June 13, 2008

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI leafs through a photo album of the pontiff’s trip to the US in April, a gift from US President George W. Bush, during their meeting at the Vatican Friday, June 13, 2008. The pontiff gave President Bush a rare peek of the Vatican Gardens, a spot where popes pray privately and only special guests are allowed to stroll. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho) EDITORIAL USE ONLY


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, US President George W. Bush holds up a framed photograph of himself with his wife Laura Bush and Pope Benedict XVI during the pontiff’s trip to the US in April, a gift from the pope, during their meeting at the Vatican Friday, June 13, 2008. The pontiff gave President Bush a rare peek of the Vatican Gardens, a spot where popes pray privately and only special guests are allowed to stroll. At right in the background it the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho) EDITORIAL USE ONLY


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI welcomes US President George W. Bush upon his arrival at the Vatican Gardens, Friday, June 13, 2008. The pontiff gave President Bush a rare peek of the Vatican Gardens, a spot where popes pray privately and only special guests are allowed to stroll. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho) EDITORIAL USE ONLY


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June 6, 2008

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, standing at center surrounded by Vatican Swiss guards, waits in a hallway before being received by Pope Benedict XVI in his library, at the Vatican, Friday, June 6, 2008. Benedict XVI met Friday with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi for talks expected to focus on the immigration and family policies of the new conservative government. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho) EDITORIAL USE ONLY


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June 2, 2008

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI is shown a copy of the Shroud of Turin by pilgrims from Turin, northern Italy, on the occasion of their audience with the pontiff, in Hall Paul VI at the Vatican, Monday, June 2, 2008. The Shroud of Turin, revered by many Christians as Jesus Christ’s burial cloth, will go on rare public display in 2010, the pontiff announced Monday. The shroud last was shown to the public in 2000, when more than 1 million visitors viewed it in Turin cathedral during a special display for the new millennium Holy Year. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho) EDITORIAL USE ONLY NO SALES


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May 9, 2008

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI, right, hugs the head of Armenia’s Orthodox Church Karekin II after a prayer session, at the Vatican, Friday, May 9, 2008. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho) EDITORIAL USE ONLY


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI, left, poses with the head of Armenia’s Orthodox Church Karekin II after their private meeting at the Vatican, Friday, May 9, 2008. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho) EDITORIAL USE ONLY


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI, left, poses with the head of Armenia’s Orthodox Church Karekin II after their private meeting at the Vatican, Friday, May 9, 2008. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho) EDITORIAL USE ONLY


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May 7, 2008

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI poses with the Inter Milan team at the end of the pontiff’s weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Benedict XVI greeted the Inter Milan team Wednesday at a time when the Italian club hopes to clinch its third successive Serie A title. Flanking the pontiff are team President Massimo Moratti, left, and team coach Roberto Mancini. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Inter Milan defender Javier Zanetti hands the pontiff a team jersey as Inter Milan President Massimo Moratti, right, looks on, at the end of the pontiff’s weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Benedict XVI greeted the Inter Milan team Wednesday at a time when the Italian club hopes to clinch its third successive Serie A title. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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April 24, 2008

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI, second left, his older brother Georg Ratzinger, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, second right, and his wife Clio, look on during a concert to celebrate the third year of Benedict’s pontificate, at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2008. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, HO)


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI, left, shakes hands with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano during a concert to celebrate the third year of Benedict’s pontificate, at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2008. (AP Photo / L’Osservatore Romano, HO)


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April 23, 2008

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI, center, presides over the funeral of Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo inside St.Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2008. Benedict XVI has praised Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo for his anti-abortion stance at a funeral Mass for the Colombian prelate. The 72-year-old cardinal died Saturday in a Rome hospital from heart failure following medical complications. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI presides over the funeral of Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo inside St.Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2008. Benedict XVI has praised Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo for his anti-abortion stance at a funeral Mass for the Colombian prelate. The 72-year-old cardinal died Saturday in a Rome hospital from heart failure following medical complications. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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April 9, 2008

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI greets US actress Sydne Rome at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 9, 2008. At left is the pontiff’s personal aide Rev. Georg Gaeinswein. Man at right is unidentified. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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April 5, 2008

