Displaying Today's Top 13 Headlines from Cath News:

Pro-Church lawyer relieved at rights charter delay

Rocco Mimmo, a Sydney lawyer and chairman of the Ambrose Centre for Religious Liberty, says the Church has a role in public debate and that it was a "great relief" that a proposed national human rights act appeared to be on hold.

Cardinal Pell to launch "Voice of the Youth" sessions in Sydney

Sydney Archbishop Cardinal George Pell will launch a series of talks to youth next week at Cabramatta in Sydney's west, speaking on the topic "Without God we are nothing" at Sacred Heart Parish.    

Aussie Christian coalition petition against Iranian cleric's deportation

A group called the Christian Save the Sheik Coalition says it has collected thousands of signatures on a petition to prevent the deportation from Australia of Iranian cleric Dr Mansour Leghaei.

Parent pulls sons out of St Patrick's College after bullying incident

A father has pulled his two sons out of St Patrick's College in Shorncliffe, where 12 year-old Elliot Fletcher was stabbed to death, after one of them was bullied and attacked by another student.  

Qld priest calls for ban on "World's Greatest Pub-Fest"

A priest in Maryborough Queensland wants the district's pubfest banned and has asked for an "honest and independent survey" on the pub crawl-turned-fest.

Protest Nigerian massacre, govt urged

The Australian Christian Lobby wants the Federal Government to voice concern over the massacre of hundreds of Christians near the Nigerian city of Jos and more actively assist persecuted people groups overseas.

iPhone rosary and other devotional apps for Catholics

The iPhone's 140 million-plus applications now include one that helps Catholics pray the rosary.

Polish bakers in grab for French host market

Carmelite nuns who traditionally produce communion hosts for French churches have launched a campaign against cheaper imported Polish hosts produced by a secular workforce.

Monsignor Ratzinger admits he has punished pupils

Monsignor Georg Ratzinger has admitted that he slapped pupils as punishment but says he was unaware of allegations of sexual abuse at the German Regensburger Domspatzen boys choir that he took over in 1964.

Features - Our brains are wired for liturgy

American researchers Andrew Newberg and the late Eugene d’Aquili have shed light on the origins of ritual and liturgy in the human sphere and in particular on the tensions that underlie the “liturgy wars.”

Featured website - The Reflection

The Reflection is three weeks into its seven-week season, and response has been overwhelmingly positive, with around 6000 hits made to the site in the first two weeks.

Film review - Alice in Wonderland

This version of the well-known story by Tim Burton is not his best film but there are clear moments of imaginative brilliance.

Opinion - Memories of a childhood trapped

Even though it’s many years since I was a practising Catholic, I still find myself paying almost obsessive attention to any pronouncement by the church or its followers on the subject of sexuality, writes Laurie Taylor.