Morning Catholic must-reads: 11/01/11

The Pope urged Pakistan to repeal its blasphemy law yesterday in his annual “state of the world” address to diplomats (full text, video).

John Allen, Sandro Magister, US Ambassador Miguel Diaz, Fr John Zuhlsdorf and Fr Federico Lombardi react to the major address.

Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal has urged western Church leaders to help to preserve “the Christian presence in Jerusalem in particular and in the Holy Land in general”.

The Pope has sent an envoy to Haiti with £800,000 ($1.2million, €900,000) in aid money on the first anniversary of the earthquake.

The Holy See is pushing for a breakthrough in relations with Vietnam.

The controversial American lawyer Jeff Anderson has joined a British legal practice specialising in clerical abuse cases.

Christina Lewis of the National Catholic Reporter observes the referendum on independence in southern Sudan.

And the Catholic World Report publishes an editorial on “the mischievous debate over condoms”.