Celebrating Christ's death and Resurrection is a time of repentance, renewal and rebirth. This year Easter appropriately coincides with the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, with the appointment of a new Archbishop of Westminster. It is a moment for taking stock, and refreshing old commitments. The Church here has fallen below its potential, and needs boosting. It will not be easy.

Sometimes the obvious takes a little while to see, which may explain why the Vatican took longer than anticipated to name the Archbishop of Birmingham, Mgr Vincent Nichols, as Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor's successor as Archbishop of Westminster. There seemed to be a small but active lobby against him. Yet on the basis of his curriculum vitae alone, the Archbishop of Birmingham's qualifications to occupy the senior position in the Catholic Church in England and Wales were unrivalled. In so far as there were hesitations, this may have been, on the evidence of the mere existence of a "stop-Nichols lobby", because of the fear his appointment would be divisive. This is not likely to be borne out. Indeed, Mgr Nichols is well placed to reconcile such differences as there already are in the English and Welsh Catholic community - not wide or dangerous, but capable of becoming so if not attended to.

What makes Mgr Nichols the right choice is above all the continuity he represents with previous key leaders of the Catholic Church in these two countries. Like his immediate predecessor, he is heir to the Worlock-Hume partnership that gave Catholicism a more acceptable and friendly face in Britain, and drew it into national life where it gained respect and influence. It has been progressive in social policy, undogmatic but faithful in morality, effective in its ecumenical and inter-faith relations. The hierarchy, thanks to a succession of wise and skilful apostolic nuncios, has values and interests that are broadly shared by the laity. The big question ...

As President Barack Obama received the adulation of press and public in London, a very different treatment was being directed at him within the Catholic Church in the United States. He has been invited to America's senior Catholic university, Notre Dame in Indiana, both to receive an honorary doctorate of law and to give the graduation-day address. The invitation has caused a furore. It has been denounced not only ...

Prayers for the success of the G20 summit, which opens on Thursday in London's Docklands, would not be out of order this weekend. A good outcome is the best prospect in sight to ease the suffering of millions who have been impoverished and crushed by the global recession, and millions more who are at risk. They live not just in the developing world, although their plight is acute, but in every town and city in Europe ...

The image of the Catholic Church as an unchanging monolith seems to be crumbling before our eyes. The conventional wisdom - that it is bad for the laity to see their pastors as fallible human beings disagreeing among themselves - has given way under various pressures, including palpable mistakes made by the Vatican on various issues. This is not a view confined to the Vatican's critics, for Pope Benedict himself has ...

Sometimes the Catholic Church is admired for its commitment to absolute moral standards; sometimes it is condemned for it. Not much admiration has come the Church's way over a case reported from Brazil. The medical team and the mother of a nine-year-old girl have been excommunicated for their part in an abortion performed on the girl, who became pregnant with twins after being repeatedly raped by her stepfather ...