As Mandela remains in critical condition, Rampe Hlobo SJ writes from South Africa. As the end of life approaches, one’s thoughts turn inevitably to what lies ahead and also to what has gone before, to the experiences that made that life what it was. It is not only the departing individual that ponders such things, but friends and foes of that person, too.
Statement by the President and Vice-President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales. In receiving Royal Assent, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act marks a watershed in English law and heralds a profound social change. This fact is acknowledged by both advocates and opponents of the Act.
My "Pope plan" started before the beginning of this trip. I knew that meeting the Pope is not a simple task, if you ask the one billion people who have the Pope as their leader if they want to meet him, you will never hear "No" as an answer.
The new Roman Catholic Bishop for the diocese of East Anglia, who previously served as a Church of England priest, has been installed. The Right Reverend Alan Hopes, 69, was welcomed at the West Door of the Catholic cathedral in Norwich before the two-hour Mass of Installation.
A Department for Education Spokesman said: "We want to ensure that in future anyone cautioned or prosecuted for offences related to child pornography is prohibited from teaching. "We are taking steps to revise the guidance the independent panel uses to make a decision on whether a teacher should be barred.”
Catholic ethicists have voiced concerns at news that the Government intends to legalise a form of IVF that creates embryos using genetic material from three different people.
As the first English Catholic diocesan with a background in Anglican ministry since Gordon Wheeler of Leeds, Alan Hopes brings to bear not only the articulation of the clear and joyful Catholic faith of someone whose personal pilgrimage has been put to the test, but a rare insight into how different kinds of Anglicans think and converse with each other in their Church as well as in encounter with ecumenical partners.
The project will be a trip made by 450 children of various nationalities with their teachers, family members, and volunteers, in a train made available just for them by the Italian Railway System, starting from Milan on 23 June arriving at the Vatican train station where they will be received by Pope Francis himself, who will be awaiting them at the station.
Bishop Alan Hopes said that “humility,” “simplicity” and “true pastoral love” were the three qualities needed for every bishop and were the qualities displayed by the new Pope. Bishop Hopes, a former Anglican priest, said that ecumenism would be a priority in his new role.
Soft drinks giant does its bit for good relations. They are two neighbouring countries whose relationship has been severely strained for decades. Yet one of the world's biggest multinational companies is trying to change all of that through a new advertising film.
We all need to be forgiven at one time or another, and God is more than ready to forgive us also, but the consequence should be loving gratitude and better behavior in the future and especially more ready to forgive others.
In his short time with Priests for Life, Claretian Father Mark Clarke has become convinced that the Gospel of Life must be preached from the pulpit on a regular basis. Since joining the national organization in July as a full-time priest associate, Father Clarke has visited parishes in many parts of the country to celebrate Mass and preach at all weekend Masses.
“If investments in the banks fail, ‘Oh, it’s a tragedy,’ ” he said, speaking extemporaneously for more than 40 minutes at a Pentecost vigil last weekend, after a private audience with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, the architect of Europe’s austerity policies. “But if people die of hunger or don’t have food or health, nothing happens. This is our crisis today.”
Scripture is not just for “specialists” but is a gift for everyone. It affirmed that Scripture is not a scientific document or a historical document at every point, but it’s a saving Word. This has great significance for evangelisation. What we read in the Scriptures is Good News and that is what we’re invited to present to everyone.
The making of the new saints was a vivid reminder of something that many people, including historians, prefer to gloss over: the pattern over the centuries of Islamic persecution of Christians that continues to this day in many Muslim-majority lands.
Desmond Tutu: You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them. John Paul II: The relationships between the members of the family community are inspired and guided by the law of “free giving.”
We are inviting you, and other members of your community, to a two day conference on “The Faith and Mission of those in Consecrated Life in the United Kingdom and Europe” to be held on the 21st and 22nd of May, in Hayes.
St Neots Town Council have lent their support to a Passion Play to be performed in the town in 2015. More than 1,000 people are expected to watch the crucifixion of Jesus in St Neots Market Square when the town’s second ever Passion Play is performed on Easter Sunday - in 2015.
Educating women is the key to lowering maternal mortality, says major new international study. The fifth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) put forward by the United Nations (MDG-5) proposes to reduce the world's maternal mortality ratio by 75%, by 2015.
A man who was raised by a lesbian couple offers his thoughts. Over the last year I’ve been in frequent contact with adults who were raised by parents in same-sex partnerships. They are terrified of speaking publicly about their feelings, so several have asked me (since I am already out of the closet, so to speak) to give voice to their concerns.
