Like the Jews, the Muslims came to see the Rock as a meeting point between God and Man, the centre of the earth, the origin of all fertility.

ECONOMIST: New fiction from the Middle East

"Marriage between a man and a woman is what God wanted, " he said.

NPR: RI On Way To Be 10th State To Allow Gay Marriage

The Catholic Church is never going to view marriage except from the perspective of a sacrament, an unbreakable bond between one man and one woman, open to the God-given gift of children.

BBC: Viewpoints: Successes and failures of Benedict XVI