Just a heartbeat away …

Some, like George Bush Sr, aspire to office; some, like Lyndon Johnson or Gerald Ford, have office thrust upon them; a few, like Dick Cheney, grab power without waiting for office; most just cut a lot of ribbons. So what lies in store for Joe Biden if he joins Barack Obama in the White House?...

At your service

Ahead of the Carmelite aid workers’ annual meeting in Paris next week, the contemplative order’s Prior General, Fr Fernando Millán Romeral, explores with The Tablet’s James Roberts how prayer brings a human dimension to the struggle for justice and peace...

When the tide went out

Our summer series ends at the parish of St Anthony of Padua in Rye, the Sussex town from where the sea retreated a long time ago, but where the Catholic faith has survived through times of turbulence as well as calm....

A new age for old age

With the elderly now outnumbering the under-16s, and numbers of migrants continuing to rise, the role of the Church in providing a sense of humanity and dignity for such groups considered so often as mere uneconomic units is increasingly vital...

Chill wind off the Steppes

Former Soviet-bloc countries of Central and Eastern Europe are feeling the political blast blowing in from Russia’s invasion of Georgia. But, while Moscow may enjoy domestic approval, its action may just propel the new republics further towards the West...

Pakistanis dance prematurely

Despite billions of dollars of American aid being poured into Pakistan to fight global terrorism, it is in a much worse state today than when departing President Pervez Musharraf seized power nearly a decade ago. And it’s going to get still worse...

Life-giving remedy

The Prayer Over the Gifts, as a miniature Eucharistic Prayer, asks that the blessing that is at work in the eucharistic mystery be conferred upon us. In doing this, writes Daniel McCarthy, the blessing will bring to completion in humanity what it accomplishes in the sacrament...

Green is the new white

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