The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) has welcomed a European Commission proposal to extend maternity leave benefits to a minimum of 18 weeks for women working in EU countries. In a statement issued earlier this month, COMECE said the plan "would allow women to achieve a better balance between work and family life, while guaranteeing greater fairness in wages between men and women. It would also contribute to slowing down the birth decrease in Europe."

Focusing on people

"The economic crisis is perhaps is a sign that the world is not made up only of bills, money and the economy. ...(The crisis) serves as a reminder that the human person must be put at the centre of the whole of world economy. ...It is because of this that the integral vision of the human person must never be lacking in the praxis of Christians in society, in the realm of work, economy, politics, culture, of efforts to build peace."

Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, during a press conference in Chile.

The economy and people's needs

While acknowledging that profit is an important sign that a business is doing well, Kenya's Catholic bishops said: "It is regrettable that despite the problems our economy is facing, many corporations are recording super profits, which barely trickle down to the masses."

In a statement entitled 'Inflation and the rising cost of living', the bishops noted that the prices of fuel, electricity and food had increased considerably, and that economic activity cannot be independent of people's needs.

Human sexuality

Pope Benedict XVI defended the encyclical Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life) saying it "illustrates and defends the beauty of conjugal love" while respecting the divine laws of nature.

He said artificial contraception obscures the underlying meaning of human sexuality and the need for couples to exercise "responsible control" over their sexual desires so that the expression of these desires may become expressions of self-giving and "personal love".

The Pope said this in a message sent to a congress organised in Rome.

Misbehaviour in markets

"The market is vital, but (it) has an essentially social function... It can only function in an ethical and judicial framework where the vulnerable are protected and the natural arrogance of the powerful is curbed. ...gross and unregulated individual misbehaviour in market activity affects (not only) the stability of companies but also of countries and of men and women who make up the society in which we live."

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, in an address titled: 'Ethics, the economy and caring: Lessons to be learned'.