Pope envisions greater role for women in the Church
Vatican, Mar. 03 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) believes that women should hold more positions of responsibility within the Catholic Church, although they cannot be ordained as priests.
"The Church owes a great debt of thanks to women," the Holy Father told priests of the Rome diocese during a 2-hour meeting on March 2. He cited the immense contributions made by women, mentioning St. Catherine of Siena, St. Bridget of Sweden, St. Hildegard, and Mother Teresa. Women should have "real and deep participation in the government of the Church," he said.
http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=42769

Wal-Mart Decides to Carry Plan B Pill
Officials of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced Friday the company will reverse its earlier policy and stock emergency contraception pills in all of its pharmacies effective March 20, saying the giant retailer could not justify being the country's only major pharmacy chain not to carry the morning-after pill.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WAL_MART_CONTRACEPTION?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

Scant Drop Seen in Abortion Rate if Parents Are Told
For all the passions they generate, laws that require minors to notify their parents or get permission to have an abortion do not appear to have produced the sharp drop in teenage abortion rates that some advocates hoped for, an analysis by The New York Times shows.
....But providers interviewed in 10 states with parental involvement laws all said that of the minors who came into their clinics, parents were more often the ones pushing for an abortion, even against the wishes of their daughters.
"I see far more parents trying to pressure their daughters to have one," said Jane Bovard, owner of the Red River Women's Clinic in Fargo, N.D., a state where a minor needs consent from both parents. "As a parent myself, I can understand. But I say to parents, 'You force her to have this abortion, and I can tell you that within the next six months she's going to be pregnant again.' "
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/06/national/06abortion.html?ei=5065&en=f7533d9d64b1db54&ex=1142312400&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print