VATICAN STAYS MUM FOR NOW

The Vatican took delegates to the Beijing Women's conference by surprise in quietly backing a woman's right to refuse sex, even within marriage. But TIME's Greg Burke says that the Church is relieved that this relatively neutral issue is the main focus of the conference. "While the Church is concerned that Beijing delegates are defining the family to include alternative lifestyles, and that sparse attention is being given to motherhood, at least abortion is not the primary focus here. It was at Cairo, and there, they went all out to oppose it."