Peace "requires the force of meekness, the force of non-violence of truth and of love", Pope Francis said in his Angelus address on New Year's Day (full video). Mother of God is "the first and most important title of Our Lady", the Pope said at Mass in St Peter's Basilica yesterday (full text, full video). Francis prayed in silence before the icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani during an unscheduled New Year's Day visit to the Basilica of St Mary Major. A US supreme court justice has given religious groups temporary permission not to cover contraception under new health insurance laws. John Zmirak argues that the American Church is gravely threatened by "the growth of illiberal Catholicism". The Nineteen Sixty-four blog suggests that a new "Francis Effect 2.0" is emerging. And Jimmy Akin asks whether Pope Francis believes the miracle of the multiplication of loaves was "a mere parable". Follow me on Twitter @lukecoppen for updates throughout the day.