Christian socialism has always been a force in British politics
The recent reaction to the sad deaths of Bob Crowe and Tony Benn are a reminder that people in Britain like conviction politicians, even when, as was undoubtedly the case with Tony Benn, the...
View ArticleMeriam meets Pope Francis after arriving in Italy
Meriam Ibrahim, the Christian Sudanese woman who was spared a death sentence for renouncing Islam, has met Pope Francis after arriving in Italy following a diplomatic effort by the the Italian...
View ArticleChurch to appeal Asia Bibi death penalty
Catholic leaders in Pakistan will appeal to their country’s Supreme Court after a lower court upheld the death penalty for a blasphemy ruling against a Christian mother of five children. “Like it or...
View ArticleReligious leaders call for end to ‘bloodshed’ at holy site
Attachments to holy places should not be a cause of bloodshed, hatred or violence, said the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land. Council members, who include Christian, Jewish and Muslim...
View ArticleJohn Lennon’s Imagine is ‘heart-chilling’, says bishop in Christmas homily
The Bishop of Shrewsbury has described the John Lennon song Imagine as “heart-chilling” in a Christmas homily. Reflecting on this year’s Christmas adverts which focus on the First World War, Bishop...
View ArticleMalaysian Church loses legal battle to use to word ‘Allah’
The Federal Court in Malaysia has ruled that the Catholic Church has no right to use the term “Allah” which means God. The decision follows the Church’s five year-long legal battle for their...
View ArticleChurchill saw Catholics as history’s villains
Sir Winston Churchill, the 50th anniversary of whose death was marked last week, was not only a political giant; he was also a prolific historian who won the Nobel Prize for literature. One of his most...
View ArticleArchbishop Oscar Romero declared a martyr by Pope Francis
After decades of debate within the Church, Pope Francis has formally recognised that Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero was killed “in hatred of the faith” and not for purely political reasons. Pope...
View ArticleThe church that fills me with hope for Europe
I went to Barcelona by chance. My brother’s wife and daughters had been delighted by this elegant city in northern Spain and especially by the basilica of the Holy Family. They convinced my brother...
View ArticleUniversities could learn a lesson from Newman
Anyone acquainted with the portrait of Blessed John Henry Newman in his cardinal’s robes, painted by Millais, might be tempted to form an opinion of him based on this image alone: a man whose features...
View ArticlePakistan PM must take blame for failing to protecting Christians, says...
Pakistan’s Prime Minister must take part of the blame for yesterday’s deadly attacks on Sunday churchgoers, according to the leader of the country’s Catholics. Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Kararchi...
View ArticlePope Francis: ‘When I see people without work, it makes me sad’
Pope Francis has said that unemployment upsets him, during his General Audience this morning. Addressing his audience in Paul VI Hall, Pope Francis said: “It makes me sad, when I see people without...
View ArticleUS archbishop urges synod to support families in evangelisation
The Synod of Bishops on the family must find ways to give Catholic families a leading role in evangelising and supporting other families, the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops told the...
View ArticleFamilies must forgive and not ‘end the day in war,’ Pope says
The secret to healing wounds among family members is to “not end the day in war” and to forgive one another, Pope Francis said. “One cannot live without forgiving, or at least one cannot live well,...
View ArticleISIS destroy Iraq’s oldest monastery
The oldest monastery in Iraq has been destroyed by ISIS, according to reports. St Elijah’s Monastery of Mosul had stood for 1,400 years and had recently been used as a place of worship by US troops....
View ArticleChristians must stand up for their faith, says Ofsted chief
Christians must stand up for their faith, Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw has said. Society is becoming increasingly “secular and materialistic”, and young people today can easily “lose sight of what...
View ArticleBishops release novena for single Catholics ahead of St Valentine’s Day
This bishops of England and Wales have composed a novena prayer to support single people seeking a spouse ahead of St Valentine’s Day. The 3rd-century saint’s day is celebrated on February 14, which...
View ArticleWe need to be honest about the limits of ecumenism
I was in my early twenties when I first attended an ecumenical service which was arranged by a group of city centre churches. All six churches had signed a covenant which had great aspirations for...
View ArticleThe tragedy of Anita Brookner’s novels
All lovers of the English novel will be feeling sad at the news that Anita Brookner has died. It strikes me that Miss Brookner’s writing summed up our age where other louder and showier voices failed...
View ArticleWhat’s inside this week’s magazine?
This week’s lead story… Mark Dowd on ‘Father Moses’, the former refugee nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize More comment… John Gottfried visits a ‘cool and exotic’ monastery where vocations are booming...
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