Catholic News: Recent Episodes
Catholic Church in England and Wales
Catholic News offers news, interviews and reflections from a diverse range of people - lay people, religious and clergy - involved on the front line of the Catholic Church's work. Produced by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.
Nurturing one’s marriage is not a seasonal endeavour. Hard work and commitment are needed on a daily basis to keep the ship sailing straight. Summer, however, presents the opportunity to take a little time off for rest and recouperation – family time when, for a few precious weeks, we can hit the reset button after the rigours of the first six months of the year. For married couples, it’s a chance to spend some quality time together and to take a break from the demands of work or, if blessed with children, the endless school runs and education-based drama. For this […]
Day for Life, the day in the Church’s calendar when we come together to celebrate the gift of life from conception to natural death, falls on Sunday, 21 June 2026. The theme is The Wonder of the Child in the Womb. Archbishop John Sherrington, Archbishop of Liverpool, is the Lead Bishop for Life Issues for the Bishops’ Conference. He spoke to us for this Catholic News podcast to explain the importance of the day, the theme and how it extends to the tragedy of baby loss, and tells us how we can all play our part to uphold the beauty and […]
The World Day for Social Communications is marked on Sunday, 17 May. This year, Pope Leo’s message examines how we need to preserve our God-given human dignity and show wisdom and good judgment in our use of fast-evolving communications technologies – particularly AI. This is a theme we discuss on this Catholic News podcast with the ‘media bishop’ for the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Bishop John Arnold. As Bishop of Salford, Bishop Arnold is a stone’s throw from Media City and regularly comments on the issues of the day from a Catholic perspective. Today we talk about the […]
A peace vigil was held in London on Thursday, 30 April, at Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church in Kensington to pray for peace in the Middle East. The vigil was attended by Bishop Jim Curry, Lead Bishop for the Holy Land for the Bishops’ Conference as well as Bishop Mike Royal, General Secretary of Churches Together in England, and His Grace Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Great Britain and Ireland and Churches Together in England’s President for the Orthodox Churches. During the service, an address was given by Dr Harry Hagopian, a public international […]
It’s Holy Week for the world’s 2.4 billion Christians. As such, it’s a great time for us to meditate on how sacred music and sacred art accompany us on the road to Calvary to the foot of Christ’s Cross and beyond. The life, Passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus have provided rich and provoking subject matter for composers and artists for many hundreds of years, so for this joint Catholic News/Art of Dying Well podcast we’re joined by priest and art afficionado Father Patrick van der Vorst. Where do we start with the ebullient Fr Patrick? Three years a priest, […]
When Bishop Jim Curry, our Lead Bishop for the Holy Land, and Dr Harry Hagopian, our former consultant on the Middle East North Africa region, last offered their thoughts on a podcast together, it was to contribute to the final episode of ‘Middle East Analysis’. Just as we were lamenting the fact that the series had been placed on hold to consider its long-term future, something cataclysmic and literally earth-shattering took place that shook us from our self-imposed slumber to record a ‘special’ on the war in Iran and its wider regional consequences. We share this today on our ‘Catholic […]
For this ‘Catholic News’ podcast we’ve pulled a segment from our Lenten episode of ‘At the Foot of the Cross’. Fleur Dorrell, our Biblical Apostolate Manager, provides a very useful 15-minute whistle-stop tour of the Bible. We’re encouraging our listeners to deepen their relationship with Christ through Scripture during Lent. As well as talking about the books of the Bible, Fleur offers some achievable top tips to help us go deeper into Scripture as we journey towards Holy Week. Subscribe You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts or Amazon/Audible.
It’s the end of the world as we know it. Wasn’t that what REM once sang? Ironically when the famous Seattle rock band committed those lyrics to popular music folklore, the world made more sense. Today, after 17 years and many laughs, smiles, tears (and the odd exasperated outburst), Dr Harry Hagopian brings the curtain down on a remarkable podcasting run with this, the final Middle East Analysis. The epitaph reads: Here lies Middle East Analysis, 2009 to 2026, it lived hard, loved dearly and asks for your prayers as it returns to its maker. Something like that. So for […]
In today’s Catholic News podcast, we are joined by His Eminence Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The Cardinal has been visiting the UK this week with Missio, the Pope’s charity for world mission. Cardinal Marengo has served as a missionary priest in Mongolia since 2003. He has been the Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, a missionary jurisdiction that covers the entire country of Mongolia, since 2 April 2020, and was created a Cardinal by Pope Francis on 27 August 2022 – making him the second youngest in the College of Cardinals. In this episode, Cardinal Marengo tells us […]
Our Lead Bishop for the Holy Land, Bishop Jim Curry, has appeared as a guest on the December 2025 episode of Middle East Analysis, a podcast series that examines the complex religious, political and socio-economic realities of the region covering the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf States. Sitting alongside regular studio guest Dr Harry Hagopian, an international lawyer, analyst and consultant on the region, Bishop Curry discusses Pope Leo XIV’s first overseas visit to Türkiye and Lebanon as well as the need to look east from our comfortable position in the UK to the lands of Christ’s birth and […]
During the 16 Days of Activism against violence against women and girls, we met with Nikki Dhillon-Keane, a therapist, trainer, author and activist, and the founder of Safe in Faith, a project of Caritas Westminster working to support survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence and exploitation in ways that understand how their faith impacts their experiences. Nikki explored the expansion of violence against women in the digital world and explained the additional barriers and difficulties that women face when they stand at the intersection of gender-based violence and racial violence or other forms of oppression. Sharing practical advice and information […]
‘Dying to Live’ was a panel discussion that took place in the Grimshaw Room of St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham, on Sunday 26 October. It examined how faith traditions approach dying, death, and bereavement and the religious and cultural practices observed in end-of-life settings. Moderated by Associate Professor Maggie Doherty, Lead at the Centre for the Art of Living and Dying Well, the session presented findings from the Centre’s new community-based participatory research. The panel members, who shared deeply personal insights, represented six religions: Ruth Jacobs, Judaism; Shamim Merali, Islam; Shobha Sharma, Hinduism; Simon Romer, Buddhism; Harr-Joht Kaur, Sikhism; Christina Ronayne, […]
Catholic News – October 2025 In this Catholic News podcast we are joined by Anton Asfar, Secretary General of Caritas Jerusalem and Fr Elias Tabban, Parish Priest of Zababdeh Parish, near Jenin. We learn about the happy, hopeful but also cautious mood on the ground among the people following the Gaza ceasefire agreement which marks the end of the war and the beginning of the first phase of the peace process in the Holy Land. There are many challenges which are arising, including the lack of fresh water, sanitation and food supplies, which means that families are struggling. There are […]
The Right Reverend Patrick McKinney, Bishop of Nottingham, joined the National Jubilee Pilgrimage of Hope on its last day as pilgrims descended on his diocesan Cathedral Church of St Barnabas. Geographically, Nottingham worked well as the intersection point where the four pilgrimage ‘Ways’ – north, south, east and west – came together to complete a huge Cross that was traced by the footsteps of the pilgrims across England and Wales. Bishop Patrick linked up with the pilgrims walking the final miles of St John’s Way on Saturday, 13 September, braving torrential rain on the way to Nottingham Cathedral. Speaking to […]
On today’s Catholic News podcast we’re speaking to our Lead Bishop for Africa, Bishop Paul Swarbrick. Our focus is Ethiopia – and in particular Tigray. Six months ago, from 17-28 March, Bishop Paul travelled to the country at the invitation of CAFOD, the Church’s Aid and Development agency here in England and Wales, and the charities SCIAF, the equivalent in Scotland, and Trócaire, the Irish Bishops’ agency. Bishop Paul has a love for Africa and her people having served as a missionary priest in Zambia for almost 15 years, but how did he feel travelling to Tigray – a region […]
As the UK endures its fourth heatwave of the year, more people than ever are using their spare time to get out and about to enjoy the sunshine and the many walking routes our country has to offer. Yes, you have to be sensible – you have to be prepared – but why not use this seasonal time of rest and relaxation to combine faith, prayer, and pilgrimage to walk a path of witness that medieval English and Welsh people followed religiously pre-Reformation. One man who wants to see that ancient tradition of walking pilgrimage resurrected and embedded into the […]
If you’ve been a regular at Mass over these summer months you will have listened to the guidance of the prophets in our readings.
Whether you've heard God’s wisdom and warnings through Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos, Micah or Hosea, it’s that time of year when we are given the revelatory word that brings about change in the hearts of some or consolation in the hearts of others.
But, as our General Secretary Canon Chris Thomas tells us, prophets are often misunderstood.
“Lots of people think that prophets are there to predict the future when really that's not fully their role,” he tells us on our At the Foot of the Cross podcast. "Prophets, as we understand them, are people who are endowed with a supernatural gift of wisdom to be claimed in the hearts of the people. They challenge current day practices and make known to the people the consequences of not changing their ways.”
