A pastoral letter opposing plans to legalise same-sex marriage will be read out in Catholic churches in England and Wales this Sunday (full text). Benedict XVI has thanked Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa for preaching at his Lenten retreat, praising his "great exegetical competence". Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington DC has followed Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York in launching a blog. The Sensible Bond worries that Cardinal Keith O'Brien "lost the thread of his own argument" on same-sex marriage. Pray Tell blog offers some background on the new director of the English and Welsh bishops' liturgy office. Fr James Martin SJ is moved by a candid interview with Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin. And a senior priest in the Philippines has urged young Catholics to learn martial arts in order to defend themselves from criminals. The next Morning Catholic must-reads will be on Monday, March 12