Here are some stories that I thought you all might be interested in:

POPE BENEDICT IN AFRICA AND THE CONDOM FLAP: Pope Benedict is in the midst of his weeklong journey to the African countries of Cameroon and Angola. Sadly stealing the headlines of this important visit, the media have fixated on remarks Benedict XVI made aboard the papal plane that the distribution of condoms risks “worsening the problem” of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Instead of checking the empirical data that backs Benedict XVI’s claim, many in the media and European governments attacked the Pope as being “ignorant” and “isolated from the world.” Benedict laughed-off the latter suggestion as “this myth of my solitude.” Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi later affirmed and clarified the Pope’s statements, noting the Church’s commitment to both the prevention and treatment of HIV/AID. He rejected the notion that condom distribution is ”the best, most longsighted or effective way to combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS and safeguard human life.” (By the way the only place in Africa that has managed to lower the HIV rate from 30% to 5% is Uganda where abstinence education is stressed.)

ARCHBISHOP CHAPUT ON THE MEDIA: Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput had some critical thoughts on how the media cover the Catholic Church. Speaking to journalists and others at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life in Washington D.C., Archbishop Chaput said that too often the media lack “working knowledge” of Church traditions and teachings and don’t have the “basic Catholic vocabulary needed to grasp what we’re are talking about and why we’re talking about it.” He further warned the press against a marginalization of religion, saying that filling religion’s place in society would be “politics…with the same vestments, but less conscience.”

CARDINAL GEORGE AND CONSCIENCE CLAUSES: On Tuesday this week, President Barrack Obama met with Cardinal Francis George, chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The 30-minute White House meeting was private. Scant detail came out of the meeting as the White House and the Bishops’ Conference offered press releases that were more collegial than informative. However a day earlier, Cardinal George posted a two-and-a-half minute message on YouTube, urging Catholics to lobby the Obama administration to keep federal conscience protections for healthcare workers in place. As the cardinal noted, the regulation protects doctors, nurses, and other health workers from involvement in abortion or any procedure that they might find morally unacceptable. Cardinal George further warned that the removal of conscience protections would be a “first step” toward despotism in the United States. The Department of Health and Human Services is accepting comment on the matter at proposedrescission@hhs.gov.

JPII'S BEATIFICATION: Finally, a quick note out of Poland, the newspaper Dziennik is reporting that Pope John Paul II will be beatified on April 2, 2010. That would mark the fifth anniversary of his death. Earlier this month, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow, the former longtime personally secretary to John Paul II, said his beatification process would soon be concluded. We’ll keep you posted.