I’ll be 50 years on the road this year. I started when I was 16 and I still love performing.

Footprint Upon Water

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

The scandal-hit Catholic Church needs to undergo renewal and reform, the former leader of Roman Catholics in England and Wales said today as he called for the “pope’s own house to be put in order” in the wake of recent troubles.

The pope is planning to stay out of the public eye following his retirement at the end of the month and will probably not even write any more, his brother said after talking with him.

The pope’s butler has said he is innocent of stealing private correspondence but guilty of betraying the trust of the pontiff, whom he said he loved like a son would his father.

The pope’s butler has said he is innocent of stealing private correspondence but guilty of betraying the trust of the pontiff, whom he said he loved like a son would his father.

Thousands of people are set to attend day two of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin today, which began yesterday with lower than expected attendance and amid renewed calls for the resignation of Cardinal Seán Brady.

STUTTGART, June 12, 1988. Ray Houghton’s goal. Packie Bonner defying Gary Lineker and everything else England could throw at him. The full-time scoreboard reading ‘England 0 Rep of Ireland 1. And, beneath it, the Green Army going positively bonkers.

Pope Benedict XVI implored the Syrian regime yesterday to end the bloodshed and expressed hope that the joy of Easter will comfort Christian communities suffering because of their faith.

The pope stepped into the row over Pakistan’s blasphemy laws today, declaring them an excuse for violence against non-Muslims and urging their removal.

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

POPE Benedict XVI praised Britain as a “force for good” yesterday as thousands of people turned out to greet him on the first day of his historic visit.

The Pope today called the raids carried out by Belgian police investigating sex abuse by priests “deplorable” and asserted the autonomy of the Catholic Church to investigate abuse alongside civil law enforcement authorities.

Surrounded by 15,000 white-robed priests the pope begged forgiveness from clerical abuse victims today and promised to “do everything possible” to protect the world’s children.

The pope today said he was “deeply saddened” by the killing of a Catholic bishop in Turkey but added it was not political and would not cloud his pilgrimage to Cyprus.

The pope blamed the church’s own sins for the clerical abuse scandal today and called for profound purification to end what he called the “greatest persecution” the church has endured.

The pope today declared the sex abuse scandal shaking Catholicism was “the greatest persecution of the church,” but said it was born from sins inside the church, not outside.

The pope will address Europe’s economic crisis during a visit to Portugal which began today.

The Pope’s letter on how senior Catholic clergy in Ireland mishandled cases of clerical child abuse was today branded as weak.

THE Pope will address Ireland today in an unprecedented letter apologising for widespread Catholic child abuse.

The pope today called for the respect of all people without discrimination and the protection of children from war and violence during a Mass marking the start of 2010.

The man at the centre of the failed Detroit airliner bomb plot had been banned from entering Britain, it was disclosed today.

Al-Qaida warned of a terror attack just days before a former British student allegedly attempted to blow up a transatlantic airliner carrying 278 passengers, it was revealed tonight.

The pope today called for a new world financial order guided by ethics, dignity and the search for the common good in the third encyclical of his pontificate.

The pope called for an independent Palestinian homeland as soon as he arrived in Israel today.

The pope visited Italy’s earthquake-ravaged region today offering words of comfort to the survivors and calling for the rebirth of the area.

The pope made a final appeal at the end of his African pilgrimage today for greater world solidarity to ensure the Earth’s resources are more equally shared.

The pope claimed condoms were not the solution to Africa’s growing Aids problem as he travelled to the continent for his first visit today.

The pope today challenged world leaders to make major changes to the global financial system, saying short-term answers to the financial crisis were not sufficient.

Pope Benedict is too old to attend an event in Mexico City because of its high altitude, a cardinal said today.

The pope underlined his opposition to euthanasia today when he met the sick and dying on their pilgrimages to Lourdes.

The pope today told of his deep shame at the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church and promised to work to keep paedophiles out of the priesthood.

The pope today condemned the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto as a “brutal terrorist attack” and prayed that further violence would be avoided following her death.

Democratic societies have the right to defend themselves against terrorism but must respect laws and human rights in their struggle – or risk endangering the very freedoms they seek to protect, Pope Benedict XVI said today.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended remarks on Islam and jihad made by Pope Benedict XVI during his trip to Germany, saying they have “misunderstood” the pontiff’s message.

World champions Ferrari led the mourning at Formula One’s Bahrain Grand Prix for The Pope, who died last night.

A Polish priest from John Paul II’s birthplace said today he had been told by The Pope’s closest aide that the pontiff might leave hospital on Monday or Tuesday.

Doctors have advised Pope John Paul to extend his hospital stay by “a few more days", but he will return to the Vatican by the start of Holy Week on March 20, his spokesman said today.

The pope, recuperating from throat surgery, plans to give his traditional blessings on Easter Sunday but has tentatively delegated other Holy Week activities to top cardinals, the Vatican said today.

The pope confounded sceptics who had his obituary ready to roll today when he ate a hearty breakfast and silently joked with aides only hours after undergoing surgery to ease another breathing crisis.

The pope’s breathing problems are not a routine complication of the flu but are worsened by his Parkinson’s disease, several doctors said.

The pope called for more opposition to laws he sees as threatening families based on traditional marriage today.

The pope is “seriously weakened” and may have been making his farewells at Lourdes, said a cardinal who accompanied John Paul to the French shrine at the weekend.