Pope Benedict conferred the pallium on 43 metropolitan archbishops in a revised rite in St Peter’s Basilica this morning (full text of homily, video).
Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Karachi was unable to attend the ceremony after he was hospitalised with pneumonia in Pakistan.
The American bishops urged Congress to pass legislation correcting “flaws” in President Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms following yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling upholding the new law (full text).
Billboards are appearing in cities across the United States urging Catholics to “Quit the Church“.
Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City says that yesterday’s US Supreme Court ruling makes the court battle over the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate “even more important“.