Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday expressed "sorrow" for
Native Canadian children who in Catholic-run schools were forced to
suppress their language, customs and religion and, in some cases, were
also sexually and physically abused.

"The Holy Father expressed his sorrow at the anguish caused by the
deplorable conduct of some members of the Church," when he met a
delegation of Native Canadian representatives at the Vatican, a Holy
See statement said.

L'Aquila, Italy - In a visit Tuesday to Italy's earthquake-stricken Abruzzo region, Pope Benedict XVI brought words of comfort and appealed for the construction of safer homes and churches. Benedict arrived from Rome by car, with his first stop in the village of Onna, situated near the epicenter of the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck on April 6, killing nearly 300 people.

Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI and Britain's Prince Charles spent 15 minutes talking about the environment and other affairs during a meeting on Monday, the Vatican said.

The heir to the British throne was accompanied by his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, when he was received by the German-born pontiff at the Vatican.

Charles last visited the Vatican in 2005 to attend the funeral of Benedict's predecessor Pope John Paul II - a trip that forced the postponement of his wedding with Camilla.

Sydney - Australian police have given up trying to prosecute civil libertarian Ian Bryce for driving around Sydney in a fake pope-mobile during the real pope's visit in July for World Youth Day. Charges were dropped Monday after the police case collapsed for a fourth time. A Sydney judge dismissed the case.

"It was against the pope's claims to have supernatural authority and all the harm he's doing in the world in banning condoms and trying to avoid family planning," Bryce said.

Rome - Pope Benedict XVI has canonized five new saints - including the heroic 14th century Portuguese General Nuno de Santa Maria Alvares Pereira. Thousands of Portuguese faithful travelled to Rome to hear the pontiff's announcement at St Peter's Square on the military man turned friar and four others Sunday.

During the ceremony, Benedict renewed his appeal for a just society and solidary in the struggle against economic inequality affecting the better part of the world.

Amman - Jordan's influential Muslim Brotherhood movement on Sunday urged Pope Benedict XVI to postpone his planned Middle East visit next month and to apologize for statements that the group considers "injurious" to Islam.

"We hope that the Vatican will take a decision to postpone the visit until certain issues are cleared," Muslim Brotherhood official spokesman Jamil Abu Bakr said in a statement.