Morning Catholic must-reads

Pope Benedict XVI’s letter to the Irish Church has provoked a deluge of commentary. Here are some of the most interesting comments: John Allen, Lisa Miller, Fr Ray Blake, Fr Tim Finigan, George Pitcher, Giles Pinnock, the Daily Telegraph, the Observer, Vatican Radio, Fr Federico Lombardi and Archbishop Vincent Nichols.

The third official meeting of the representatives of the Holy See and of the SSPX for doctrinal talks took place on Saturday.

Catholics in Zambia are asking the Pope to remove the Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu of Lusaka.

Rome Reports says Archbishop Oscar Romero’s Cause is gaining new momentum (video).

Pope Benedict reflected on the universality of art at a concert on Saturday night in the Clementine Hall (video).

Theologian Tina Beattie and atheist Carl Packman discuss God, Christianity and violence.

And the Vatican now has an official Twitter account.

Morning Catholic must-reads

The Spanish senate has approved a sweeping new law liberalising abortion.

Pope Benedict XVI has said he is pained by the ongoing killings of Christians in Iraq.

The Pope meditated on penance yesterday at the mid-way point of his Lenten retreat.

Cardinal Walter Kasper has sent a message to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, marking the patriarch’s 70th birthday.

An image of Jesus holding a beer and a cigarette is creating tensions between Christians and Hindu fundamentalists in India.

Spanish journalist Manuel Lozano Garrido will be beatified on June 12.

Nashville is to get its first married Catholic priest.

George Weigel says Russia’s regional ambitions could present a great challenge to the Holy See’s diplomats.

Aggie Catholics explores the rise of Catholic “mega-parishes” in America.

Kevin Clarke asks if the last Christian in the Middle East will turn out the lights.

Christopher Tollefsen says the critics of home-schooling need to be tutored about the nature of education and the family.

Rome Reports profiles John Paul II’s friend, Wanda Poltawska (video).

The Times interviews Jessica Hausner, the director of new film about Lourdes.

And traditionalist Catholic priest Fr Seán Finnegan explains why he loves the Church of England.

Morning Catholic must-reads

Love is “the badge of the Christian“, Pope Benedict XVI said in his Angelus address yesterday (video here).

The Pope also called on businesses around the world to stem the flow of job losses.

SSPX members have attacked an FSSP church in Mexico.

Meanwhile, Bishop Richard Williamson is continuing to deny the Holocaust.

The reconstruction of Haiti needs to be based on human rights and the principle of subsidiarity, the Holy See’s representative at the UN has said.

The Catholic News Service now has a reporter on the ground in Haiti who will be filing reports all this week.

A Catholic woman is refusing to pay her licence fee over the BBC’s support for abortion.

Almost three quarters of British people support assisted suicide for the terminally ill, according to a BBC poll.

Quality not quantity is the key to Catholic education, Cardinal Seán Brady has told Vatican Radio (audio).

Fr Richard Duffield of the Birmingham Oratory has met Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston to discuss Newman’s Cause.

Susan Boyle says she is dreaming of singing for the Pope when he visits Scotland on the first leg of his visit to Britain in September.

The Knights of Columbus are delivering 100,000 prayer books to US armed services personnel.

No Hidden Magenta wonders if Peter Singer and the Catholic Church can end global poverty together.

Fr Dwight Longenecker “shoots at his hunting buddies” with a critique of traditionalism.

And Father Z considers whether to buy the National Catholic Reporter.

Today’s Catholic must-reads

La Croix reports that Bishop Richard Williamson has broken his enforced silence, giving an interview in French, describing Vatican-SSPX talks as a “dialogue of the deaf“.

The Holy See and the SSPX have reportedly held a “secret” meeting.

Pope Benedict XVI has asked Ireland’s bishops to come to Rome next month to discuss the country’s abuse crisis.

The new Archbishop of Malines-Brussels has changed his name and set out his ambitions for the post.

The New York Times reports on bloody clashes between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.

Malaysian police say they have arrested eight people over the firebombing of a church.

Let’s build a better Haiti, urges the head of Caritas in the earthquake-struck country.

A Catholic archbishop is supporting a Protestant leader who criticised Germany’s role in Afghanistan.

The Vatican has outlined the agenda for October’s Synod on the Middle East (lineamenta in full here).

Pro-abortion senator Barbara Boxer has said the US Senate’s healthcare bill abortion compromise is “only an ‘accounting procedure’ “.

The New York Times relishes a guide to food and drink made by monks and nuns.

Mark Shea wrestles with the meaning of the term “neo-Catholic”.

And Terry Eagleton has dedicated his new book, On Evil, to Henry Kissinger.

Morning Catholic must-reads

Photo: Pope Benedict XVI prays at the tomb of Pope Pius XII in the grotto of St Peter’s Basilica in October 2008 (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters)

The Vatican is investigating a “presumed miracle” attributed to the intercession of Pope Pius XII.

Pope Benedict XVI began the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity yesterday by receiving a Catholic-Lutheran delegation from Finland (video here).

A Spanish priest killed in the country’s civil war will be beatified this Sunday.

Forty people have been killed in Nigeria following an attack on a Catholic church in the city of Jos.

A parliamentary committee has ruled that the law prohibiting members of the royal family from being or marrying a Catholic breaches human rights laws.

An English bishop has urged British voters to make the plight of Palestinian Christians a general election issue.

John Allen brings together a wide array of reactions to Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Rome’s Great Synagogue on Sunday. Michael Sean Winters compares Benedict’s visit to that of John Paul II. You can hear Cardinal Walter Kasper’s thoughts on the visit here.

Meanwhile, Israel and the Holy See are seeking to end long-running disputes over tax and the ownership of holy sites.

And Salon reports on a campaign to persuade US Republicans to agree that the death penalty is as immoral as abortion.

Pope Benedict delivers ‘state of the world’ address

Photo: Benedict XVI greets ambassadors to the Holy See (AP Photo/Maurizio Brambatti, POOL)

Pope Benedict XVI has just delivered his annual address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See.

Full text here. Catholic News Service highlights here. AP report here.

Morning Catholic must-reads

Turkey can be a bridge between the Christian and Muslim worlds, Pope Benedict XVI has told the country’s new ambassador to the Holy See (video here).

The Pope has personally thanked the security guards who ensure his safety (video).

Vietnamese police have used explosives to destroy a crucifix in a Catholic cemetery.

Talks between the Holy See and Israel are making progress.

An online petition against the beatification of Pius XII has been launched.

Archbishop Patrick Kelly of Liverpool has urged people to take extra care of their neighbours as Britain struggles with severe weather conditions.

A former archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal Church pays tribute to the late Mgr Graham Leonard, who inspired him to become a Catholic.

Valle Adurni welcomes the decision to award the Catholic Truth Society the contract for publishing the new Missal in England and Wales.

Mark Dowd worries that the “usual suspects” will dominate coverage of the Pope’s visit to Britain in September.

An American priest has jumped from a balcony after being accused of abuse.

Fr Robert Barron discusses the controversial relationship between faith and science (video).

A Catholic legal scholar argues that pornography should be treated as a public health hazard.

Headline Bistro reflects on the rise in the number of murders of missionaries in 2009.

Fr James Martin SJ explains how to find God in difficult times.

And L’Osservatore Romano praises the theology of Bono, the lead singer of U2.