Cardinal Godfried Danneels of Brussels has proposed the setting up of what he called a "papal council", composed of a group of senior churchmen that would be an advisory board for the Pope.
However, in a book he has just published, entitled Confidences d'un Cardinal, he said that such a council would have "great moral authority". The book carries a preface by Herman Van Rompuy, the former Belgian prime minister who has just taken office as the first president of the European Union.
The 76-year-old cardinal has submitted his resignation and said he expects to be replaced early next year.
Nuncio condemns clerical abuse
Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland, has condemned clerical abuse and said the Vatican would issue a "strong response" to the findings of the Murphy commission report, which investigated abuse in the Archdiocese of Dublin.
The nuncio expressed his "shock and dismay" at the findings of the report and said he understood "the anger of the people and the suffering of those who have been abused". According to persistent rumours circulating in Dublin, several Irish bishops might be asked to resign because of their mishandling of sex-abuse complaints.
From bishop to priest
A bishop of the Episcopal Church who converted to Catholicism in 2007 has been ordained a priest of St Petersburg diocese in Florida. Fr John Lipscomb, a critic of the Episcopal Church's tolerance of homosexuality in its episcopate, served as bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Southwest Florida from 1997 to 2007.
Lega Nord against minarets
Italian right wing party Lega Nord is calling for a constitutional referendum to ban the construction of minarets on Islamic mosques in Italy, following the example set by a referendum in Switzerland. Lega Nord said such a ban would be a way to reaffirm the nation's Catholic heritage.
Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, Archbishop of Milan, some months ago appealed for the building of more mosques in Milan.
'Midnight' Mass at 10 p.m.
Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass on Christmas Eve beginning at 10 p.m. rather than at midnight, the Vatican has announced. The scheduling change was explained as a way "to tire the Pope a bit less".
The Mass is now expected to end at around midnight, enabling the Pontiff to have a full night's sleep before Christmas Day, when he will deliver his Urbi et Orbi blessing.
Gays deserve respect
Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ, said homosexuals "must be welcomed with respect and sensitivity, and every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided".
Lombardi was answering questions by journalists following statements made by Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, the retired president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry. Barragan said "trans(sexuals) and homosexuals will never get to the kingdom of heaven and it's not me saying it, but St Paul". The Cardinal's words were published by the Italian online news site, Pontifex.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)