Canon Thomas uses three vocational stories about prophets and their preaching, focusing on Amos, Isaiah and Jeremiah.
As we go through the Summer, we'll hear the prophets time and time again. Listening to their words can, at times, be quite difficult, but Canon Thomas offers some advice.
“If you keep in the back of your mind that prophets are given a specific word by God to preach to the people so that they will return to being faithful to the covenant and adapt their way of living,” he says. “They can then, as the Prophet Micah says, act justly, love mercifully or tenderly, and more humbly with God. This then leads them to the fullness of life.”
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Ahead of the World Day of Prayer for Grandparents and the Elderly, Bishop David Evans has spoken about the need for us to value the elderly and recognise the important contribution grandparents make to society.
On this 'Catholic News' podcast we discuss how we can use this day, on Sunday 28 July, as one of thanksgiving and prayer for grandparents and the elderly.
"We might have a rather rosy idea of family life or of the life of older people," says Bishop Evans, our Lead Bishop for Marriage and Family Life. "In fact, they have their difficulties and their burdens. We are able to recognise these, and to think about the social implications of their isolation. It's important we pray for them and recognise that they too are included in God's love for all."
Bishop Evans affirms young people in their care for the elderly - particularly grandparents:
"One thing that strikes me is the love which grandchildren have for their grandparents. We're not asking anything exceptional, for them to take care of their grandparents. Many are doing this already, which is a wonderful thing. But it might just be an opportunity just to do something a bit extra for them on this day, to keep them in our prayers, to think perhaps a bit beyond family members, not just our grandparents, but the older people who might live next door."
He adds a further suggestion for social outreach:
"It may be that one or two people are able, with the proper precautions, to visit older people who live nearby or who live in care homes - paying a little visit to make their day a bit better."
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Ahead of Sea Sunday, the day we come together to pray for seafarers and fishers to thank them for the vital role they play in all of our lives, we spoke to Deacon Nick O'Neill, the Senior Area Port Chaplain for the South of England and Wales for Catholic charity Stella Maris.
In this Catholic News podcast, Deacon Nick discusses the joys and challenges of his job supporting seafarers with host Fionn Shiner.
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Hospices - places you go to die, right? Horizontal in a bed for the last months of your life? Decades ago, perhaps, but the modern hospice offers a wide variety of services - all designed to provide high quality, compassionate care for the dying person.In fact, around 50% of people that use the facilities and treatments go home at the end of the day. It's time to challenge the stereotypes, bust the myths and go behind the scenes to find out just how hospices work and how they are the jewel in the crown when it comes to end of life care. Produced in partnership with the Centre for the Art of Dying Well, this special podcast sends us to a truly remarkable place - St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney, East London.
Most people want their death – or that of a loved one or friend – to be comfortable and reconciled. A dignified death. At St Joseph’s Hospice the dying person always comes first so why not listen to find out more?
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For this special Catholic News podcast, we take a look back on Bishop Declan Lang’s twenty-three years as Bishop of Clifton. Let me set the scene for you…
It was the evening before his successor's episcopal ordination, and we were fortunate to side-step all the intense planning and preparation for the day to come, in order to sit down in the garden of the retiring Bishop of Clifton as the Spring sun gave out its last.
Metaphorically, the sun was setting too on Bishop Declan’s years of ministry as the ninth Bishop of Clifton – it was just a matter of hours before his handover to the incoming Bishop Bosco MacDonald. So, for this podcast, it seemed apposite to take a stroll with Bishop Declan to look back over almost a quarter of a century shepherding the diocese.
In this 'Catholic News' podcast we discuss:
His upbringing on the Isle of WightThe call to the priesthoodBeing both a seminarian and a university studentA meeting with the Apostolic Nuncio - Pope John Paul II's representative in the UKA pastoral plan from bottom to top for CliftonWhat it's like being a bishopHow the episcopal ministry comes full circleYoung people - the Church for today and tomorrowNational and international workThe challenge of living with Parkinson's
Poignantly, when discussing his health challenges, he said:
"It has strengthened my trust in God - that God knows what He's doing. I'm not saying that God sent me Parkinson's, but I am saying that you can live through Parkinson's.
"The Christian message is about life. It's about death, but it's about life coming from death. We are people of hope, and we can find God. We might think Parkinson's is totally destroying lives, but actually God can be found in illness, sickness and vulnerability, and it has made me more vulnerable in some ways."
Listen to our full podcast interview with Bishop Declan Lang - his last as Bishop of Clifton.
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Father Gabriel Romanelli is the parish priest of the Holy Family Church in Gaza City. He had to watch from a distance as the horrors of the 7 October Hamas attack unfolded, before Israel's bombardment of the Strip led to the humanitarian crisis and suffering we now see in this torn land.
Father Romanelli spent a week in the UK, in London and Glasgow, from 22 - 27 April, meeting with Christian leaders and politicians to highlight the plight of the near 500 people still sheltering in the compound of the Holy Family Church.
For this Catholic News podcast, we again partner up with Middle East Analysis - a podcast strand that emanated from the Bishops' Conference 15 years ago and features our former Middle East North Africa (MENA) consultant Dr Harry Hagopian.
Dr Hagopian, an International lawyer and analyst who has long worked for peace between Israel and Palestine, joins Fr Romanelli in conversation for this special podcast.
We discuss the current plight of the parish community in the north of Gaza, the lack of food, water and medicine, the Pope's daily phone calls and pastoral concern for the people, the need for a lasting peace, what Catholics in England and Wales can do, the light of faith in the darkness, and much more.
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This Catholic News podcast looks at AI and Pope Francis' message for World Communications Day.
Bishop John Arnold, Lead Bishop for Communications here at the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, talks about how the technology can make information accessible and support the common good but we should make sure that it is carefully regulated.
"Let's use machines to assist us in what we're doing to make our world a better place, to enhance the way we live. But let's not allow machines in any way to think for us or to make decisions which are not appropriate."
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We keep our firm focus on the Holy Land and whilst we continue to weep as we look on at the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and the suffering of all civilians caught up in this conflict, we're joined by Fr Fadi Diab to discuss the lived realities of the Palestinian people in the West Bank as well as in the decimated strip.
Fr Diab is from Ramallah and is the rector of St Andrew's Episcopal Church and also minister at St Peter's Church in Bir Zeit.
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Bishop Declan Lang, Chair of our International Affairs department, recently joined former Middle East North Africa advisor to the Bishops' Conference, Dr Harry Hagopian, on a special podcast to discuss the tragic events playing out in the Holy Land as the conflict continues to rage in Gaza.
Five long, painful months after the Hamas terror attack of 7 October and the subsequent bombing and ground offensive that has reduced Gaza to rubble and led to several thousand deaths and a humanitarian disaster of the most tragic proportions, this 'Middle East Analysis' special asks the question: Is there a road map to peace in the Holy Land or are we eternally to walk the path of violence, revenge and hatred?
Dr Harry Hagopian, an international lawyer, commentator, and MENA region analyst, joins his old friend Bishop Declan for a 30-minute podcast that we have, with permission, uploaded to our 'Catholic News' channel.
They look for any signs of light in the darkness, and mourn decades of failure when it comes to securing a lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis.
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The focus of this Catholic News podcast is the Year of Jubilee in 2025, and the preparation year proceeding it that we're currently living - the Year of Prayer.
Pope Francis wants the Church to be prepared for the Jubilee Year with a particular focus on prayer, and what better prayer to use than the 'Our Father' that Jesus taught us.
During Lent, we are offering a five-week course designed to help us deepen our understanding of the Lord's Prayer called We Dare To Say.
Father Jan Nowotnik, Director of Mission for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales talks to us about how important a prayer the Lord's Prayer is to us as Christians:
"There is a line in the Our Father that is a prayer of petition, 'Give us this day our daily bread'. When I pray that line, I'm saying, 'Give me today, Lord, just what I need - just for this day'. In the midst of some of the trials and tribulations of life, but also the joys, it's about realising that I put my hope in the Lord who gives me everything that I need - the Lord whose kingdom is in heaven.
"'Give us this day our daily bread'. Why? So that we can joyfully trust and hope in Him, but also so that we can forgive each other, so that we can put right some of those wrongs. Which takes us back to the major theme of a Jubilee year taken from the book of Leviticus - allowing the land to grow fallow, allowing that time of tranquilly and peace, so that we can rid each other of the debts that often occur when we don't forgive each other, when we're not kind and supportive to each other. To do that, you have to hope in the promises of the Lord - 'Give us this day our daily bread'."
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Deliver Us From Evil is a new booklet, published by the Catholic Truth Society (CTS), offering Catholics a useful set of prayers and supplications, humble requests for the Lord's help, that can be used in times of fear, distress or temptation.
The prayers are drawn from Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition and are intended for individual use to protect us from the forces of evil.
