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Patrick NicholsonPope Benedict’s visit to New York is expected to highlight the Vatican’s commitment to the UN. But what of the hundreds of Catholic NGOs based in New York which lobby on issues such as education, justice and poverty? Are they a Catholic bloc or myriad voices for the voiceless? Free
From the editor’s desk
| How the Pope can help America Free There are two messages the American Catholic Church is likely to hear from Pope Benedict XVI during his visit next week to Washington and New York. The first is to remain true to itself, to its distinct traditions, beliefs and values, in the face of ... | Good for London - and beyond |
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Features
On being an English Catholic: from minority to mainstream and back again? Free Paul VallelyIn preparation for tonight I was looking through a history of my old school. In it I came across a classic schoolboy howler. A master wrote: "Boys are constantly urged to read the examination questions carefully and come to the point quickly....
| The world is their cloister Free James RobertsWhile vocations to the full monastic life are falling, the number of oblates is on the rise. Does this reflect abbeys’ new awareness of the need to accommodate the outside world, or something else?...
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 Divining the global soulTony BlairIn his address to the heads of religious orders earlier this year, Pope Benedict spoke of three signs of the times: globalisation, secularism, and a search for spirituality outside institutional religion. On the eve of his visit to the United States to address the United Nations, we begin a series on these signs. In the first, the former Prime Minister explores faith and globalisation... |  Southern comfortRocco PalmoWhen the Pope arrives in America he will visit the north-eastern ‘Cardinals’ Corridor’ that formed the old core of American Catholicism. These days, though, the US Church is shifting relentlessly southwards, where it is thriving in the old evangelical Bible Belt... |
Power of the paschal mysteriesDaniel McCarthyIn the early days of the Church, gifts for one’s neighbour were offered during the preparation of the gifts at Mass, from which bread and wine were taken for the eucharistic thanksgiving. The connection between Christ’s sacrifice and our self-giving was made clear
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| Cause for apprehensionElena CurtiOratorian Fathers in Birmingham long for their founder, John Henry Newman, to be declared blessed and to be canonised. But such acknowledgement will bring with it enormous headaches. How will they offer an intrigued public ‘the Newman experience?’...
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 Everyone’s a winnerTerry PhilpotIt is now easier than ever to give time to a good cause, one which benefits both the disadvantaged at home and abroad and the volunteer for whom the spiritual and practical rewards can be high... |  Mr Midas awaitsDavid WilleyItalians vote again tomorrow and the indications are that, starstruck by Silvio Berlusconi’s business acumen, they will return the media magnate for a third crack at the parlous premiership... |
Lost and FoundLiz BourneWhen a woman in her forties became a contemplative nun, her younger sister, to whom she had been like a mother, grieved. But with time and understanding they have renewed their bonds...
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Columnists
 Clifford Longley‘If you need to peep into a candidate’s bedroom – or soul – then so be it’  Christopher Howse‘She enjoyed growing up surrounded by boggle-eyed nuns and mad monsignors’
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Books and arts
A chill wind blows from the east Free
The New Cold War: how the Kremlin menaces both Russia and the West
Edward Lucas
This is a good book but it does not make a wholly persuasive case for its title and the timing of publication is unfortunate. Edward Lucas, the Central and East European correspondent ... |
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Is the Church too slow in recognising that academies are the future for Catholic schools?
Christopher Lamb
According to the chairman of governors at the Cardinal Vaughan School, west London, one ... Goodwin the scapegoat
Elena Curti
There was an old Sixties TV series, Branded, about a disgraced soldier that always began ... The pain of being a coeliac Catholic
Sr M, guest contributor
"Whoever comes to me, I shall not turn (him) her away" (John 6:37). Many readers will recognise ...
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