Morning Catholic must-reads: 25/01/11

From next year children in the Archdiocese of Liverpool will be confirmed before they receive their first Holy Communion, local Church authorities have announced.

Christians have made “enormous progress” towards unity, Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark has told the Anglican congregation of Southwark Cathedral.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols has launched an annual pilgrimage to the Holy Land for the Diocese of Westminster.

Benedict XVI welcomed signs of a new “togetherness” between Catholics and Lutherans in an address to members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany yesterday (full text).

Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia, a campaigner for indigenous rights in Chiapas state, has died aged 86.

The Pope’s comments about social networking in his World Communications Day message have prompted comment from Fr Tim Finigan, Edward Pentin, Deacon Nick Donnelly, Rich Tehrani and Russell Shaw.

And Fr Owen Kearns LC tells the story of the sale of the National Catholic Register to EWTN.