In this Catholic News podcast, Father Robert Taylerson, a member of our Spirituality Committee and Spiritual Director at Oscott College, joins Liturgy Office Director Martin Foster for a conversation about the booklet and how it can be used by Catholics.
Buy the bookletDeliver Us From Evil costs £9.95 and can be purchased from the CTS website. It's a handy pocket-sized guide to help us in the struggle against the powers of darkness.
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As the Church enters the season of Advent, on the first Sunday, 3 December, we also celebrate the International Day of Disabled Persons. It's an occasion that reminds us, should we need reminding, that the Church needs to be a place of belonging for people with disabilities.
For this Catholic News podcast we're joined by Cristina Gangemi from the Kairos Forum, her friend Sean, a man who has never let disability get between his love of God and desire to serve the Church, and also Tracy, a lady who helps Sean and kindly assists at those times when Sean's words are hard to understand during this podcast.
Please do use the transcript too in order to follow the conversation more closely.
We discuss: The International Day of Disabled Persons and why it's important, valuability not vulnerability, the four Ps to help us value people with disabilities, and finish with a good focus for prayer this Advent.
TranscriptSubscribeYou can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
Bishop Peter Brignall, the Bishop of Wrexham, has warmly welcomed the news that the Shrine of St Winefride in Holywell, north Wales, has been elevated to the status of a National Shrine for England and Wales.
The shrine, on Bishop Peter's patch, has an unbroken 1,400-year tradition of pilgrimage and is part of the national heritage of Wales.
The Bishops, at their Autumn 2023 Plenary meeting, approved its elevation giving it national status, and the move will likely bring more people to this remarkable place of pilgrimage, prayer, consolation, and hope.
"Everyone is more than welcome, whether they are of faith or not, to come and discover a bit of our country's tradition and heritage, and that they come with open hearts to that commitment to God that they may not have within their own lives, but are able to recognise in the lives of others and be prepared to be touched by that."
Listen to our podcast to learn more about the story of St Winefride and this remarkable shrine in north Wales.
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Canon Christopher Thomas, General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales speaks about the Bishops' Autumn Plenary meeting held at Hinsley Hall in Leeds from 13-16 November 2023.
He talks, in particular, about the resolutions from the meeting and is joined by Father Jan Nowotnik to discuss the longer resolution on the Synod that looks at "Steps Towards Renewal".
On this podcast we address: Environmental concerns, the elevation of the Shrine of St Winefride, Holywell to the status of National Shrine for England and Wales. We also talk about the National Eucharistic Congress that will be held at Oscott College in September 2024, and the conflict in Gaza.
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Dominican friar Fr Samuel Burke OP is a chaplain in the Royal Navy currently serving on HMS Duncan in the Mediterranean. He gave a poignant reflection on remembrance and honouring our war dead on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day.
It was broadcast on 11 November, Armistice Day, known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth.
"If, during the two minutes of silence, the enormous shadow of grief and the haunting prospect of future loss can't provoke each of us to rededicate ourselves to peace then, frankly, nothing will.
"Whatever else you choose to think about during the still moments later today and tomorrow, be sure to make good that solemn promise that we renew each year. We will remember them. They were not so different to us.
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November is a very important month in the Catholic calendar. It's the month when we pause on many occasions to remember our friends and loved ones who have died - the Holy Souls. We also remember those killed in the world's conflicts, especially on Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday.
For this podcast, produced in partnership with the Centre for the Art of Dying Well, we head over to South Kensington in central London to speak to Father George Bowen, a priest of the Congregation of the Oratory of St Philip Neri.
The community has a most beautiful church. Built between 1880 and 1884, the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary - the London Oratory - is sometimes incorrectly called the 'Brompton Oratory' and is the second-largest Catholic church in London, with a nave exceeding in width that of St Paul's Cathedral. The architectural style and the atmosphere of the church were deliberately Italianate, in order to bring St Philip's romanità to nineteenth century London.
So why are we here? Well, partly for the person and partly for this stunning place of worship. Fr George Bowen has vast experience as a hospital chaplain and has accompanied many people on their way to the Lord - Catholics and non-Catholics. As a priest and Oratorian, his stock-and-trade extends beyond what happens in the here and now - beyond this world to the eternal kingdom.
"St Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, talks about our experience in life as if we're living in a tent," says Fr George. "We're living in a temporary place and we need to fold up that tent because there's going to be a house built for us in heaven. And in a way, when we walk into a church like this, what it reminds us of is the house which is prepared for us in the next world. It's meant to do that, really. It's meant to put this world into a different perspective."
This podcast is a walk-and-talk tour of the London Oratory's memorials, statues, confessionals, altars, beautiful works of art, and prayerful side chapels - all gateways to a life beyond this world. Prayerful places where we can focus our minds on the Holy Souls and pray for those who have gone before us.
ImagesAlthough we do our best to paint word pictures in your minds, we have an album of images on Flickr that accompany this podcast.
Click here to look through the photos as you listen.
The Centre for the Art of Dying WellThe Centre for the Art of Dying Well is based at St Mary's University. It's founding aim is to rethink the art of accompaniment at the end of life. It focuses on public engagement, policy, and research on the subjects of death, dying and bereavement.
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Director of Policy and Research here at the Bishops' Conference, Philip Booth, joins us to talk about our latest cost-of-living statement.
Philip is an economist who is also Professor of Finance, Public Policy and Ethics at St Mary's University, Twickenham, as well the university's Director of Catholic Mission.
The Bishops' Conference statement, released by the Department for Social Justice ahead of the Government's Autumn Statement, recognises that the cost-of-living crisis is multi-faceted and requires actions at a range of levels, including Government, civil society and the Church.
It makes a number of specific requests of the Government including the call that the taxation system should treat justly those with family and other caring responsibilities. Other requests relate to the provision and cost of housing, welfare benefits, the removal of the two-child cap on universal credit payments, and the transition to greener energy. You can read the full statement here.
Philip also discusses the preferential option for the poor that lies at the heart of Catholic life, what our network of Catholic charities are doing to alleviate poverty, the role of our parishes and schools, and how we can all we can all play a part - no matter our personal circumstances.
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Father Anthony Chantry joins us for this Catholic News podcast to discuss World Mission Sunday. Celebrated on the penultimate Sunday of October, it's a chance to support missionaries and the churches, hospitals and schools where they do the Lord's work, in countries where the Church is new, young or poor.
Fr Chantry is the National Director of Missio, the Pope's official charity for world mission.
On Sunday, 22 October, we join together in prayer to give thanks to God for missionaries everywhere who are spreading hope and the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Fr Chantry tell us what mission is, but also what it isn't:
"Mission is not about imposing, forcing or coercing. It's about listening, being present with people, accompanying them and acting on what comes from that - the wonderful wisdom from these encounters. Jesus did exactly the same. We're just following the master. He will show us the way."
Listen to Fr Chantry speak about World Mission Sunday, Pope Francis' theme for this year's celebration, Missio's focus on the story of Sister Mary in Africa's biggest slum - Kibera in Kenya, and more.
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Phil McCarthy is the man behind Pilgrim Ways - a digital resource that provides walking routes to key pilgrimage sites in each of our dioceses. An author, and former CEO of the Caritas Social Action Network, he has created a 'pilgrim way' for each diocese - from the cathedral of that diocese to one or more of its shrines.
"These are routes are not just for Catholics to deepen their faith," says Phil. "They're for everyone to experience pilgrimage within a Catholic setting."
The Pilgrim Ways website offers a number of resources to assist in preparing for a walking pilgrimage. It has an interactive map, provides GPX files for the routes that can be downloaded to mobile phones, and there are 'Pilgrim Passports' that you can get stamped along the way, not to mention certificates at the end to show that you've completed the walk.
Interestingly, the title for the project is Hearts in Search of God, and is inspired by a quotation from Pope Francis where he reminds us that in every pilgrim beats a heart in search of God - whether old or young, sick or in good health, or just a casual tourist.
WebsiteVisit pilgrimways.org.uk to access the routes and resources. Our interview with Phil McCarthy was first broadcast in our Summer 2023 'At the Foot of the Cross' podcast.
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In this Catholic News podcast, we're joined by Bishop Peter Kihara Kariuki, Bishop of Marsabit, and Isacko Jirma, Director of Caritas Marsabit.
Marsabit is a semi-arid location 500km north of the capital of Kenya, Nairobi. The local Catholic diocese spans almost 80,000 square kilometres without a single river passing through.
The Horn and East Africa has suffered its worst drought in 40 years. In Marsabit, where 80% of people rely on livestock for their income, their animals have died and their crops have failed.
Bishop Paul and Isacko discuss the pastoral challenges and the social action projects needed to help more than 300,000 people escape food insecurity.
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Rachel's Vineyard is a healing ministry for those who are suffering from the trauma of abortion, or have been closely connected to someone who is - whether they're siblings, grandparents, aunts, cousins. Rachel's Vineyard recognises that abortion impacts the wider family and community. The organisation also supports those that have worked in the abortion industry and struggle with the part they have played in abortion decisions.
