An article in The Guardian has the headline: "Donkey at manger not gospel truth, says pope". In his third book on the life of Jesus, he apparently "puts paid to some myths surrounding the newly born Jesus's spell in a stable with Mary and Joseph."-"In the Gospels there is no mention of animals," the pope states. However he goes on to argue that Catholics should see Mary's virgin birth, as well as Jesus's resurrection, as "cornerstones of faith".-How does Joseph Ratzinger know all this? (Indeed, how did the gospel writers know all this, since they weren't even around at the time?) I don't suppose the gospels mention that Jesus peed or defecated, so does that mean he didn't? What sort of stable would it have been if there were no animals kept there? But we should forget about such improbabilities as animals being in a stable, and simply believe in the virgin birth and the resurrection because...well, don't ask why. If you're a Catholic, you must believe what Herr Ratzinger tells you.-This week the Anglican Church has refused to allow the ordination of women as bishops. In fairness, the bishops themselves are overwhelmingly in favour of women joining them. It's the laity that have said no. In any other sphere of life, this institution would be had up before the courts for blatant discrimination.-When you read about these things, is it any wonder that Dawkins & Co have a field day at the expense of religion? It would be funny if it didn't all have such serious implications. And we haven't even got onto Muslim fundamentalism.