The spokesman said the
examination lasted for about a
half hour and had great result,
the clinical exam showed that
progress is good and corresponds
to what was expected.

Recently Pope Benedict XVI met with more than 7,000 children of the
Pontifical Work of Missionary Childhood. In the course of the meeting he
replied to questions put to him by three of the infants.

Benedict XVI is assuring youth,
especially the unemployed, that
the Church will not abandon
them. He is asking them in turn
not to abandon the Church.

A little girl name Letizia asked
Pope, “Dear Pope Benedict XVI,
did you ever think of becoming
the Pope?”"To tell you the
truth,” Pope Benedict responded,
"I never thought of becoming the
Pope, because as I have already explained, I used to be a fairly naive young boy in a small country town
very far from centers in a forgotten province.”

Benedict XVI is underlining charity as the source, standard and strategy
of all the organizations that serve the Church.

Benedict XVI affirmed that the need of Africa must be presented in the
international scene from an African perspective. The Pontiff noted
how “Africa presents a varied panorama of political, social and economic
realities.

The Pope added that today when Italy and many other nations celebrate the Bread of life, I wish to make special mention of the hundreds of
millions of people who suffer hunger.

A Vatican high ranking official said the current economic crisis has
revealed the specter of the cancellation or drastic reduction of foreign aid
programs, above all in developing countries.

The Pope greeted the leaders and said I am confident that the summit
will do much to draw the attention of world political leaders to the
importance of religions within the social fabric of every society
and to the grave duty to ensure that their deliberations and policies
support and uphold the common good.

Benedict XVI has reached the goals that were set for the first leg of his
weeklong pilgrimage to the Holy Land, says a Vatican spokesman. He
affirmed that the results are far “very positive.”