Rachel Mckenzie is the director of the Birmingham-based charity and spoke to us back in June 2022 about the ministry and the growing numbers of people seeking help:
"I tell them firstly that they're not alone and that they are already loved, and they can get forgiveness, they haven't committed the unforgivable sin and they just need a place where they can work through that pain and be supported along the way."
Post abortion trauma is central to the theme of Day for Life 2023.
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Recently, Archbishop Bernard Longley was a keynote speaker at a unique interfaith event that examined how followers of the world's major religions viewed eternity, and how a knowledge of eternity can help us to make the most of the life that we have now.
Organised by The Centre for the Art of Dying Well and the Institute for Theology and Liberal Arts at St Mary’s University, the Archbishop of Birmingham gave the Christian perspective, explaining that "the starting point for understanding eternity is in our relationship with the person of Jesus Christ - God’s eternal son.
"We believe through his life, his death and the resurrection - his rising form the dead that grace by grace, God has shared with humanity the fruits of eternal life."
In the Catholic tradition, at the moment of death, the Archbishop said that: "prayers are offered which not only bring comfort and consolation to the departing soul, but also give reassurances of life - that life which is to come at the end of this earthly life."
The five other main speakers alongside Archbishop Longley were: Rabbi Yossi Jacobs, The Chief Minister of the Birmingham Hebrew Congregation, Singers Hill Synagogue; Simon Romer, Teacher of Buddhism; Anjana Shelat, Midland region coordinator of Hindu Mandir Network UK, Trustee at Shree Laxmi Narayan Temple; Dr. Gopinder Sagoo, from the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewa Jatha community in Birmingham, and Mohammad Asad MBE, lead Imam at Birmingham Central Mosque.
PodcastThis Catholic News podcast carries an interview with Archbishop Longley recorded a few days before the event. Use the embeded player at the top of this page to listen or use the subscribe links below.
It was part of the bi-monthly 'Art of Dying Well' podcast. Listen here.
SubscribeYou can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
To mark the 57th World Communications Day, this Catholic News podcast looks at Pope Francis' message for the day and the challenges of emerging technologies with Bishop John Arnold.
Bishop Arnold is the Lead Bishop for Communications for the Bishops’ Conference.
As well as discussing the theme for World Communications Day, Speaking with the heart. ‘The truth in love’, we also discuss the need to embrace emerging technologies with an ethical mind, to ensure human beings don’t suffer on the path to ‘progress’.
World Communications Day is celebrated in the parishes of England and Wales on Sunday, 21 May 2023.
Read more here.
SubscribeYou can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
Sunday 14 May, the Sixth Sunday of Easter, marks the International Day of Prayer for Eastern Christians.
It's an opportunity to come together to pray for peace in the world – especially in the Middle East. But with so many noble causes competing for our attention, why is it important for us to pray for the Christians of the East with whom we share an indelible link?
And how can we find out more about these Christian communities and the challenges they face? That's the subject of this Catholic News podcast.
We're joined by Dr Harry Hagopian, an International Lawyer with experience in conflict resolution and a consultant on the Middle East North Africa region. Importantly, Harry is an Armenian Christian and was a former Assistant General Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches.
"When we pray for the Christians of the East, what we should say is, 'May thy will be done' and 'thy will' is also the will of the Christians there. They are a self-sustaining community. They have their own problems, they have their own challenges, but they also know their solutions better than we do sitting in the West watching EastEnders or Coronation Street advising them what they should or shouldn't do. That is not being in solidarity. That is religious colonialism.
"What we need to say is, 'I'm with you. We share one common thing, which is Jesus Christ, and therefore I pray so that you have the will, the power and the strength to continue your witness and do what you do, which is continue your life as we do here, but in different circumstances.'"
SubscribeYou can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
Speaking to us shortly after Sunday Mass the day after the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla, Cardinal Vincent Nichols looks back on a day of celebration that showcased plenty of elements familiar to Catholics.
Six Catholic prelates attended the historic coronation, including the Cardinal Secretary of State and the Apostolic Nuncio representing the Holy See, and Cardinal Nichols himself who conferred a blessing on King Charles.
The Cardinal prayed that God may pour upon the King "the riches of his grace, keep you in his holy fear, prepare you for a happy eternity, and receive you at the last into immortal glory."
On this 'Catholic News' podcast, Cardinal Nichols reflects on a remarkable and historic occasion, talking about his role, the Catholic elements of the service, not least the Coronation Choir singing William Byrd's 'Gloria in Excelsis Deo' from the Mass for Four Voices, and why we should pray for the King.
SubscribeYou can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
Bishop Tom Neylon, Lead Bishop for Asia for the Bishops' Conference, has recently returned from a week-long trip to Pakistan from 9-16 March.
He visited a number of projects funded by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need and met with the faithful, priests and bishops in the major cities of Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore and Faisalabad.
The Catholic faithful experience various challenges in Pakistan but the practice rate is extraordinary - over 70% attend Mass.
On this Catholic News podcast, we interview Bishop Neylon about his experiences and encounters.
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Archbishop John Wilson tells us of his 'shock' when he learned Pope Francis had been admitted to hospital with viral bronchitis. Thankfully, the Pope is on the mend and is scheduled to be discharged from Gemelli hospital on Saturday morning.
In this short Catholic News interview, the Archbishop of Southwark reflects on two memorable encounters with Pope Francis and tells us why it's important we keep praying for the Holy Father.
SubscribeYou can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
On today's Catholic News podcast, Archbishop John Wilson joins us to talk about the launch of CARITAS Southwark - a new diocesan Caritas social action charity to help those in need across the south east.
Archbishop Wilson is keen to work collaboratively:
"This is not about a takeover. This is about creating a network whereby there can be a real celebration of good practise, and where new initiatives, especially in parishes and schools, can find support and direction from existing organisations and charities within the church, so that our diocese, within which there is enormous social need, can really start to put the practical gospel of love, of neighbour into practise in a new way.
"Starting small. We're sowing little seeds, but from little seeds come mighty oaks. And mighty oaks give shelter, especially to those who suffer and are in pain and in need. We come with faith and we come with a real desire to sow seeds today that will bear fruit in our practical love of those in need."
SubscribeYou can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
TranscriptThis is Archbishop John Wilson, the Archbishop of Southwark, and I'm very pleased to share news today of the launch of our Caritas Southwark network, which is a new thing for us in the Archdiocese. Today, thanks be to God, following a long process of consultation with people in our parishes and our schools, we've been able to formally launch Caritas Southwark as an agency of the diocese to put the Gospel into practise - to make the Gospel flesh. To reach out to the weakest and the poorest and those in need in our communities and ask the question, what can we do? How can we serve? How can we be the loving presence of Christ, that sees with the heart of Christ and the eyes of Christ, with the compassion of Christ, and meets the needs of people - whether it's to do with food poverty or issues around refugees, whether it's things to do with care of the elderly, we've got projects that we want to explore that look at how we help our young people, especially those who might be tempted, into areas that involve knife crime.
We're very, very keen to work collaboratively and in partnership and also to explore new ways of how we might work together. We've got very good relationships with Pact, for example, that works with prisoners in supporting the link between prisoners and their families. We've got good links with the Manna Society (a day centre for homeless people near London Bridge), which is based here in the diocese and which the diocese already supports.
So this is not about a takeover. This is about creating a network whereby there can be a real celebration of good practise, and where new initiatives, especially in parishes and schools, can find support and direction from existing organisations and charities within the church, so that our diocese, within which there is enormous social need, can really start to put the practical gospel of love, of neighbour into practise in a new way. Starting small. We're sowing little seeds, but from little seeds come mighty oaks. And mighty oaks give shelter, especially to those who suffer and are in pain and in need. We come with faith and we come with a real desire to sow seeds today that will bear fruit in our practical love of those in need.
Great social needIn terms of the challenges to our Caritas project, they're two-fold. One is to actually get enough people to be inspired - to be involved. That's why we need volunteers from our parishes and from our schools working collaboratively with other partner organisations. But we need people to be fired up with a love for Christ that wants to put their faith into action, into practise.
We need people to realise the skills that they have and the talents that they have, and to hear their baptismal call. Because this is not to be a clericalist thing. This really needs the baptised in our diocese, the lay people, the lay faithful of our diocese, to really hear the call of the Lord Jesus, to put their faith into action in a most beautiful way.
One of the challenges is that we need to be able to raise up a desire within people to put faith into practise. A second challenge is to begin to discern the areas where need is to be met. So in our diocese, which is a big diocese across all of South London and Kent and the Medway unitary authority as well, there is great social need. There is poverty in parts of South London, there is homelessness. There are all kinds of ways in which people are isolated, they feel lonely, they find it difficult to access services, many of them are struggling.
