The Holy See has distanced itself from a Palestinian draft resolution urging the UN to fly Vatican and Palestinian flags alongside those of member states. Bishop Flavianus Michael Melki, a Syriac Catholic leader martyred in 1915 for refusing to convert to Islam, will be beatified in Lebanon on Saturday. Roughly two thirds of the American faithful believe Pope Francis will attract Catholics back to the Church, a new study has found (Paul Moses). The French bishops' conference has condemned an arson attack on a mosque in Auch (French report). Maike Hickson hails the "clear teaching" in the highly anticipated new book Eleven Cardinals Speak on Marriage and the Family. Andrea Gagliarducci asks if South Korea's thriving Catholic Church can help promote reconciliation with North Korea. And retired Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales served as an impromptu traffic conductor when a typhoon recently caused a traffic jam on the outskirts of Manila. Follow me on Twitter @lukecoppen for updates throughout the day.