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI delivers his message during an audience to participants of a plenary assembly of the pontifical council for the family, at the Clementine Hall at the Vatican, Saturday, April 5, 2008. Benedict XVI calls abortion and divorce ‘grave sins’ and warns a ‘culture of death’ might put the lives of the elderly at risk. Benedict’s remarks Saturday during audiences at the Vatican are his latest defense of the traditional family, based on marriage between man and woman and of human life from conception to natural death. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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April 3, 2008

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper l’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper l’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI meets Germany’s Thuringia Minister-President Dieter Althaus at the Vatican Thursday, April 3, 2008. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper l’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper l’Osservatore Romano, Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, personal secretary of late Pope John Paul II, says rosary in front of Pope John Paul II’s tomb, on the occasion of the third anniversary of his death, at the Vatican, Wednesday night, April 2, 2008. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper l’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper l’Osservatore Romano, unidentified Cardinals say rosary in front of Pope John Paul II’s tomb, on the occasion of the third anniversary of his death, at the Vatican, Wednesday night, April 2, 2008. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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March 14, 2008

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI wait for faithful inside a confessional in the St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, Thursday, March 13, 2008 after attending a penitential ceremony. (AP Photo)


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI enters a confessional in the St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, Thursday, March 13, 2008 after attending a penitential ceremony. (AP Photo/) *


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI leaves a confessional in the St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, Thursday, March 13, 2008 after he heard confessions by faithful. . (AP Photo/GIUSEPPE GIGLIA, POOL)


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI leaves a confessional in the St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, Thursday, March 13, 2008 after he heard confessions by faithful. . (AP Photo/GIUSEPPE GIGLIA, POOL)


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January 9, 2008

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Italian soccer federation president Giancarlo Abete, flanked by William Punghellini, President of the Interregional Soccer Committee, right, present Pope Benedict XVI with a soccer ball at the end of the pontiff’s weekly general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2008. (AP Photo / L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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November 25, 2007

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, newly elevated Cardinal John Patrick Foley from the US receives a golden ring from Pope Benedict XVI during a Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2007. Benedict XVI urged his 23 new cardinals on Sunday to pray for peace in the world and unity among Christians, and be willing to give their lives for the sake of the Catholic Church. Benedict made the appeal during a Mass in which he placed a golden ring on the finger of each of the new cardinals, a symbol of their links to the papacy, that was embossed with an image of Christ’s crucifixion. The Mass capped a weekend-long ceremony to elevate the 23 new churchmen to the elite ranks of the College of Cardinals, where they will act as the pope’s principal advisers and, for those under age 80, the electors of a future pontiff. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, newly elevated Cardinal Agustin Garcia-Gasco Vicente of Spain receives a golden ring from Pope Benedict XVI during a Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2007. Benedict XVI urged his 23 new cardinals on Sunday to pray for peace in the world and unity among Christians, and be willing to give their lives for the sake of the Catholic Church. Benedict made the appeal during a Mass in which he placed a golden ring on the finger of each of the new cardinals, a symbol of their links to the papacy, that was embossed with an image of Christ’s crucifixion. The Mass capped a weekend-long ceremony to elevate the 23 new churchmen to the elite ranks of the College of Cardinals, where they will act as the pope’s principal advisers and, for those under age 80, the electors of a future pontiff. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, newly elevated Cardinal Urbano Navarrete of Spain receives a golden ring from Pope Benedict XVI during a Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2007. Benedict XVI urged his 23 new cardinals on Sunday to pray for peace in the world and unity among Christians, and be willing to give their lives for the sake of the Catholic Church. Benedict made the appeal during a Mass in which he placed a golden ring on the finger of each of the new cardinals, a symbol of their links to the papacy, that was embossed with an image of Christ’s crucifixion. The Mass capped a weekend-long ceremony to elevate the 23 new churchmen to the elite ranks of the College of Cardinals, where they will act as the pope’s principal advisers and, for those under age 80, the electors of a future pontiff. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, newly elevated Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega of Mexicol receives a golden ring from Pope Benedict XVI during a Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2007. Benedict XVI urged his 23 new cardinals on Sunday to pray for peace in the world and unity among Christians, and be willing to give their lives for the sake of the Catholic Church. Benedict made the appeal during a Mass in which he placed a golden ring on the finger of each of the new cardinals, a symbol of their links to the papacy, that was embossed with an image of Christ’s crucifixion. The Mass capped a weekend-long ceremony to elevate the 23 new churchmen to the elite ranks of the College of Cardinals, where they will act as the pope’s principal advisers and, for those under age 80, the electors of a future pontiff. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, newly elevated Cardinal Sean Baptist Brady from Ireland receives a golden ring from Pope Benedict XVI during a Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2007. Benedict XVI urged his 23 new cardinals on Sunday to pray for peace in the world and unity among Christians, and be willing to give their lives for the sake of the Catholic Church. Benedict made the appeal during a Mass in which he placed a golden ring on the finger of each of the new cardinals, a symbol of their links to the papacy, that was embossed with an image of Christ’s crucifixion. The Mass capped a weekend-long ceremony to elevate the 23 new churchmen to the elite ranks of the College of Cardinals, where they will act as the pope’s principal advisers and, for those under age 80, the electors of a future pontiff. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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October 25, 2007