There are one-parent families, there are people living with real material needs who can't provide enough electricity and heating for their house, who can't clothe their children. So there's a level at which we can really build relationships on a small scale, one by one, to reach out to people who are in practical need.
RefugeesCompare that, for example, with parts of Kent. Dover is in our diocese. A few months ago, I visited the lifeboat station at the Port of Dover and heard of the incredible work that they have been doing to rescue people who have taken an incredible decision to try and escape persecution, hardship, war in many cases, and cross the Channel. This has been a source of great controversy. There are great political issues at stake here, which to me, really don't face the crucial issue, which is we have people before us who are in desperate need. And if we lose sight of the desperate need of the people, we lose sight of our conscience as a country. So it was incredible to hear the testimonies of those who work on the lifeboats in Dover. They simply said, "Our mission has always been and will always be to save people in danger at sea. We don't ask who they are or where they're from."
I was really, really impressed by that. And they faced a lot of criticism, the lifeboat association, the RNLI, for this work, and to my mind, they are doing incredible work, as are the churches and different community organisations that work to welcome and support refugees in that part of the world.
So, for me, it's really, really important that when we think about the needs of the other, that other has a face and that other has a name and that other has a family, that other could be me one day, it could be you one day. And if we lose sight of that, we may as well just give up and stop living. Because if we lose sight of our common humanity, what is the point of being alive?
It's absolutely essential that we recognise that we are our brother and sister's keeper. At the heart of any issue is a person. And if we lose sight of the person, then we begin to work in a way that is inhuman and that is intolerable. We must always, at the heart, see the person and value and love the person.
The challenges across our diocese are varied. What we want to begin to do is to discern how we move forward locally, using the talents in our schools and our parishes to provide for our community beyond our churches, beyond those who worship. This is not just to be something that is at the service of ourselves. We want to be present in our communities with the love of Christ. However those needs manifest themselves and whatever people come with those needs, we want to be able to say, we will do our best to help.
Our local parishes work in partnership with local refugee groups. And that's very, very important. I think this needs a collaborative approach. It needs people to stand together and it needs people to speak together. And I think the key response is always to cut through politics. Politics matter, of course they do, but politics have to be at the service of the human person and the dignity of the human person.
Politics that isn't at the service of the dignity of the human person is inauthentic. Of course, there are other considerations in all of this. I appreciate that. I'm not naïve. But when a person is in need, the presenting requirement is that we reach out to them.
That, to me, is the fundamental truth of the Gospel. That when a person is in need, my response as a Christian, my response as a human being, is to reach out in love and in support. And there will be issues around all of that which will need resolution. They need humane resolution, not simply isolating people or cutting them off or rejecting them or transporting them elsewhere. That doesn't help anybody. Global solutions need countries to speak to each other and they need partnership and they need a compassion that puts into practise real solutions, not simply knee-jerk reactions that seemingly solve a problem at the expense of the dignity of human life. That, to me, is just preposterous.
Team effortThe invitation for people to collaborate with us is very, very open. If you're listening to this message and you think, "Well, look, I'd like to do something for people in need," please get in touch with your local parish, please get in touch with our Caritas office. If you have a skill that you want to share, whether you are a person of faith or not, if you have a big heart and you want to put love into practise, then we'd be delighted to work with you. This is about us together in our communities for the common good, pooling our resources, pooling our talent, sharing what we have, giving of what we have so that others who don't have can receive more - simple as that.
For me, there's a very basic philosophy at work here, which is sometimes we can do something which is never going to be everything but it's more than nothing. Nothing is not the answer. Something is the answer - even if it's not everything. So we have to have vision and we have to be able to look beyond the impossible to find the possible.
This audiobook, recorded and produced in collaboration with the Catholic Truth Society (CTS), sees us re-visit the 'Victims of the Nazis' series to shine a light on a truly remarkable woman - Edith Stein - who we know and venerate as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.
Born on the Feast of St Wilfred, 12 October 1891, in the then German town of Breslau (now Wroclaw in Poland), Edith Stein was a German Jew who descended to the intellectual heights of atheism, converted to Catholicism and, as a Discalced Carmelite nun, ascended to Mount Carmel to the crystal peaks of mysticism.
Her life on earth ended in the gas chambers of a Nazi concentration camp – which she entered unresisting as an offering to God. Spiritually a giant, in body she was small and frail. At first meeting she often disappointed those who had known her only by her fame as a major contemporary philosopher.
She has many devotees around the world and was declared a saint by Pope Saint John Paul II on 11 October 1998.
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This book was written by Monk Matthew and published by CTS in 2010. It is taken from a collection of texts, published in ebook form, titled: Edith Stein, Marcel Callo, Titus Brandsma: Victims of the Nazis. This audiobook version is read by Monica Nash.
Duration: 38 minutes
ctsbooks.orgYou can visit the CTS website for more on this and other great publications.
Bishop Nicholas Hudson, Chairing his first Holy Land Co-ordination, spoke to us on the eve of his return home from Amman, the capital of Jordan.
He had just spent five days leading a pilgrimage of Bishops from 11 countries around the holy sites of Jordan, as well as visiting some of the Catholic parishes and projects active in the country.
Jordan today hosts more displaced people than almost any other country, offering support for those fleeing violence in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, through the provision of accommodation, skills-training, medical facilities, pastoral care, and advocacy.
"Jordanian people have a real gift for welcome," said Bishop Hudson. "Their welcome to the refugees is deeply touching and they have a deep desire to welcome more pilgrims too. It's a land of joy in the sense that whenever you encounter people, you sense the joy in their hearts."
The Holy Land Co-ordination, based this year in Amman, Jordan, took place from 14-19 January. It is an annual meeting of the Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church of the Holy Land. It focuses on the three Ps: Prayer, Pilgrimage and Persuasion.
Podcast TranscriptIt has been one of the biggest Holy Land Co-ordinations I've known - and I've been on about five of them. I was counting, at our final meeting this evening, I think we were 35 people sitting in a large circle with bishops representing about eleven different countries - it has been a fantastic week. It began with going to the ordination of two young priests. It was really heart-warming to arrive into such an atmosphere and see a beautifully full church.
The next day saw us go down to the River Jordan, to the newly-developed baptismal site - the very place of the Baptism of Our Lord. There was an almost festival atmosphere with the church completely full and the same number of people outside. They reckoned there were some like 6,500 - 7,000 people there. There was an atmosphere that we recognise from our own experience in England and Wales, where people are so happy to be able to come together for that sort of celebration when COVID prevented them doing it for so long.
The following day we had just as touching an experience, but completely different when we spent the morning with Iraqi refugees, and I'll say a little bit more about that later on, but that was deeply touching.
Then we went out to different parishes - about seven different parishes. Bishops, priests and some of the lay members of the Co-ordination go out to different parishes. I went about 100km north of Amman, where we've been based, to go and celebrate Mass in the parish of Ajloun - and deeply touching it was. The contrast between the 6,500 - 7,000 of the day before and the 40 or so people who were in Ajloun was deeply touching. Just as precious in their smallness, and I could see how much it meant to them when I said, "we've come to let you know that you're not forgotten, because we all belong to the one Body of Christ and we will always hold you in our hearts".
The next day, the whole Co-ordination went somewhere completely different - a third of the way down the country to a place called Madaba. There we had a really excellent and informative presentation from Caritas, where they were telling us everything that they've been doing for refugees. And then we went into an actual school and we had addresses from different members of the school, telling us everything that they've been doing to welcome refugees and also local Jordanian Christians and some Muslims into their school.
Then we had one of the most memorable moments from the scriptural topographical aspect of being in Jordan, which was to go up Mount Nebo, which is of course, the place where Moses viewed the Promised Land for the first time. We came off the mountain to go and meet with young people from the Patriarchate in Jordan. The Patriarchate in Jordan has organised a very effective youth leadership scheme and we were all very impressed by their presentation of their work and their vision of youth formation for children and young people across the country of Jordan.
We had an evening with ambassadors the following day and then, on our last full day, it was deeply touching to go and meet children with disabilities and the adults looking after them. Something of an appropriate climax to the week was for us to be able to sit down with the Patriarch, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and we were able to have a 'question and answer' session with him about life, not just in Jordan, but across the whole Holy Land. On our last afternoon, we spent time with Christian parliamentarians working in parliament in Amman - one coming up from Madaba, one based in Amman - came to talk about their vision of Christian life in Jordan.
Q. What will be the main messages that you, as bishops, will be bringing home from the Co-ordination?
What I take away from this week in Jordan is that Jordan is a land of many contrasts. It's a land of welcome, it's a land of joy. We experienced that welcome with the welcome extended towards us. Jordanian people have a real gift for welcome. Their welcome to the refugees is deeply touching and they have a deep desire to welcome more pilgrims too. It's a land of joy in the sense that whenever you encounter people, you sense the joy in their hearts. There was real joy about the liturgies we experienced, there was simply a joy of encounter.
