Benedict XVI, who has just celebrated the third anniversary of his election as Pope, has surprised those who expected his papacy to be a seamless continuation of his role as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. There has been no witch-hunt of those who do not subscribe to a narrow conservative orthodoxy. Instead, his personal humility and conviction have endeared him to the millions who have seen him from afar and deeply touched those who have met him in person. In the United States, which he is currently visiting, they are fascinated, even enthralled. He has made few enemies and many friends.

He has issued two erudite and profound encyclicals, both personal and original, which are written in a conversational, at times even tentative, tone. Few would have guessed correctly the issue he would choose to address in his first one - the relationship between the erotic and the sacred, which he saw very positively. He is more a thinker out loud than a Pope who wants to turn his personal opinions into Church doctrine overnight, a tendency of his predecessor. The fact that he does not always calculate the impact of his remarks in advance has made him look occasionally prone to gaffes, particularly on delicate matters of interfaith relations. But when he told reporters on his way to the United States this week that the clerical sexual abuse scandal in that country made him "deeply ashamed", his frankness was widely welcomed. It was also what America needed to hear.

His support for the Tridentine Rite and his revision of its Good Friday prayer for the conversion of the Jews did hint at a certain nostalgia for pre-conciliar times. The manner of the rite's reintroduction, overriding the jurisdiction of local bishops, set alarm bells ringing that his conception of how power should be exercised in the Church was still top-down and not very collegial. And some of those who speak in his name are not helping his cause.

The Vatican cannot micro-manage ...

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 the temptations of secularisation, materialism and relativism. The second is not to be afraid to claim its proper place in the mainstream of American life and thought, ...

The Catholic Church's opposition to research on human embryos presented Gordon Brown with the threat of resignation by three Catholic Cabinet ministers, who opposed key clauses of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill now before Parliament. The Prime Minister has now relented under pressure and allowed a free "conscience" vote. But easing the consciences of Cabinet ministers, good though that may ...

Stem cells have the remarkable capacity to grow into any part of the body. That is why research using stem cells offers the prospect of treatment for a wide range of serious and painful diseases. But when it involves the use, and then destruction, of fertilised human eggs, the Catholic Church says that this is tampering with human life, and unacceptable. Nor is it alone in saying so. If faith-based objections to this ...

In his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis recalled the steady, unrelenting approach of God. His approach at first was not wanted. Then Lewis began to read the gospels and attend church services. God was after him, he felt, to acknowledge his Son. One day he set out to drive to Whipsnade. On the way there he did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. But, he recalled, "when we reached the zoo ...