Pope celebrates third year

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Posted: 4/21/08

On 3rd anniversary as pope, Benedict offers encouragement to young Catholics

1 NEW YORK (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI focused on the future of his American church Saturday as he marked the third anniversary of his election as pontiff, rallying young people, priests and seminarians and assuring them of his support as they dealt with the damage from the clergy sex abuse scandal.

On a highly personal day, he spoke of his own "spiritual poverty" and said he hoped to be a worthy successor to St. Peter, considered the first pope.

Benedict began the day with a Mass at St. Patrick's cathedral, the landmark Roman Catholic church on Fifth Avenue. The building was packed with cardinals and bishops, priests and nuns, who cheered him to mark the day he succeeded Pope John Paul II on April 19, 2005.

The German-born pope lamented that what he called "the joy of faith" was often choked by cynicism, greed and violence. Yet he drew an analogy to show how faith can overcome distractions and trials.

"The spires of St. Patrick's Cathedral are dwarfed by the skyscrapers of the Manhattan skyline, yet in the heart of this busy metropolis they are a vivid reminder of the constant yearning of the human spirit to rise to God," he said.

Obama accuses Clinton of 'slash and burn' tactics ahead of pivotal Pennsylvania primary

2 WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) - Barack Obama cast his Democratic presidential rival Saturday as a game-player who uses "slash and burn" tactics and will say whatever people want to hear, a sharp jab at her character in the final chapter of the pivotal Pennsylvania primary campaign.

Hillary Rodham Clinton implored voters to look beyond "whoop dee do" speechmaking and take a hard look at who's got the know-how to deal with the nation's burdens.

"I want everyone thinking," she declared, as if to suggest those backing Obama are not. Her implication was clear: She's substance, he's flash.

Altogether, the campaign for Tuesday's contest was dissolving into the sort of acrimony that makes party leaders long for the finish line, before the nominee is damaged in the fall. Obama's criticisms were direct, while Clinton's were oblique but unmistakable. At various times in the protracted contest, it's been the other way around.

He pressed the case against her at stop after stop, blunt words set against the bucolic backdrop of his train ride through the Pennsylvania countryside. For her part, Clinton struck back at a new Obama ad that criticizes her health care plan, telling a rally in York: "Instead of attacking the problem, he chooses to attack my solution."

Soyuz capsule carrying South Korea's first astronaut lands off target in bone-jarring descent

3 MOSCOW (AP) - A Russian capsule carrying South Korea's first astronaut touched down 260 miles off target in northern Kazakhstan on Saturday after hurtling through the atmosphere in a bone-jarring descent from the international space station.

It was the second time in a row - and the third since 2003 - that the Soyuz landing went awry.

Mission Control spokesman Valery Lyndin said the condition of the crew - South Korean bioengineer Yi So-yeon, American astronaut Peggy Whitson and Russian flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko - was satisfactory, though the three had been subjected to severe gravitational forces during the re-entry.

The Russian TMA-11 craft touched down at 4:51 a.m. EDT about 260 miles off its mark, Lyndin said, a highly unusual distance given how precisely engineers plan for such landings. It was also around 20 minutes later than scheduled. Search helicopters then took 25 minutes to locate the capsule and determine the crew was unharmed.

Officials said the craft followed a so-called "ballistic re-entry" - a very steep trajectory that subjects the crew to extreme physical force. Lyndin said the crew had experienced gravitational forces up to 10 times those on Earth during the 3 1/2 hour descent.