We found a great deal of joy at the pilgrim sites as well, where they were communicating their joy in all that they've done to develop those places in order they hope to welcome more pilgrims to this part of the Holy Land.
It struck me as well, from quite early on, that it's a land of sadness too. There's a lot of sadness in the eyes of the people you meet. Understandably in the eyes of the refugees - Iraqi refugees, who've been here seven or eight years and have been trying time and time again to get a visa, to start a life in another part of the world.
There was a lot of sadness, as well, in the parishioners I met in the parish that I went to for that Mass. When I was talking to the young adults, I asked them, "when you think of those you were at school with here in this town and the young people who were your friends, how many of them have gone away to another country?" And the three people said, and they're all in their early to mid 20s, they said, "do you know… its almost everybody." But they said, "we're going to stay." The joy, which always contrasts with the sadness, came out and they said it with real joy. One said, with a beautiful smile on his face, "my parents are here, so of course I'll stay." Another said, "I'm trained to be a doctor and I want to be a doctor to the people here in Jordan, so I'm staying." So you get this interplay of joy and sadness all the time.
I think, as well, one of the key takeaways for me is the fact that Caritas are doing absolutely wonderful work to welcome refugees, but they're feeling under-resourced and they're feeling that there have been so many waves of different refugee needs that they're not getting as much resource as they did.
In the parishes, the dominant theme was how many of the parishioners are really poor, so that there is a lot of poverty here as well. So if I take away an image of welcome, of joy, but also sadness and one of poverty, actually. Jordan is a place that has been extraordinarily generous in its welcome but is feeling stretched and is beginning to feel a shortage of resources. I would also want to say, very forcibly and positively, that Jordanian people have an instinct for treating their fellow human beings with dignity. This came to me when I was asking the bishop, who is the vicar for this part of the Holy Land for Jordan, I said to him, "Why is Jordan so generous towards refugees?" He said, "Well, it's because we're always generous towards the stranger," and he said it was a beautiful smile on his face. When I probed a little further, in light of what we'd heard from Caritas, and in light of what I heard about the poverty in the indigenous population, he said, "Yes, we have real difficulties because there's 25% unemployment." We heard that there's 50% unemployment among young adults, young people in Jordan. He said, "Jordan's very, very short of water." But then he said, and that beautiful smile came back, "But somehow we manage - somehow we manage to welcome all these people."
I came away from that conversation reflecting on the dignity with which Jordanian people welcome everybody who comes to them and welcome, particularly, those in need. It really contrasts with the lack of dignity that we've seen, and which was actually highlighted in the Advent message of Local Ordinaries for the Holy Land when they were talking about the indignity that comes with the upsurge of violence on the West Bank in recent months with the growth of illegal settlements. There has also been the highest Palestinian death toll in 20 years, so the contrast is very, very marked, actually.
As I stand back from all of that, and prepare to pack my bags to go back home, something that comes to me very forcibly, really, is that countries with plenty need to try to find ways of sharing some of their plenty with a country like Jordan, which is doing everything it can with utmost generosity to welcome those who are in much greater need than they are themselves. Also, let's face it, countries with plenty need to ask themselves, "Can we not take some of the refugees which Jordan has given shelter to?"
I was deeply impressed by Jordan, deeply impressed by the people of Jordan, deeply impressed by the quality of welcome that we've experienced here, and which they show to others.
The words that I will take away in my heart will be, "what dignity."
The Most Reverend John Wilson spoke passionately to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic community in the UK about the disastrous consequences that war has brought to Ukraine.
The Archbishop of Southwark was invited to preach at the Divine Liturgy at the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in central London on Sunday 27 February.
He spoke to us afterwards:
"The gospel today in the Ukrainian liturgy is the gospel of the Last Judgment. Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do it to me, said the Lord Jesus. We must hear these words. They must cut into our hearts.
"They're not just words for Christians, they're words for any decent person, that what we're doing to others, we're doing to Christ. We are misusing the gifts that we have to build up for peace by destroying through war. And so this must cease.
"This is the message of Christ, this is the message of every right thinking person - every right thinking nation. We must say no to war, we must say yes to peace and we must pray. We can feel powerless when we look on. We can give material support. We need to do that individually and as nations and governments, but as believers, as disciples of Christ. We must pray."
In a pastoral letter to the Catholic faithful of his diocese, Plymouth, Bishop Mark O'Toole has urged the community to pick up the spiritual weapons of prayer, fasting and almsgiving this Lent for the people of Ukraine.
This follows Pope Francis’ call to observe Ash Wednesday, 2 March, as a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Peace.
“We all feel somewhat impotent,” said the Chair of the Department of Evangelisation and Discipleship at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales in a Pastoral Message being sent to parishes in the Diocese of Plymouth today. The disciplines of Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving “have a particular focus for us,” he said, “as we link these spiritual weapons to the reality of what we are living through in Europe at this time.“
Speaking at a Mass in Brixton, South London, a week before Racial Justice Sunday, Archbishop John Wilson has talked about how important it is we use the occasion to affirm the dignity and place of every person in the life of the Church.
Stating explicitly that there is no place in the Church for racism and racial injustice, the Archbishop of Southwark said:
"One of the challenges for us is to think not just about the 'heart' in this question of appreciating people of different cultures and nationalities, but also to think about the 'mind'. In a sense, we could say, 'yeah, we've got to love everyone.' I mean, that's true. It comes from the Gospel. It's the commandment of the Lord Jesus. But we also need not just to broaden our hearts, to love, but we need to broaden our minds to understand and to recognise that in the cultures of others, in the languages and traditions of others, there is something enormously enriching for the whole of the world.
"What none of us should do, I think, is live with a very narrow focus, that the world is about 'me' and where I live, my town, my country - it's not - the world is about all of us. We should actually broaden our minds through education, to learn about different traditions."
Racial Justice Sunday is celebrated in parishes throughout England and Wales on Sunday 13 February 2022.
Pope Francis has called for a day of prayer for peace in Ukraine as the threat of Russian troops invading the Eastern European country continues to rise.
Catholics around the world will join in prayer on Wednesday, 26 January.
The Right Reverend Kenneth Nowakowski is the Eparchial Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family of London.
We spoke to Bishop Nowakowski about the alarming situation in Ukraine, the various prayer initiatives and live streams, the history, how we can respond in England and Wales and the long-term pathway to peace.
“We can pray along with the Ukrainian people and people of goodwill throughout the world for peace because it will not only be Ukrainians or Ukrainian citizens who will suffer in this, it’ll also be Russian citizens whose fathers, brothers, husbands will be involved in the fighting and will also be suffering…
“Any form of peace starts at home, in your own heart, in the community that you live in. If we live in a country of peace, if we live in a community of peace, if we live in our homes in peaceful ways, this will affect the way the world also lives. So I think the first thing is to make sure that we are a peaceful people, a peace-loving people, a people that know how to cooperate with each other, that respect each other – that is an example for the world.”
Providing a hot meal and friendly conversation is an act that sits well with those of a Franciscan persuasion. The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal are known for embedding themselves alongside the poor, the homeless and the destitute.
Saint Fidelis Friary, in Canning Town, London, was established in 2000. As part of their work of ‘making all things new in Christ’, the friars provide material and spiritual care to those in need at Friar Benet’s Kitchen.
Listen to Father Christopher McBride CFR and, ‘Clare’, one of the soup kitchen’s volunteers, talk about this vital ministry of service and support.
Pope Francis has given BBC Radio 4 his ‘Thought for the Day’ reflection focussing on the environment and climate change ahead of the COP26 UN climate summit.
Used with kind permission of BBC Radio 4.
Bishop Robert Byrne has recently returned from the week-long International Eucharistic Congress that took place in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Established in 1881, these congresses take place every four years and celebrate the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Bishop Byrne’s diocese, Hexham and Newcastle, is about to embark on a ‘Year of the Eucharist’. It’s an opportunity, he says, to re-connect with the Sacramental Church – Christ in the Eucharist at the source and summit of our Catholic faith.
“We’re having a year of the Eucharist, linked with the synodal process that the Holy Father has asked us to engage with. It’s an opportunity for all of us to reflect on how we listen to the Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit.
“We need to consider how we emerge from the pandemic. What kind of Church do we want to be? A listening Church? An active Church? A Church that’s ready to go to the margins? A Church that is always focused on Christ and can only be fed on Christ? It’s only Christ that adequately feeds us, and we only really get to know Him through the Eucharist.
“That’s why, for me, the Eucharistic year in the Diocese will be one that is feeding people so that they are able to listen to the voice of Christ speaking in their hearts so that we can re-form as it were – re-form and go forward.”
Bishop Byrne acknowledges the role that technology has played over the past 18 months – particularly the live streaming of Mass. He also appreciates that personal and family prayer in the home has strengthened. However, this is not a substitute for our Eucharistic encounter with Christ in our churches.
