4 I Monday, April 5, 2010 Vatican’s Mass infused with defense of pope By Frances D’Emilio ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER VATICAN CITY' It was the Catholic calendar's holiest moment the Mass celebrating the resurrection of Christ. But with Pope Benedict XVI accused of failing to protect children from abusive priests, Easter Sunday also was a high-profile opportunity to play defense. “Holy Father, on your side are the people of God." Cardinal Angelo Sodano told the pontiff, whom victims of clergy sexual abuse accuse of helping to shape and perpetuate a climate of cover up. Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, dismissed those claims as “petty gossip." The ringing tribute at the start of a Mass attended by tens of thou sands in St. Peter's Square marked an unusual departure from the Vatican's Easter rituals, infusing the tradition-steeped reli gious ceremony with an air of a papal pep rally. Dressed in gold robes and shielded from a cool drizzle by a canopy, Benedict looked weary during much of the Mass, the highlight of a heavy Holy Week schedule. But as he listened intently to Sodano’s paean, a smile broke across the pope's face, and when the cardinal finished speak Apple fans greet iPad By Jessica Mintz ASSOCIATED PRESS iVRii-E SEATTLE Now that the iPad is in the hands of early adopters, the hard work for Apple Inc. begins. Eager customers intent on being among the first owners of this new class of gadgetry stood in long lines across the country Saturday. They seemed willing to buy first and dis cover uses for the iPad later. In some ways, it was reminiscent of the lines and hoopla surrounding the 2007 launch of the first iPhone. The difference: People knew then that the iPhone would replace their existing cell phone, an appliance that has become a must-have for everyone from über-geeks to stay-at-home moms. With the iPad, which fits some where between phone and computer, Apple must convince people who already have smart phones, laptops, e-book readers, set-top boxes and home broadband connections that they need another device that serves many of the same purposes. Many of the earliest iPad buyers say they will have a better idea of what they’ll use it for only after they’ve had it for a while. That didn’t stop them from imagin ing, though. Beth Goza has had iPhones and other smart phones, along with a Macßook Air laptop, yet she believes Bombers target embassies in Iraq By Elizaveth A Kennedy and Qassim Abdul-Zahra ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITERS BAGHDAD Suicide attackers detonated three car bombs in quick succession near foreign embassies in Baghdad on Sunday, killing more than 40 people in coordinated strikes that Iraqi officials said were intended to disrupt efforts to form a new govern ment. The bombings followed the execu tion-style killings of 24 villagers in a Sunni area two days earlier, a spike in violence that suggests insurgents are seizing on the political uncertainty after the recent election to try to destabilize the country 7 as U.S. troops prepare to leave. No clear winner emerged from the March 7 vote. Sunday’s explosions went off within minutes of each other, starting shortly after 11 a.m. One struck near the Iranian Embassy and two others hit an area that houses several diplomat ing, Benedict rose from his chair in front of the altar to embrace him. The pontiff hasn’t responded to accusations that he did too little to protect children from pedophile priests, even as sex abuse scan dals threaten to overshadow his papacy. Sodano’s praise for Benedict as well as the church’s 400,000 priests worldwide cranked up a vigorous campaign by the Holy See to counter what it calls a “vile” smear operation orchestrated by anti-Vatican media aimed at weak ening the papacy and its moral authority. Sodano said the faithful came to "rally close around you, successor to (St.) Peter, bishop of Rome, the unfailing rock of the holy church" amid the joy of Easter. "We are deeply grateful to you for the strength of spirit and apos tolic courage with which you announce the Gospel,” said Sodano, who sought to assure Benedict that the scandals were not costing him credibility among his flock. “Holy Father, on your side are the people of God, who do not allow themselves to be influenced by the petty gossip of the moment, by the trials which sometimes buf fet the community of believers," Sodano said. Andres Schobel, right, celebrates as one of the first customers to buy on iPad on the first day of sales at an Apple Store in San Francisco on Saturday. the iPad has a place in her digital line up. She likened it to a professional tennis player owning different sneak ers for grass, clay and concrete courts. ‘At the end of the day, you can get by with one or the other,” she said out side an Apple store in Seattle's University Village mall. But she clearly doesn’t want to just "get by.” She’s already dreaming up specific uses for her iPad, such as knitting applications to help her keep track of her place in a complicated pattern. Danita Shneidman, a woman in her ic missions, including the Egyptian Consulate and the German and Spanish embassies. It was not imme diately known whether diplomatic staff were among the victims. Authorities said they foiled two other attacks aimed at diplomatic tar gets by stopping the would-be bombers’ vehicles and defusing the explosives. Stunned