Pope Benedict XVI said the main purpose of the Synod of Bishops on the Bible is primarily pastoral, and a main challenge is to lead more Catholics to the Bible. It is not the Pontiff’s intention to host a forum for scriptural analysis (The Cath. Standard [CS] 21-27 Sept 2008 p. 2). The theme The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church is expression of his conviction that to pray and meditate on the Word of God is a condition so that we can really be in contact with the Lord and thus speak firsthand of him to others (CS, 10-16 April 2011 p. 12).

Welcome and statement of purpose at the National media launch of CAST for Ghana’s 2012 elections on 12th march, 2012 by Mr. Samuel Zan Akologo – Executive Secretary of the Department of Human Development of the National Catholic Secretariat

As part of the Church’s commitment to the promotion of good governance and democracy in Ghana, and to complement government effort in educating the citizenry, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference embarks on civic and voter education every other year. This year, the Conference has developed its programme titled, “Civic Agenda for Smooth Political Transition :, focus on the Biometric Registration and Voting System and the Political Transition Law for Ghana’s Election 2012” – CAST FOR GHANA in short. The programme is in partnership with STAR-Ghana, a pool funded mechanism that seeks to empower civil society and parliaments in ensuring effective governance of public goods and service delivery.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, increasing the chances the next pontiff will be a conservative European, on Friday named 22 new cardinals, the red-hatted "princes of the Church" who are his closest aides and will one day choose his successor.
Eighteen of the new cardinals will be eligible to enter a secret conclave to elect the next pope from among their own ranks, and of those, 12 are Europeans, bringing the number of "cardinal electors" from the continent to 67 out of 125.

Message to the Roman Curia
This morning in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI delivered his annual Christmas address to the members of Roman Curia, his closest collaborators. Each year, he takes this occasion to reflect on the chief events of the past year.