Pope Benedict xvi

VATICAN CITY — In five speeches over a period of six months, Pope Benedict XVI warned visiting U.S. bishops of the threats that an increasingly secularized society poses to the Catholic Church in America, especially in the areas of religious liberty, sexual morality and the definition of marriage.

VATICAN CITY -- Work obligations should not harm a person's family relationships but should provide support, giving couples the resources to have and raise children and spend time together, Pope Benedict XVI said.

At the end of his weekly general audience May 16, Pope Benedict noted how the United Nations chose "family and work" as the focus of the 2012 International Day of Families, which was celebrated May 15.

Work should not be an obstacle to the family, he said, "but rather should support and unite it, help it to open itself to life" and interact with society and the Church.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Reconciliation talks between the Vatican and the Society of St. Pius X have not reached their conclusion but will continue, the Vatican said May 16, after members of its doctrinal congregation examined the latest communication from the head of the breakaway traditionalist group.

"Some observations were formulated which will be kept in mind in further discussions," said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, following a meeting of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

MENZINGEN, Switzerland -- The leader of a breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics spoke in unusually hopeful terms about a possible reconciliation with Rome, but acknowledged significant internal resistance to such a move, which he said might lead to the group splitting apart.

Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the Society of St. Pius X, spoke to Catholic News Service May 11 at the society's headquarters in Switzerland about the latest events in more than two years of efforts at reconciliation with the Vatican.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI said knowing that Catholics around the world pray for him has given him strength and confidence since his election seven years ago.

"From the first moment of my election as the successor of Peter, I always have felt supported by your prayers, by the prayers of the Church, especially in the most difficult moments," he said May 9 at his weekly general audience.

Interrupted by the applause of the estimated 10,000 people gathered for the audience in St. Peter's Square, the pope told those who pray for him, "I thank you from the depths of my heart."

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI called on America's Catholic colleges and universities to reaffirm their Catholic identity by ensuring orthodoxy in theological studies and accepting the oversight of bishops.

The pope made his remarks May 5 to U.S. bishops from Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Wyoming, who were making their periodic "ad limina" visits to the Vatican.