“Our faith isn’t just a personal devotion – it’s something that we share. We draw strength from each other and, of course, from Christ ultimately. We can only do that really effectively by coming together as God’s family to hear the Word spoken to us and to receive the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist so that we grow together.”
Stella Maris, the Catholic charity that supports seafarers, fishers, and their families, has just completed a year-long celebration of its 100 years of service.
To mark the end of the centenary year, a special Mass was celebrated in St George’s Cathedral, Southwark, on Tuesday, 5 October.
For this podcast, we caught up with Martin Foley, Chief Executive Officer of Stella Maris, and Anne McLaren, Regional Port Chaplain for Hull and Goole.
We’ve all experienced a degree of separation and isolation over the past 18-months as we face the on-going Covid19 pandemic, but, as Anne McLaren points out, this is simply a way of life for seafarers:
“Many seafarers spend up to six to nine months away from home, so they don’t see their families. They don’t have the connection that most of us have with our families every day. So they need a lot of spiritual support.
“We need to remember that in the UK, because we are an island, if seafarers stopped supporting the economy by bringing in all the goods we need – petrol, fuel, grain and the things that are going to be required for Christmas – then we’d soon recognise the vital role of seafarers. But sometimes it’s ‘out of sight, out of mind’ and what we need to do is to support the ministry of seafarers and bring them into the sight of the population.”
Chief Executive, Martin Foley, says that seafarers need our support now more than ever:
“During the pandemic, seafarers have had to put up with a lot of disruption so it’s not a recent phenomenon. At the height of the pandemic, there were 400,000 seafarers stranded at sea, unable to get home. That number has now reduced by approximately 50%, but they’re still experiencing disruption to their lives.
“Some of the disruption that we’re currently experiencing in our supply chains in terms of provision of fuel and food – it’s something that seafarers have had to put up with for 18 months.”
In recent weeks we’ve been raising awareness of a long-running Anglophone conflict in Cameroon that has seen almost a million people displaced. Tragically, many thousands have suffered brutal atrocities – perpetrated by both sides – and at least 3,500 people have been killed. As if this wasn’t enough, a million children have been unable to attend school for four years due to an enforced boycott on education.
Fr Anthony Chantry, National Director of Missio for England and Wales, told us the Church “happily” stands in the middle, bringing people together and providing the consolation of Christ when all seems lost.
Now it’s time for us to listen to the voice of a missionary priest who knows exactly what it’s like on the ground right now.
Father Richard Njoroge is a Mill Hill Missionary based in Anglophone Cameroon.
He serves the innocents stuck in the middle of this conflict – the women, men and children literally caught in the crossfire.
“The only thing people hold on at this time is their faith because it seems everything else has fallen by. Even though there’s a higher sense of insecurity, the churches are still full on Sunday and people will defy all odds to go and pray because they feel their faith still gives them hope.”
The people aren’t easy to reach. Many have fled to the bush to escape the state forces on one side and the Amba Boys on the other.
“I was shocked that a huge population is living in the bush with no shelter – children and women all just lying in the open – it’s a sorry scene… but we go to the bush and gather the Christians together and celebrate the Eucharist there. The Church will go to where the people are.”
Listen to our full interview with Fr Richard Njoroge to learn more about the devastating impact of Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis and how your prayers and support are vital at this time.
The Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon is taking a toll on the country and its people. It’s a long-running conflict, with its roots in colonial times, that is often overlooked by the rest of the world. There’s no real end in sight and the human cost is severe. Almost one million people have been internally displaced, there are frequent reports of atrocities such as kidnappings and use of torture and more than 3,000 have been killed.
On this ‘Catholic News’ podcast we’re speaking to Father Anthony Chantry, Director of Missio, the Church’s overseas mission charity.
Fr Chantry has been visiting the country in the west of central Africa for more than two decades – most recently in 2018.
“I think the big tragedy is that very few people have been unaffected by this. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced. I’ve met them. Some have actually moved to places like Douala, which is in the Francophone area, because it was no longer safe just to live their normal daily lives in the villages, because of the conflict between the military and the Amba Boys.”
The Catholic Church stands happily in the middle of the conflict. Happily as the ‘middle’ is the place from which it’s possible to bring people together.
“The Church’s general message to the population is that the way it’s being handled at the moment – by both sides – is not going to achieve anything except more violence, more deaths, more suffering.
“The people trust the Church and trust what the Church is saying. They don’t trust the government and they probably don’t trust their own leaders up to a point, but they do trust the voice of the Church and will listen to it.”
Pope Francis has given us a new annual day to raise up grandparents and the elderly that will be celebrated, this year, on Sunday 25 July.
So, naturally, the focus of this ‘Catholic News’ podcast falls on the older generation – the “Intensive Prayer Units” of the Church as our guest Bishop David Oakley puts it! Bishop Oakley is the chair of the Bishops’ Committee for Marriage and Family Life.
We’re talking about the value of the elderly and how they play a huge role within the Body of Christ through their prayerful intercession.
Visit our full section on the inaugural Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.
Our focus falls on the Holy Land and particularly Gaza for this podcast as we reflect on the 11-day conflict in May 2021 that had such a devastating impact on the region – particularly on the people of Gaza.
Just weeks after a rather fragile ceasefire, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa visited the small strip of Palestinian land from 14 – 17 June.
On this ‘Catholic News’ podcast we cross to Jerusalem to talk to Sami El-Yousef, Chief Executive Officer of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Sami was part of the delegation to Gaza and shares his reflections.
The tension in the Holy Land between Israel and Palestine has escalated alarmingly with the tangible fear of all-out war and death and destruction already in the air.
The Gaza Strip – that beleaguered Palestinian territory on the east coast of the Mediterranean bordering Israel and Egypt – is bearing the brunt of the conflict.
Gaza is suffering daily and nightly bombings, rockets are also being launched into Israel. As usual it is the people caught in the middle – men, women and children – who are suffering.
This morning we spoke to the Parish Priest of the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, Father Gabriel Romanelli. His community is very small, 133 people, but very active and they extend their support beyond the Christian Arab community to their Muslim neighbours.
The tension is palpable and the parish compound stands ready to offer refuge to those who might find themselves in need.
Today sees us bring forth the final interview of our four-podcast series looking forward to the historic visit of Pope Francis to Iraq – the first of any pope to the country.
Our guest is the Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Hadiab-Erbil – Archbishop Nizar Semaan.
Archbishop Nizar was ordained Archbishop in his home city of Qaraqosh in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in 2019.
The church, the biggest in the Nineveh Plain, was severely damaged by Islamic State fighters six years ago but, now, in 2021, it returns to the wider world’s gaze for the right reasons.
Pope Francis will pray the Angelus in the Church of the Immaculate Conception now crowned with a new statue of Mary placed on the reconstructed bell tower, which had been demolished by the terrorists.
So much to talk to Archbishop Nizar about.
In just a week’s time, Pope Francis will touch down in Baghdad for his historic visit to Iraq – the first of any Pope to the country.
The Holy Father has a busy schedule and will travel the length of Iraq to stand in solidarity with the country’s Christians and, under the theme of the visit ‘You are all brothers’, all Iraqis.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols visited Erbil in the north in April 2015 – less than a year after ISIS insurgents swept through the region taking Iraq’s second city Mosul, wreaking havoc and killing and displacing thousands.
On this Catholic News podcast, Cardinal Nichols speaks to us about his strong memories from the visit – not to mention the people he met and the church-run projects he witnessed in action.
The country and its people are still firmly in his heart.
Watch We have a film version with lots of still images on YouTube.
Our ‘Catholic News’ podcast episodes are coming thick and fast from COVID-19 lockdown and today we’re carrying on from where we left off last time. Our focus remains on Pope Francis and his historic visit to the Iraq – the first by any pope to the country.
Last time we looked to the capital Baghdad and the Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, Cardinal Louis Sako. For this podcast, we head north to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Our guest is an ebullient and purposeful Chaldean leader – Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda – a man well known to us in the UK as he has visited many times drawing our attention to the plight of Christians in the country.
In this interview we learn more about the preparations for the Papal Visit – particularly in light of COVID-19 – the realities facing the Christians in the north and his oh-so-realistic hopes for the future.
Pope Francis will travel to the Middle East for his first oversees trip since the outbreak of Covid-19.
The Holy Father will make an historic journey to Iraq, the first ever Papal Visit to the country, from 5 – 8 March 2021.
The Pope will travel the country, south to north, visiting a people who have suffered greatly in recent decades. It’s a visit for the Christians, certainly, but it’s also a visit for all Iraqis.
Our guest for today’s ‘Catholic News’ podcast will greet the Pope when he touches down in Baghdad.
His Beatitude Cardinal Louis Sako is Archbishop of Baghdad and Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans.
