In his annual Christmas address to the Vatican bureaucracy earlier today, Benedict explained the traditional family needs to be protected because it is “the authentic setting in which to hand on the blueprint of human existence,” and said of international campaigns to legalize same-sex marriage, “There is no denying the crisis that threatens [the family] to its foundations – especially in the Western world.”

According to a Catholic News Service report, Benedict also stressed that interfaith dialogue – even with non-Christian religions – inevitably develops into an “ethical quest” for fundamental common values, hence a “quest for the right way to live as a human being.” ...