victims in bloody clothes were loaded into ambulances as gray smoke rose over Baghdad. “I saw children screaming," Hassan Karim, 32, who owns a cloth ing shop in Baghdad, told the Associated Press. “Cars were crash ing into each other in streets, trying to find a way to flee.” There was no immediate claim of responsibility, although multiple, coordinated bombings in the capital are a hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq. The violence suggests insurgents are trying to regroup in the political vacuum left after the elections. Former Prime Minister Ayad & Wn N A 1 L Osservatore Romano/Associated Press Pope Benedict XVI addresses the faithful during the “Urbi et Orb” (To the city and the World) message, at the end of the Easter Mass in St. Peter's square, at the Vatican, on Sunday. The pope has faced criticism recently that he did too little to protect children from pedophile priests. The cardinal also rushed to the the missions in the most remote Cardinal Angelo Scola said in an defense of all the Catholic priests parts of the world." interview on Italian state TV on who "generously serve the people Benedict, who turns 83 on April Sunday. Scola said he recently had of God. in parishes, recreation 16. was holding up well against the dined with the pope, who was centers, schools, hospitals and campaign of "deceitful accusa- drawing on his “usual spiritual many other places, as well as in tions" against him, Venice energy." 60s, wanted one to look at photos and videos of her first grandchild, born this week in Boston. And then there's Ray Majewski, who went to an Apple store in Freehold, N.J., with his 10-year-old daughter, Julia. The iPad is partly as a reward for her straight As in school, and partly a present for himself "I like the electronic books, and my daughter is really getting into them as well,” Majewski said. "I was thinking of getting a Kindle (e-book reader' but then said to myself, ‘Why not get an iPad because I can get so much more from that than just reading books ?' " Allawi’s cross-sectarian bloc tapped into heavy Sunni support to come in just two seats ahead of the mainly Shiite list of the incumbent. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. But neither side has enough seats to govern alone, which means they are scram bling to cobble together enough par liamentary support to form a govern ment. Iraq’s Ministry 7 of Foreign Affairs said the bombings were an attempt to inject more turmoil into the political scene as the election front-runners try to forge a coalition government. "These terrorists will not be able to stop Iraqis and friends of the Iraqi people from building a free, secure and prosperous future,” the ministry 7 said. Several Iraqi guards from the German and Egyptian missions were confirmed dead, authorities said. One police official said many of the victims were employees at a state-run bank near the Iranian Embassy. Paul Saku- Police: ND recruit ‘drunk’ on fatal fall By Joe Kay ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER CINCINNATI A "drunk and belligerent” 17-year-old Notre Dame football recruit was killed in a fall from a fifth-floor hotel balcony during his senior-year spring break in Florida, authorities said Saturday. Matt James died Friday around 6:30 p.m. at the Days Inn Motel in Panama City Beach. Police said he was dead when officers arrived "It appears to be a tragic accident. Panama City Beach police Maj. David Humphreys said. James' former teammates at St. James Xavier High School gathered for a pri vate prayer service in the school's chapel, mourning the second death of an athlete this school year. James, an all state offensive lineman, had been the first top signing for new Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly. James was part of a group of about 40 St. Xavier stu dents and a half-dozen parents on the trip. "Witnesses and friends indicate he had become drunk and belligerent,” Humphreys said. "He had leaned over the balcony rail, was shaking his finger at the people in the next room over He fell over.” Humphreys said the railing at the hotel met the stan dards for proper height. He said police would be interest ed in pursuing charges if they learn who provided the underage teen with alcohol. Police said an autopsy on James would be done later. Toxicology 7 results were pending. James’ parents went to Florida on Friday night, returned to Cincinnati and released a statement Saturday evening asking for priva cy while they make funeral arrangements and grieve. "We would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support during this tragic time, particularly the family at St. X," Jerry and Peggy James said. “Matt was a very special young man, and it is gratifying to us that you all could see that as well. We are touched by this outpouring of love.” The 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive lineman also was on St. Xavier's varsity basketball team. "This is just such a tragedy because he was just a won derful, wonderful kid." said Mary Massa, the mother of St. Xavier quarterback Luke Massa, who also has com mitted to Notre Dame. feft® 9 fiteoatfa DfflMlfoff ONLY $1 [par foanr) 1521 Mart State College, PA 16803 along the N Bus Route (814)237-1500 www.northlandbowl.com The Daily Collegian mptto® QDesgDfe 'lncludes »h*» rental! Become a Fan Facebook!
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