National Catholic Reporter

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Vatican

What’s in store for the new pope's first days?

If it hasn’t happened by the time you are reading this newspaper, sometime very soon the Catholic church will have a new pope. Naturally the world will be waiting to find out what kind of leader he’s likely...

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The complex legacy of Benedict XVI

Now that Pope Benedict has granted his own wish to step down, the debate over his legacy is officially open.

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Adult stem cells offer ethical, effective cures, speakers say

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Finding safe and effective cures to disease and illness does not have to go against moral and ethical principles; that was the message of a three-day conference at the Vatican on adult stem-cell therapies.

"To address global suffering, one does not have to choose between faith and science. ... These two ideas fit together symbiotically," said Dr. Robin Smith, chairman and CEO of the for-profit NeoStem biopharmaceutical company and president of its nonprofit Stem for Life Foundation.

Awaiting the surprises of a merciful God, like Francis asks

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My first take on Pope Francis was that he is masterful in the use of symbols. More recently, I'm asking myself if his core strength is a simplicity and transparency so attuned with the Gospels they shine through him, preached almost without words.

Most NCR readers I've spoken with seem to take one of two approaches to this young pontificate, both encouraging, one more guarded.

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In This Issue

May 10-23, 2013

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