| A thoroughly Vatican II leader Free There was an unexpected echo of President Barack Obama at the heart of Archbishop Vincent Nichols' installation sermon at Westminster Cathedral. Spelling out what he means by calling for "respectful" dialogue in modern society, the archbishop declares: ... | When trust is betrayed |
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Features
 The necessity of virtue Free Phillip BlondBritain, and British culture, is experiencing its deepest crisis since the Second World War. But this cannot be fixed by introducing new rules for MPs and bankers. The culture that rejected common values and tradition is responsible, and only one that affirms values and tradition will rescue us... |  Moments of dialogueRobert MickensThe Pope’s visit to Jordan and Israel saw him offer many words of peace to the Christians, Jews and Muslims of the region. But if he had hoped for progress in discussions with the Abrahamic faiths, Benedict would have been most encouraged by what happened in the Hashemite Kingdom... |
Healing wordsJohn HallHospital chaplain numbers and nurses offering to pray for patients have caused controversy recently. But, as the Dean of Westminster Abbey, marking Florence Nightingale’s birthday, here argues, spirituality is fundamental to health care and to well-being...
| The unseen actorDaniel McCarthyIn the Prayer after Communion for the feast of the Ascension, we ask that we may follow where Christ has led. He blazed the trail to eternal life, writes Daniel McCarthy, so that we can strive towards that divine state to which the Word of God directs us...
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 More than a soundbiteCatherine PepinsterFr Federico Lombardi, the gentlemanly Jesuit charged by the Holy See with handling the 24/7 demands of the global media, has come under fire lately. He talks to Catherine Pepinster about the pressures of being the Vatican spokesman... |  Crisis that could split the KirkBrian MortonHomosexuality is one of the most divisive issues in Christian denominations the world over. Now a General Assembly motion from Skye and Lochcarron barring any gay person from ministry threatens to divide the Church of Scotland... |
Taking on the racistsChris ChiversThe Church of England holds that supporting the BNP is incompatible with a belief in Jesus Christ. But, argues a senior clergyman, the only way to stop Christians voting for a racist party is to engage directly with their fears and concerns...
| In favour of GraceAlban McCoyStudents at Cambridge University’s all-women Newnham College have drawn up a new form of the Grace said at formal dinners that omits the specific reference to Christ in the current form. But to whom or what are thanks offered?...
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First unfaltering stepsKevin McGinnellIt is a mistake to assume that new Catholics should plunge into all kinds of parish activities immediately after the Easter Vigil. They need to be nurtured as they find their feet in a new way of life...
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Columnists
 Clifford Longley‘Would you pay for stolen information that showed the political system was rotten?’  Peter Stanford‘I recall with clarity the pupil who fainted when assisted suicide was mentioned’
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Books and arts
Evasion of disquieting truths Free
Church and State in 21st Century Britain: the future of Church Establishment
R.M. Morris
Imagine a line-up of 100 English people, of all ages and types. Only two or three of them are active members of the Church of England, which is England's official religion (establishment ... |
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Can the Church support abuse victims on its own terms?
Elena Curti
The clear message that emerged from the symposium on child sexual abuse held in Rome from ... 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 ...
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