When Pope Benedict XVI gave a papal mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, onlookers were surprised that former mayor Rudy Giuliani took Communion, given his three marriages and pro-choice abortion stance. Now Edward Cardinal Egan has issued a statement slamming Giuliani, saying Rudy was never supposed to have had the holy wafer! Apparently Egan and Giuliani had an "understanding" from back when Egan became Archbishop and Giuliani was mayor, where Giuliani "was not to receive the......

Now that Pope Benedict XVI has left NYC, it's time to pay the NYPD overtime bills. According to the NYPD, the State Department will reimburse the city for 50-60% of the costs associated with making sure the pope was safe throughout his 3 days in the city. While the exact total will be released soon (Pope John Paul II's 1995 visit cost $4 million in overtime), Mayor Bloomberg emphasized, "This is one of those things......

Now that he has welcomed Pope Benedict XVI to NYC, the NY Times speculates that Cardinal Edward Egan could retire soon. Egan, the head of the powerful NY Archdiocese, presented his resignation letter last year (required by Vatican Law of all archbishops who turn 75). The Times explains the pope decides when resignations take effect--while Pope John Paul II allowed bishops and archbishops to serve longer, Benedict "has been more prompt about replacing bishop." It's......

Photograph of Pope Benedict at Yankee Stadium from the AP Yesterday afternoon, Pope Benedict XVI gave mass at Yankee Stadium, saying the Catholic Church must build upon its "solid foundations" and "impressive legacy" in America, "From a small flock...the church in America has been built up in fidelity to the twin commandment of love of God and love of neighbor." He spoke in English and in Spanish and when he said Catholicism provides respect......

Photographs of Pope Benedict with Vice President Dick Cheney and Lynne Cheney at his farewell ceremony at JFK Airport by Stuart Ramson/AP Pope Benedict XVI left New York City this evening, telling 4,000 people who gathered at JFK Airport, "It has been a joy for me to witness the faith and devotion of the Catholic community here." He called his address the United Nations one highlight and said, "My visit this morning to Ground......

Photograph at Pope Benedict at Ground Zero by Kathy Willens/AP Pope Benedict XVI visited Ground Zero this morning, asking for "eternal light and peace to all who died here," with an audience of dignitaries and two dozen survivors, victims' family members, and rescue workers from the September 11 attacks. He lit a candle, blessed the site, and prayed. Here is an excerpt of his blessing:We ask you, in your compassion to bring healing to......

Photograph of the Popemobile heading up Fifth Avenue by Louis Lanzano/AP Yesterday, thousands of people lined Fifth Avenue for a glimpse of Pope Benedict XVI. After giving the first ever papal mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral--and having a private lunch with Cardinal Egan--Pope Benedict emerged in his Popemobile to cheering crowds. Before his only Popemobile trip, the pontiff asked the audience at St. Patrick's for greater unity in the Catholic church. One of many......

Pope Benedict is giving the first ever papal mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, after being greeted by cardinals, bishops, priests, nuns and others who flocked to Fifth Avenue to see the Holy Father. You can see the mass on local news stations or online (at the websites of WNBC, 7online, WCBS, MyFox). Mayor Bloomberg greeted the Pope and told the audience at St. Pat's, "This a historic day for New York." Pope Benedict made......

His Holiness is the hottest ticket in town, and ANIMAL is showing the true audacity of the Pope by providing a high-res scan of a ticket to the street gallery for Pope Benedict's St. Patrick's Cathedral Mass tomorrow. And there are some instructions:Unfortunately, the original ticket-holder declined to send a proper full-size scan, so this will be an inexact process. It seems to be 7 3/8" wide by 3" tall; we're told there's some writing......

His Holiness has arrived! Pope Benedict XVI arrived at JFK Airport this morning (NY1's Roger Clark excitedly noted the flight from DC was shorter than expected) and was greeted by various Catholic Church and political dignitaries. Some children from local Catholic schools presented him flowers. From JFK, the Pope took a helicopter to Wall Street and then traveled by car to the United Nations, where he is about to address the General Assembly. (You......

Photograph of Pope Benedict at Nationals Parks in Washington, DC by Gerald Herbert/AP Pope Benedict's trip the United States is already historic, but yesterday he did something that heightened the dramatic quotient of his journey: He privately met with five or six people who had been sexually abused by priests in the Boston area. Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley also gave Pope Benedict a notebook with the names of almost 1,500 men and women, who......

Pope Benedict XVI arrives at JFK Airport tomorrow, and the city is ready. Police will be checking subway train cars through his three-day stay, as well as using mobile radiation detection units and hand-held sensors to examine cars. The Daily Intel asked Pastor Richard Baker, who directs the Cathedral of St. Patrick's Young Singers, for the advice he gave the children. For instance, one should address Pope Benedict "as 'Your Holiness.' Not 'Hey Pope' or......

Pope Benedict spent his first full day in Washington D.C. visiting the White House and other areas. It's his 81st birthday, and he's celebrating with a meal at the Vatican embassy catered by a local chef. When he left the White House, he sped around Pennsylvania Avenuefor people to see him in his Popemobile. Both fans of the Holy Father as well as protesters (who yelled "Anti-Christ!") lined the streets. Check out these photos from......

