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Pope Benedict XVI’s Twitter account, @Pontifex, attracted more than a million-and-a-half followers by the end of Dec. 12, its first day active. • Justice Magazine (www.justicemagazine.org), which covers national and international issues relating to the Catholic Church’s social teaching, was launched in December. • Johan Hubers, a Dutch construction engineer, has launched a full-scale replica of Noah’s Ark, moored in Dordrecht, Holland, based on his interpretation of measurements listed in the Book of Genesis. • The Illinois attorney general’s office decided in early December that it will not appeal a court decision last September that sided with two pharmacists who cited conscientious convictions for refusing to fill prescriptions for the so-called morning-after pill, in defiance of a 2005 executive order. • Louisiana’s Gov. Bobby Jindal, a potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, called for oral contraceptives to be made available over the counter in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal published on Dec. 13.

This article appears in January 7-14 2013.