Charity is the "fundamental good" without which all other gifts are in vain, Pope Benedict said during his Angelus address yesterday (video). The Pope also asked for prayers ahead of his trip to Benin, West Africa, which begins on Friday. Benedict XVI received Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, on Saturday (video). The destruction of even one embryonic human life is unacceptable, Pope Benedict told participants at a Vatican conference on adult stem cells on Saturday (video). Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix, Arizona, has lifted his ban on Communion in both kinds after he said he had misread Church documents on the practice. Rachel Zoll of AP previews the plenary meeting of the US bishops, which begins today amid fears about increasing threats to religious liberty. Ross Douthat compares sacked coach Joe Paterno to Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos. And David Kerr reports that the death of British entertainer Sir Jimmy Savile has raised hopes that a Scottish nun will be beatified.