The head of the Catholic Church and his Popemobile will be cruising the streets of Manhattan and the Bronx this week. That means street closings and traffic disruptions all over town. Pope Benedict has a wide-ranging itinerary around the city, from Ground Zero to Yankee Stadium (on Sunday-map above). Pope Benedict XVI will finish up the "render unto Caesar" leg of his journey in DC tomorrow and arrive in NYC on Friday. The Observer......

This afternoon, Pope Benedict's Shepherd One will touch down at Andrews Air Force Base, where the Pontiff will be greeted by President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. He won't be giving any public statements, but will have various meetings on his 81st birthday eve. The Pope, who will spend a few days in D.C. before coming to NYC, told reporters on the flight today that he was "deeply ashamed" of Catholic priests who abused......

Photograph of security checking the chapel at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers by Julie Jacobson/AP In less than a week, it'll be all Pope Benedict, all the time. And right now, it practically seems that way already, with planners working overtime to make sure the Papal Visit goes off without a hitch. The NY Times has a great article about the logistics involved with the April 20 mass at Yankee Stadium: "How do 530......

The NYPD is making sure security is high for Pope Benedict's visit to New York City next week. Not only will there be undercover cops with "pager-sized radiation detectors" and bomb-sniffing dogs, there will be sharpshooters, scuba divers, and others, plus the Secret Service and the Pope's Swiss Guard, on hand. Yesterday, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said, "We will provide the highest possible level of security while accommodating the public in welcoming the pontiff." He......

When Pope Benedict XVI visits NYC this month, one of his stops will be to a synagogue on Manhattan's Upper East Side. It will be the first time a Catholic pope has visited a Jewish temple on U.S. soil, although it will be Benedict's second visit to a synagogue as pope after a 2005 trip to his native Germany. The visit continues a movement for ecumenicism and interfaith dialogue that was strongly supported by the......

Next month, Pope Benedict XVI will be coming to the Big Apple for his first papal visit. And amongst the gifts he receives will be a skateboard designed by young New Yorker. The Archdiocese of New York is holding a Papal Visit Skateboard Art Design Contest. Really. Fr. Peter Pomposello of St. Elizabeth's in Washington Heights told NY1, "The Holy Father talks about meeting people where they're at within their culture - and skateboarding is......

Photograph of Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican by Pier Paolo Cito/AP The Vatican has just issued a list of seven new "social" sins. As Bloomberg News reports, Bishop Gianfranco Girotti explained, "You offend God not only by stealing, taking the Lord's name in vain or coveting your neighbor's wife, but also by wrecking the environment, carrying out morally debatable experiments that manipulate DNA or harm embryos." Here they are:1. "Bioethical" violations such as......

Mark this in your calendars: NYC traffic will be bananas between April 15 and April 20, when Pope Benedict XVI makes his first visit to New York City. Like many tourists to the Big Apple, the pope will visit Ground Zero - the Vatican says that he wants to show "solidarity with those who have died, with their families and with all those who wish an end of violence and in the search of peace."......

As rival Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney continues to gain ground, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani is still leading in national surveys. However, Giuliani has been facing criticism over his abortion stance, which has most recently been refined as something like I believe that women should have a choice, though I'm morally against abortion. And with that, he's trying to convince the conservative voters out there that he's a good choice. He gave this opinion at......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a gas leak on Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn, a shooting on Holland Ave. in the Bronx, and a boat in distress at the World's Fair Marina in Queens. Three Staten Island homes were looted following last week's nor'easter that damaged a retaining wall and forced residents to evacuate. Pope Benedict will be the third pontiff to visit NYC, but it won't be anytime this year. The fire that ultimately......

The U.N. invited Pope Benedict XVI to NYC earlier this year and the pontiff just accepted. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon extended the invite recently and the pope agreed to an as-yet-unscheduled visit. The previous pope, John Paul II, visited New York twice, in 1979 and again in 1995. His first visit was frenetic in a manner that belied the man's later physical frailty: He headed first to the United Nations, where he met......

On Wednesday a blog called Whispers in the Loggia posted an open letter from New York priests calling for a vote of no confidence in Cardinal Edward Egan, archbishop of New York. The Daily News quickly picked up on the story, as did the Post, and today the Times catches up with the story. The letter, from a group called A Committee of Concerned Clergy, is unusual in this area not only in that......

Ever since the Apple store on Fifth Avenue opened its glass doors to the public we knew that eventually somebody was going to throw a story around about its similarities to the Kaaba in Mecca. And so we weren't really at all surprised when we saw this story in the Post today. We were, however, impressed with whomever wrote the articles hed: "QAEDA CUBE BOOBS 'MECCA' BIG STINK." Sadly, the story is pretty much......

We're not sure New York Christians could have asked for nicer Easter weather. The sun was shining, flowers were blooming and when we were out people just seemed to be in good cheer. Or maybe we just weren't sitting in front of our computer all day? (Shhh! Don't tell Jen and Jake!) Anyway, we gather from photos the parade was lovely as well. Yesterday's easter event brought record crowds to Central Park - though......

Cardinal Joseph Ratziner was chosen by his cardinal peers to be the new Pope. Ratzinger, who will now be known as Pope Benedict XVI, is the first German pope in a thousand years. His selection reflects the desire of the church to shore up Europe as a Catholic stronghold, making many worried he will "scare away" other people. While many New Yorkers cheered in Times Square when white smoke appeared and the new pope was......