According to the Madrid newspaper La Razón "hundreds of thousands" demonstrated in a European manifestation in favour of the family. The crowd included a number of Maltese members of the Neo-Catechumenal movement.
Cardinals Antonio María and Rouco Varela offered a strong defence of Catholic teaching on marriage and family life against contemporary threats, including abortion, same-sex marriage, and divorce. The Madrid archbishops warned that Europe has no demographic future apart from Christian families open to life.
Schillebeeckx dies at 95
The renowned Dominican theologian Fr Edward Schillebeeckx died at the age of 95 on December 23 in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, where he lived since 1957. He served as theological adviser to the Dutch bishops during Vatican Council II and was seen as the main inspiration behind the Dutch catechism for adults.
In its obituary, Radboud University Nijmegen, where Schillebeeck taught till his retirement, described the Dominican as "a pioneer who connected faith, Church and theology with modern humanity in a secular society". However, his efforts to "rethink the Christian faith in the light of contemporary culture" - as Vatican Radio described his work on December 27 - led to three separate investigations by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith between 1968 and 1984.
Bishop calls for Christian party
Bishop Anthony Sharma, SJ, a convert from Hinduism who has led the Church in Nepal since 1984, has called for the development of a Christian political party to enable the concerns of the growing Christian community to be heard. "Christians are still lacking in education and opportunities," he said. "There is a dearth of leaders to take part in national politics."
In Nepal, there are an estimated 700,000 Christians, including 7,000 Catholics, out of a population of 25.9 million, but there are no Christian parliamentarians.
Vatican defends Pope Pius XII
The Vatican said that by declaring Pope Pius XII 'venerable', the Church does not intend to cut off critical discussion of policy decisions that the pontiff made during World War II. At the same time the Vatican defended Pope Pius against charges that he failed to defend Jewish people from the Holocaust. The statement was released following public complaints by some Jewish leaders.
Teacher dismissed for praying for sick pupil
An English schoolteacher who has the special assignment of tutoring children too sick to attend classes has been dismissed from her job for the offence of offering to pray for a child.
Olive Jones, a teacher with 20 years of experience, found one girl too sick to study, and tried to comfort her by offering to pray for her health.
When she learned that the family was not religious, she dropped the subject, but not in time to avoid a formal complaint that prompted her dismissal.
Compiled by Fr Joe Borg