Documents

A Vision of Christian Unity for the Next Generation
Cardinal Walter Kasper
Posted: 24.05.2003
May They All Be One? But how?
Deeper communion is the key to the future of Christian unity. The president of the Vatican's ecumenical council spells out his vision.

Jesus Christ - The bearer of the water of life
Posted: 17.03.2003
A Christian reflection on the "New Age"
The present study is concerned with the complex phenomenon of "New Age" which is influencing many aspects of contemporary culture.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor preaches before the Queen
Posted: 21.01.2002
On 13 January 2002 the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, spoke at matins at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on Queen Elizabeth II's Sandringham estate in Norfolk. It was the first time since 1688 that an English monarch had invited a member of the Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales to preach at a service (See The Tablet, 19 January). This is the text of his sermon.

What peace entails
Posted: 18.01.2002
Document in preparation for the interreligious Day of Prayer for Peace called by Pope John Paul II in Assisi on 24 January. It is signed by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Vatican's statement to the United Nations on cloning
Posted: 26.11.2001
Archbishop Renato Martino, the Vatican's permanent observer at the United Nations, addressed on19 November 2000 a UN committee set up to consider cloning. The Committee was discussing whether to introduce an International Convention Against the Reproductive Cloning of Human Beings.

In Britain, emergency legislation is being put through Parliament to prevent reproductive cloning after a High Court judge agreed with a pro-Life group that there was nothing to prevent scientists from implanting a clone in a womb and producing a cloned baby (See Home News, 24 November 2001).

"God wishes to be adored in freedom" Vatican Statement on Religious Liberty - 16 November 2001
Posted: 16.11.2001
Archbishop Renato Martino, apostolic nuncio and permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, addressed to the United Nations Assembly on 13 November on the subject of religious freedom. He was responding to a report drawn up by the UN's human rights commission.

Australian Religious Leaders urge ban on cloning - 16 November 2001
Posted: 16.11.2001
Religious leaders from a broad spectrum of faiths in Australia have written to the country's federal, state and territory governments urging them to ban all forms of human cloning (See report, Church in the World 17 November 2001). This is the full text of the letter.