No one has an automatic right to marry: Pope

Pope Benedict has asked Catholic priests to do a better job preparing people for marriage, saying that no one has an automatic right to wed.

Benedict said that the church should make sure those who decide to get married will be able to make the marriage last.

He made the comments on Saturday to the Roman Rota, the Vatican's tribunal on marriage annulments.

In the case of an annulment, the church effectively declares that a marriage never took place.

Benedict said that it is difficult to identify problems that would allow a marriage to be annulled in advance, but better pre-marriage counselling could help avoid a "vicious circle" of invalid marriages.

Benedict said the right to a church wedding requires a couple intends to be authentic and truthful in their marriage.

Benedict's comments on marriage came one day after he put pressure on Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi over his dalliances with young women.

On Friday, Benedict said that public officials must set a good moral example for society, but did not mention Berlusconi by name.

His comments came on day after a bishop said the Vatican was concerned about the scandal.

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FROM INSIDE TV

Exclusive: Discovery, Catholic Church team for exorcism series
by James Hibberd


Discovery Channel is teaming with the Vatican for an unprecedented new series hunting the deadliest catch of all: Demons.

The Exorcist Files will recreate stories of real-life hauntings and demonic possession, based on cases investigated by the Catholic Church. The project includes access into the Vatican’s case files, as well as interviews with the organization’s top exorcists — religious experts who are rarely seen on television.

“The Vatican is an extraordinarily hard place to get access to, but we explained we’re not going to try to tell people what to think,” says Discovery president and GM Clark Bunting.

Bunting says the investigators believe a demon can inhabit an inanimate object (like a home) or a person. The network executive says he was initially skeptical when first meeting the team but was won over after more than three hours of talks.

“The work these folks do, and their conviction in their beliefs, make for fascinating stories,” Bunting says.

If the show’s first season is successful, the network hopes its partnership with the Church will pave the way for producers GoGo Luckey to take the series to the next level — joining Catholic investigators on live demon-purging ride-alongs. (Move over, Syfy’s Ghost Hunters.)

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FROM THE MONTREAL GAZETTE

Bible.com sued for not being profitable enough 

By Tom Hals, Reuters

A shareholder of Bible.com is suing the company's board members, accusing the ordained ministers of failing to profit from the "goldmine" potential of the namesake Internet property, according to a lawsuit.

James Solakian filed the lawsuit in Delaware's Chancery Court against the board of Bible.com for breaching their duty by refusing to sell the site or run the company in a profitable way.

The lawsuit cites a valuation done by a potential purchaser that estimated bible.com could be worth more than dictionary.com, which recently sold for more than $100 million.

The domain name was registered by Roy Spencer "Bud" Miller, an Arizona minister who secured it in 1996 for $50. Soon after, he was offered $100,000 for the location, according to court documents.

Miller refused, stating he was entrusted to run the site for a sacred purpose.

Miller, along with his wife Betty, brought in a marketing firm to help them develop the site. They raised money by forming Bible.com Inc and issuing stock.

The company's business plan stated "it is the goal of the board of directors of Bible.com to become very, very profitable," according to court documents. The business was also to be governed in accordance with Christian business principles.

Solakian acquired 28 per cent of the company's equity in 2001 as part of a way of settling a $400,000 business debt.

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