If you're looking for reaction to the Frist speech, check out our original report.

The Vatican and Israel:

• Vatican rejects Israeli complaint | The Vatican has rejected Israel's criticism that Pope Benedict XVI failed to condemn Palestinian militant attacks against Israel in his recent remarks (BBC)
• Taut times for Israel and Vatican | Harsh words have been exchanged between the Vatican and Israel as a diplomatic row bubbles between the Jewish state and the Catholic Church, threatening to unbalance a delicate relationship (BBC)
• Vatican responds | Accusations are groundless and untenable (Vatican.va)
• Vatican denounces some Israeli retaliation | Responding to Israeli criticism, the Vatican said Thursday it hasn't condemned every strike by Palestinian militants against the Jewish state because Israel's military response to the attacks has sometimes violated international law (Reuters)
• Kind of related: Indefensible | The Disciples of Christ apparently believe Israel shouldn't defend itself (Martin Peretz, The New Republic)

The Vatican & China:

• China, Vatican agree on new bishop, priest arrested | The Vatican is reported to have given its blessing to atheist China's choice of a new bishop, the second such appointment in as many months in a sign of a thaw in decades-old icy relations. But the Connecticut-based Cardinal Kung Foundation said Chinese authorities had beaten up parishioners in the southeastern province of Fujian who had been trying to prevent the arrest of an underground Roman Catholic priest, undermining reconciliation efforts (Reuters)
• U.S. group says China police detain priest | Police have detained a priest in China's unofficial Roman Catholic church and beat parishioners who tried to prevent him from being taken away, a U.S. monitoring group said Friday (Associated Press)