| An historic moment for catholics and anglicans Free Little more than a week ago the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and the Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, knelt together in prayer at the tomb of St Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey in a poignant demonstration of ecumenism ... |
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Features
 A terrible beautyLaura GascoigneSculptures of Christ and the saints in a new exhibition at the National Gallery depict them shedding blood, sweat and tears. There is a danger that a generation inured to shocking images will simply shrug, but, as Archbishop Vincent Nichols told journalists, they are a potent reminder of God’s love... |  Get past the dividesMichael Sean Winters On the eve of the annual meeting of the US Catholic bishops’ conference, the country’s most senior cleric, Cardinal Francis George, has produced a new book setting out his ideas on how liberals and conservatives in the Church can transcend their differences... |
The ark and the covenantRowan WilliamsIn a lecture last week at Southwark Cathedral sponsored by the Christian environmental group Operation Noah, the Archbishop of Canterbury set out a faith-driven vision of how people can respond to the looming environmental crisis. Here is an edited version of what he said...
| Hands across the SeeThe Most Revd Vincent NicholsThis week’s announcement of the Apostolic Constitution to accommodate Anglicans has come as a surprise, writes Archbishop Vincent Nichols, as has the generosity of its measures. But, he argues, it is important to understand the document’s context as well as its content...
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Africa comes of ageAbigail FrymannThe leaders of the Church in Africa this weekend are finishing the synod that will inform future policy for the continent. The voices were many and the topics were diverse, and there were deep frustrations over what is holding back the Church and the African people...
| After many a summerDaniel O'LearyFor us, as we now are, everything passes. In particular, we have to say goodbye at some point to those people we love most and those places to which we are most deeply attached. The emotions associated with this essential aspect of our humanity are deep and complex...
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‘The big deal is about leaving behind the beauty of the church with the robed choir and the lovely old organ – it is not about Petrine authority’Victoria CombeI expected to hear whoops and even corks popping when I called Forward in Faith’s offices this week, writes Victoria Combe. But, after decades of campaigning for a safe home for Anglo-Catholics, the response was a polite: “Thanks, we’ll give it some thought.”...
| Palace intrigueDavid WilleyOne of Rome’s richest and most venerable aristocratic families, the Doria Pamphilj, is embroiled in a very modern dispute. At stake is a £1bn art and property fortune, and at issue is whether children born of surrogate mothers can inherit their share...
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Out of the embersDaniel McCarthyAs the faithful mature in prayer, the inner reality of the things they say and do
outwardly grow together. With God’s help, writes Daniel McCarthy, they discover the fullness of their graced inner selves...
| Prayer of the peopleNicholas HenshallDaily prayer was once perceived as the province of the clergy. But there has been
a remarkable renewal of commitment to it by the laity in the past 20 years...
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| Muddy watersGuy Consolmagno
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Columnists
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Books and arts
To seek unity in diversity Free
Christianity and World Religions: disputed questions in the theology of religions
Gavin D’Costa
Gavin D’Costa’s theology is always both meticulously creative and creatively meticulous. This work recapitulates earlier studies but also offers a creative new twist ... |
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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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