A bomb scare forced thousands of Lourdes pilgrims marking the Feast of the Assumption to evacuate the shrine yesterday.
Despite being assumed into heaven, Mary "has not abandoned her mission of intercession and salvation", Pope Benedict said at the Angelus on Sunday (video).
Cardinal Seán O'Malley of Boston has described the "Ground Zero mosque" as a "very important symbol" of how much Americans value freedom of religion.
Orthodox Christians celebrated the first Divine Liturgy in almost 90 years at the Byzantine-era Sümela Monastery in northeastern Turkey yesterday.
