral in New Zealand’s Christchurch is to be replaced by one made of cardboard.

The Vatican insisted today it has done everything possible to try to resolve the 1983 disappearance of an employee's teenage daughter and has no objections to allowing inspection of the basilica tomb of a reputed mobster from a gang purportedly linked to her presumed kidnapping.

Anti-capitalists protesters have warned they are in it for the long haul and are prepared to spend Christmas staked out at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

Thousands of people have gathered in Washington to give the new Martin Luther King Memorial a proper dedication on the National Mall after its opening in August.

WOULD that the marine biologists working on eradicating Sargassum, an invasive brown weed, at Lough Hyne in west Cork, found a way to eliminate the green weed plaguing shallow bays all over Ireland.

The Vatican, reeling from criticism over its handling of sexual abuse cases in Ireland, has taken the unusual step of publishing its internal files about a priest accused of molesting youngsters in Ireland and the US.

A British vicar has started holding sermons in McDonald's.

The Vatican told bishops around the world today it was important to co-operate with police in reporting priests who abuse children and said they should develop guidelines for preventing attacks.

Riots broke out again in Nigeria’s Muslim north today, 24 hours after protesters set fire to churches and homes of ruling party supporters when national election results showed that the Christian candidate had won.

Afghans have rioted for a second day over the burning of a Koran in the US, killing nine people in Kandahar and injuring more than 80 in a wave of violence that underscored rising anti-foreign sentiment after nearly a decade of war.

The Catholic Church today denied that the Pope had suggested condoms could be used to avoid pregnancy.

The Vatican’s new ruling on condom use is being questioned by conservative elements of the Catholic church.

The pope has approved using condoms even if they mean avoiding a possible pregnancy, providing they stop the transmission of HIV to a partner.

The Vatican has broadened the scope of the pope’s comments about condom use being a lesser evil than transmitting HIV onto a partner.

The producer of the Simpsons admitted today he was baffled after the Vatican declared that Homer and his son Bart were true Catholics.

IN the past, the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks was marked by sombre reflection and a call to unity, devoid of politics. No more.

The Vatican hinted that it may use behind-the-scenes diplomacy in a bid to save the life of an Iranian widow sentenced to be stoned for adultery.

A Pennsylvania couple secretly videotaped a Roman Catholic priest having sex with their 18-year-old daughter in the basement of their home and are now suing, saying he got her pregnant.

A Catholic priest was today charged with stealing $1.3m (€1.55) from the church to spend on male escorts, expensive clothing, and luxury hotels and restaurants.

Reputed gang leader Christopher “Dudus” Coke, who eluded a bloody police offensive in his slum stronghold last month, has surrendered to authorities in Jamaica, local news media has reported.