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper l’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper l’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI, seen at the top left corner, celebrates a Mass for the inauguration of the academic year of pontifical universities in Rome, inside St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper l’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper l’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict celebrates a Mass for the inauguration of the academic year of pontifical universities in Rome, inside St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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October 24, 2007

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI receives a gift from Polish Culture Minister Kazimierz Michal Ujazdowski, center, at the end of his weekly general audience in St.Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Oct. 24, 2007. At left is the pontiff’s personal aide Rev. Georg Gaenswein. Others are unidentified. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, HO)


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October 8, 2007

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI receives a gift from President of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Ronald S. Lauder during a private audience at the Vatican, Monday, Oct. 8, 2007. Top officials from the World Jewish Congress met Monday with Pope Benedict XVI to voice concern about Iran but also to encourage pursuing a dialogue with moderate Muslims, participants said. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI meets with President Ronald S. Lauder, second left, Secretary General Michael Schneider, left, and Deputy Secretary General Maram Stern of the World Jewish Congress during a private audience at the Vatican, Monday, Oct. 8, 2007. Top officials from the World Jewish Congress met Monday with Pope Benedict XVI to voice concern about Iran but also to encourage pursuing a dialogue with moderate Muslims, participants said. Schneider said the delegation thanked the pope for his work supporting interfaith relations and invited him to meet with senior Jewish leaders during his planned trip to New York next year. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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September 21, 2007

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI poses with members of international representatives of centrist parties, at the pontiff’s summer residence of Castelgandolfo on the outskirts of Rome, Friday, Sept. 21, 2007. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, opposition centrist party leader Pier Ferdinando Casini and Pope Benedict XVI look at an ancient document during a meeting with international representatives of centrist parties, at the pontiff’s summer residence of Castelgandolfo on the outskirts of Rome, Friday, Sept. 21, 2007. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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September 6, 2007

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI meets with Israeli President Shimon Peres for their private audience at the pope’s summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, on the outskirts of Rome, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. The 35-minute meeting between Benedict and Peres was the first since the veteran statesman and Nobel Peace Prize laureate became president in July. It came amid an international push for peace in the Middle East. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, HO)


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI welcomes Israeli President Shimon Peres for their private audience at the pope’s summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, on the outskirts of Rome, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. The 35-minute meeting between Benedict and Peres was the first since the veteran statesman and Nobel Peace Prize laureate became president in July. It came amid an international push for peace in the Middle East. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, HO)


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June 29, 2007

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Archbishop of Toronto, Canada, Thomas Christopher Collins receives a pallium from Pope Benedict XVI during a ceremony inside St.Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Friday, June 29, 2007. During the ceremony the pontiff bestowed the pallium, or a wool shawl, on 46 archbishops from around the world to symbolize their bond with the Vatican. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)


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In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore …

photo(AP) - In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Archbishop of Toronto, Canada, Thomas Christopher Collins walks away after receiving a pallium from Pope Benedict XVI during a ceremony inside St.Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Friday, June 29, 2007. During the ceremony the pontiff bestowed the pallium, or a wool shawl, on 46 archbishops from around the world to symbolize their bond with the Vatican. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)