Vatican City  - A senior Vatican official indicated Tuesday the Roman Catholic Church will not issue a apology to Charles Darwin for the religious controversies around his theory of evolution.

Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi was commenting on an appeal by the Church of England's public affairs head that the church should say sorry for initially misunderstanding the 19th century English scientist's work.

"It is curious and significant, but also indicates the cultural differences between us," Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said of the Anglican initiative.

Rome - "France, eldest daughter of the Church, what have you done to your baptismal promises? asked Pope John Paul II when he made his first visit to France in 1981.

The Polish pope was honouring France with the title it earned upon becoming the first Christian kingdom following the baptism of King Clovis of the Franks in 496 A. D.

But John Paul was also admonishing modern French society in which Christianity, and in particular the majority Roman Catholic faith, appeared to be losing their importance.

Vatican City  - Pope Benedict XVI, speaking Wednesday two days before his first visit to France as pontiff, praised the French people for their "generous tradition of hospitality and tolerance."

"On the eve of my arrival (in France) I wish to send a cordial greeting to the French people and all the inhabitants of this beloved nation," Benedict said at the end of his traditional mid-week general audience at the Vatican.

Vatican City -  The Vatican hit back Friday at allegations made by dissident Catholic groups calling on Pope Benedict XVI to reverse what they said was the Catholic Church's "catastrophic" stance on contraception.

The groups, from countries including Britain, Brazil, Canada, France and the United States, wrote an open letter to the pontiff published in Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Friday.

Castel Gandolfo, Italy - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki, was expected to invite Pope Benedict XVI to visit his sectarian strife-torn country during talks scheduled later Friday, Iraq's ambassador to the Vatican said.

The meeting, the first between the two, was set to take place at around noon (1000 GMT) at the pontiff's Castel Gandolfo summer residence in the hills south of Rome.

Vatican City - After three years of surplus, the Vatican's 2007 budget closed with a deficit of nine million euros (14 million dollars), the Holy See said Wednesday.