Vested with symbolism

With reports circulating that the Pope has commissioned a set of vestments based on those worn by the first Medici pope, Leo X, a specialist in liturgy examines the significance of the sartorial choices of Benedict XVI, who is clearly keenly aware of the messages embedded in the garments’ use...

Straight talk on terror

Michael Burleigh tells Theo Hobson about his new book Blood and Rage, which argues that Britain’s ‘salafi-jihadists’ are characterised by a colossal megalomania and an abysmal knowledge of their own religion...

Russians search for signs of spring

That Dmitry Medvedev would be elected to succeed Vladimir Putin as President of Russia was a foregone conclusion. But how far he will be his own man is a much more open question...

Make time to pray

Friendship can only be sustained by regular contact and our relationship with God is no exception, according to the late Cardinal Basil Hume in this meditation for the fifth Sunday of Lent. He writes about the importance of prayer, the challenges it presents and how with perseverance it can become second nature....

One law for men …

According to the Archbishop of Canterbury, it is just a matter of time before aspects of sharia law are adopted in Britain. In the last of our series on religious law, we look at how sharia law works at the moment for Muslim men – and women...

Spare a prayer

With Cheltenham Festival on the horizon, much of ecclesiastical Ireland is getting ready to head to Gloucestershire. And when it comes to tipping winners, Dominic Prince tips Fr John Byrne...

Cleansed and inspired

The purpose of the rites of preparation for initiation at the Easter Vigil is to form and purify the ‘elect’, writes Daniel McCarthy, so that when they give their lives to the service of God and neighbour, they will also participate in divine life...

Another well-kept secret

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Childhood calling

The RCIA provides a model for the preparation of children who are seeking baptism, but the precise nature of the catechesis provided for a child must be thought about very carefully – and the whole community must be ready to play its part...