Profound questions are raised by the way Cardinal Franc Rodé, head of the Vatican department that deals with religious orders, admonished the Society of Jesus for failing to "think with the Church". In a sermon at the start of their 35th General Congregation in Rome, Cardinal Rodé told the assembled Jesuits of his "sadness and anxiety" at the Society's recent record, urging greater fidelity to the hierarchy. Certainly, relations between local Jesuit priests and diocesan bishops have sometimes been adversarial. Given the Church's episcopal structure, religious orders that stand outside that structure will experience conflicts with it. They can develop a mindset that sees things differently from local bishops' conferences. Yet Ignatius Loyola made "thinking with the church" a special obligation on members of his new order. The question appears to be - does "Church" equal "hierarchy"?

To Cardinal Rodé, any such conflicts must be resolved in favour of the bishops, who are sacramentally commissioned to think the Church's thoughts. In the celebrated case of the Jesuit magazine America, whose editor Fr Thomas Reese departed after incurring Vatican disapproval, there were two views emerging about the right direction for the American Church. Through a series of strategic appointments, the Vatican had steered the American hierarchy away from the more progressive era represented by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin and Archbishop Rembert Weakland, towards a more conservative model. The new mood was to confront the Church's internal dissenters, not debate with them. The American Jesuit province, or a substantial part of it, felt differently. So, probably, did the great majority of American Catholics. The divisions in the American Church are serious, but whether it is a proper role for a religious order that swears obedience to the Pope to take sides against the hierarchy he has appointed is another matter ...

The relationship between Poland and Great Britain has historically been a warm one. This tone has continued following the arrival of a large number of Polish immigrants since the enlargement of the European Union in 2004. Community tensions have been minimal, and the British have put on a good display of hospitality to strangers. But to maintain that goodwill, it will be necessary to handle with great diplomatic skill ...

Christmas' growing commercialisation could be likened to the demolition of Westminster Abbey to be replaced by a car park. No doubt that prime piece of land could make someone a fortune. But no one would seriously suggest that it should be done. The abandonment of the spiritual dimension of Christmas, leaving only pleasure and profit as the point of the midwinter festivities, would leave an even greater hole in ...

The Government Chief Whip, Geoff Hoon, has been asked by Catholic Labour MPs to extend the categories under which they are allowed a "conscience" vote to include various issues raised in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. They will automatically be excused the duty to obey a whip - a government instruction to vote a certain way - when the House of Commons debates amendments to the bill relating ...