Morning Catholic must-reads: 18/05/12

Vatican Cardinal Kurt Koch has said that teachings about the Church’s relationship to Judaism at Vatican II and by later popes “are binding on a Catholic“.

Catholic and Anglican bishops in South Sudan have issued a joint statement criticising the international community’s response to the growing crisis in the newly independent country.

Local authorities in Laos have banned Christians from displaying crucifixes on their houses and even from praying in their homes, Agenzia Fides reports.

Two Filipino bishops have expressed support for protesters seeking to bar Lady Gaga from performing in Manila.

Exorcist author William Peter Blatty is preparing a canon law suit against Georgetown University, accusing America’s oldest Catholic university of departing from Church teaching.

Jim Arkedis explains how Barack Obama can win over crucial Catholic swing voters in November’s US presidential election.

Brandon Watson responds to Catholic historian Garry Wills’s criticism of the Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage.

Sandro Magister welcomes efforts to restore the reputation of French theologian Jean Daniélou SJ, who died at a prostitute’s house in 1974.

And Hans Küng has rejected an invitation to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council in October, saying that a funeral service would be more appropriate.