Pope decries raids by Belgian police

Pope decries raids by Belgian police

Vatican city

Pope Benedict XVI lashed out Sunday at what he called the “deplorable” raids carried out by Belgian police who detained bishops, confiscated computers, opened a crypt and took church documents as part of an investigation into priestly sex abuse.

Benedict made a rare personal entry into the escalating diplomatic dispute with Belgium, issuing a message of solidarity to the head of the Belgian bishops’ conference and other bishops who were detained in the June 24 raid.

He said justice must take its course, but also asserted the right of the Catholic Church to investigate clerical abuse alongside civil law enforcement authorities.

Will test be able to predict menopause?

LONDON

Doctors could one day use a blood test to predict decades in advance when women will go into menopause, scientists say. In research to be presented today at a European fertility conference in Rome, Iranian experts say their preliminary study could be a first step toward developing a tool to help women decide when they want to have children.

The test does not predict when women will lose their fertility — which typically occurs about a decade before menopause — but if doctors know when women will go into menopause, they can calculate roughly when they will run out of eggs. Scientists say the test could be especially helpful in identifying women who might go into menopause early — in their late 40s or earlier instead of their mid-50s.

Tropical Storm Alex moves into the Gulf

belize city

Tropical Storm Alex moved into the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday after weakening to a depression as it swirled across Belize and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, dumping rains that left at least four people dead across the region.

Alex is expected to regain strength in the coming days as it moves over warmer waters in the Gulf and possibly become a hurricane headed toward Mexico’s eastern coast, well away from the area where BP PLC is trying to stop a massive oil leak, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Youths protest retirement age

paris

The front lines of the latest French protest against raising the retirement age revealed a remarkable sight: Not the slightest wrinkle, not a single gray hair.

Brandishing “Save our Pensions!” banners, students who haven’t even entered the job market yet are already worried about what happens when they leave it.

Welcome to France, where workers’ rights are so deeply entwined into the culture that even teenagers are unsettled about plans to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, which is still among the lowest in Europe. The reform protest brought nearly a million people out into the streets across the country late last week.

Cheney could leave the hospital today

washington

One of Dick Cheney’s daughters says the hospitalized former vice president could go home today after receiving medication to treat a fluid buildup related to his heart disease.

The 69-year-old, who has had five heart attacks, was admitted to George Washington University Hospital on Friday after experiencing discomfort. His last heart attack — described as a mild one — was in February.

Liz Cheney tells “Fox News Sunday” that her father is feeling better and hopes to be released today.

Associated Press