Morning Catholic must-reads: 15/03/12

Catholic bishops in America said yesterday that they would intensify their fight against the Obama administration’s “unjust and illegal” contraception mandate (full text, George Weigel).

Thirteen Cuban dissidents have occupied a Catholic church in Havana and appealed for an audience with Pope Benedict when he visits the country later this month.

The bishops’ conference of England and Wales has released photos of the “faith card” that it plans to give to one million Catholics.

Fr Thomas Doyle says that the US bishops’ tough approach to the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) is “a sure sign that an important part of the Church has gone off the rails”.

Fr Marcel Guarnizo, a priest in the Archdiocese of Washington DC, explains why he denied Holy Communion to a lesbian woman at her mother’s funeral.

And an Italian perfume maker has created a signature fragrance for Benedict XVI that “mixes hints of lime tree, verbena and grass”.