Morning Catholic must-reads: 06/02/12

Jesus came to defeat evil at its root, Benedict XVI said in his Angelus address yesterday in front of 10,000 people in a snow-covered St Peter’s Square (video).

The US Army has censored a pastoral letter to Catholic military chaplains criticising the Obama administration’s ruling on contraception coverage.

The Church in Kerala has criticised a poster by the Communist Party of India depicting Barack Obama as Jesus and other world leaders as disciples at the Last Supper.

The number of candidates for the priesthood in Central Java, Indonesia, has risen dramatically, reports AsiaNews.

Fr Federico Lombardi and John Allen preview a major international conference on clerical abuse that begins in Rome today.

Fr Stephen Wang explains how his suggestion that Britain should host World Youth Day went from “a social networking doodle” to “a global mainstream media news story”.

Andrea Tornielli examines the mystery of Fidel Castro’s excommunication ahead of his meeting with Pope Benedict next month.

Fr Dwight Longenecker points out that Blessed John Henry Newman was “misunderstood, blocked, ostracised and undermined” after he became a Catholic.

Graeme Wood hails the Italian cardinal who spoke more languages than anyone else in recorded history.

And Saint Peter’s List gathers photographic evidence that Benedict XVI has a healthy love of beer.