With just a few weeks to go, we find out how the preparations are going and learn about the plight of the Christians in Iraq, the history of Christianity in the country and how and its people are recovering from decades of war and persecution.
Bishop William Kenney is one of the longest-serving bishop delegates of the Holy Land Co-ordination – an annual pilgrimage of Bishops to the lands of Christ.
As such, he’s able to give us a brief history lesson at the start of our ‘Catholic News’ podcast and points out that he’s only missed one year in the past 17 – including the turbulent years of the Second Palestinian Intifada.
Bishop Kenney talks about the people of the region, the prospect of peace and the role the Catholic Church plays in supporting the wider community in the Holy Land – not just the Christians.
The mission of the Church has always been to help people in need – not just the Christian community:
“The point you take here is ‘need’ – not whether you’re Muslim, Christian, a non-believer. The same is true of our schooling. Our schools in the Holy Land are open to many other children – mainly Muslim children but there’d be no problem with Jewish children coming as well within the area of Israel.
“Always, as we do in this country, we offer schooling first of all to Catholics but then the places are open to others – it’s not discriminatory. The Catholic church has always invited everybody to come.
“I always used to say, when I was leading Caritas in Europe, in the instructions we had, it said we were to help people in need. And then there was a very important full stop. There was no other qualification other than ‘need’ when it comes to helping people. That’s still the case. The Church is still carrying that mission out – and I’m proud of it.”
Having taken part in this year’s virtual ‘Holy Land Co-ordination’ pilgrimage, Bishop William Nolan, the Catholic Bishop of Galloway in Scotland, reflects that he is “sad but hopeful” after five days of remote meetings.
A regular on the annual pilgrimage of Bishops to the Holy Land, a group that represents the Church in standing with the Christian community of the lands of Christ, Bishop Nolan laments the social problems and lack of justice facing the people of the region – aggravated this year by the Covid pandemic.
But he is inspired by the Christians of the Holy Land and feels they provide, in their witness, much that is needed for peace. They are good people who are just trying to live as best they can without resentment or bitterness.
This excellent reflection from Bishop Nicholas Hudson, looking back on this year’s Holy Land Co-ordination, gives his thoughts on the virtual pilgrimage of bishops from around the world to the lands of Christ.
The Holy Land Co-ordination is an annual pilgrimage to support the Christians and people of the region but this year was a remote gathering due to travel restrictions needed to combat the spread of Covid-19.
Bishop Hudson is an auxiliary Bishop for the Diocese of Westminster and was representing England and Wales as well as COMECE – the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the EU.
Archbishop Patrick Kelly, retired Archbishop of Liverpool and former Chair of the Holy Land Co-ordination, is our guest for this ‘Catholic News’ podcast.
He joins us to talk about his many pilgrimages to the lands of Christ and his ‘hope’ for peace in the Holy Land – something that, he believes, demands resurrection not resuscitation.
Archbishop Patrick took part in a virtual 2021 Holy Land Co-ordination from 16-21 January – COVID restrictions rightly preventing the group from travelling.
The Holy Land Co-ordination is a prayerful annual pilgrimage of bishops from around the world to the region to stand in solidarity with the two peoples of three religions – particularly the Christians, the ‘Living Stones’.
Things are currently bleak. Pilgrims would normally inject some much-needed cash into the local economies of towns in the West Bank but there are no visitors walking the streets, praying at the key sites and buying goods. There’s also a question mark surrounding the COVID vaccination and Palestinians having the required access to get inoculated.
Hope not optimism Archbishop Patrick is not optimistic, but he is hope-filled. He says the challenge is hold a “dream beyond possibilities”.
Listen to our podcast for more.
On today’s ‘Catholic News’ podcast we’re joined by the long-term chair of what’s called the Holy Land Co-ordination – a prayerful annual pilgrimage of bishops from around the world to the land of Christ’s life and ministry.
Bishop Declan Lang, Catholic Bishop of Clifton, like his fellow delegates, had to engage in this year’s pilgrimage remotely due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The bishops met from 16 – 21 January online.
They heard time and again, particularly when discussing the current realities in Gaza, how Church-run organisations like hospitals, schools and charities, are punching well above their weight serving the wider community beyond the church walls. In Gaza, for example, the Catholic organisation Caritas facilitates 61% of all healthcare home visits in this Palestinian territory of 2m people. There are only 1,077 Christians in that number – of which 132 are Latin Catholics.
“It’s the model of the church as servant, as a servant to people in need,” syas Bishop Declan. “This love of neighbour is a very practical form of Christianity. Perhaps that’s what we need in the Church in Western Europe – to become a ‘servant church’ – a church that is there to serve the wider community and its needs.”
Bishop Declan Lang also talks about the prospect of peace in the region and where, despite the bleak outlook, we can find hope for the future.
It's winter and Christmas season is almost upon us. But the anticipation of the Coming of Christ - not to mention the festive cheer - is set, this year, to a backdrop of COVID-19 with many of us separated and isolated.
So it'll be a different Christmas in households across England and Wales but let's not forget it's always a hard time of year for those without the warmth and shelter of a home.
The St Vincent de Paul Society - the SVP as it's known - has addressed some of these acute needs by producing 11,500 life-saving packs of useful items for the homeless.
Vinnie Packs, as they're called, provide cold weather essentials for people sleeping rough on our streets.
The packs are distributed by the charity's volunteers but some of our Catholic schools have joined in to do their bit to help the homeless.
One such school is St Paul's Catholic Primary and Nursery School in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire.
This 'Catholic News' podcast on food poverty was recorded just before the second national lockdown in England to tackle the spread of COVID-19.
Food poverty is a real issue just now - especially as many have lost their jobs, the economy is stretched and job security is a major cause of anxiety. An increasing number of people rely on food banks to feed their families.
Catholic charities, parishes and volunteers have a big role to play. They also work closely with other organisations whose mission it is to feed the poorest and most vulnerable in our society.
In this podcast we look at two North London food banks that are making a real difference to their local communities.
Catholic Social Teaching is often described as the ‘jewel in the crown’ for Catholics. At this time when communities are coming together to act in solidarity to battle the spread of COVID-19, Catholic Social Teaching would seem more relevant than ever.
Churches are closed, friends are separated, the elderly and vulnerable are self-isolating - some away from their families - and the rest of us are on lockdown to protect the herculean efforts of the NHS as the virus reaches its peak in the UK.
Professor Jim McManus is Director of Public Health for Hertfordshire and has been helping guide the Catholic Church's response to COVID-19.
He talks to us about the vital guiding principles of solidarity, subsidiarity and upholding the common good to protect the most vulnerable in our society.
"We often neglect what's called 'horizontal subsidiarity' - the skills of good citizenship. The skills we learn of participating, of helping one another out, of good behaviour, of pro-social behaviour. This is the time when these networks of skills and goodwill are most needed.
"The 'soft skills' we need as a society are the things we need to practice. So 'horizontal subsidiarity' absolutely comes in. It is derived, theologically, from a duty we owe one another in justice - as fellow creatures - and we should follow that."
Our latest podcast again features Professor Jim McManus who's Hertfordshire County Council's Director of Public Health and a key contributor to the Catholic Church's Healthcare Reference Group.
Now, sadly, we've had to suspend public acts of worship, Jim gives us an update and offers some dos and don'ts when it comes to self-isolation and social distancing.
We talk about how we can all stay safe and how when we protect ourselves, we protect others - particularly the most vulnerable and those who are not in a position to work from home.
There's an understandable level of anxiety generated whenever anyone talks about Coronavirus and the global impact of COVID-19. But what is always needed is clear information and a sensible approach to containing, delaying and coping with the virus.
Professor Jim McManus joins us today to discuss COVID-19 and how we can all do our bit to combat the spread and keep ourselves safe - especially the most vulnerable members of our society.
Jim is the Director of Public Health for Hertfordshire and Vice President of Directors of Public Health. He is also a key contributor to the Bishops' Conference Healthcare Reference Group and worked on our Coronavirus guidelines for Catholics.
We're into the new year and it's well worth remembering that Christmas doesn't end on Boxing Day as everyone looks to move on rather too quickly.
Canon Christopher Thomas concludes our series of six Advent and Christmas reflections by looking at what is revealed to us at the great Feast of the Epiphany - namely God incarnate as Jesus Christ, dwelling among us.
Of course the magi - the wise men - come into focus but also the star that leads the way: "In its shining - the star calls to all people 'Here is your king - the child to save you from your sins'."
Let's celebrate that "He is God with us, He is the light of the world" and bear in mind that the Christmas season continues for a full 40 days - right up to the 'Presentation of Jesus at the Temple'.
As Advent - the great season of anticipation and preparation - draws to a close we arrive at the crib to celebrate Christ among us - the Word made flesh. Canon Christopher Thomas offers us a thought-provoking Christmas reflection.
Silence lies at the heart of the ultimate Christmas gift, yet to speak of silence means to destroy it - to take away the peace.
Trust is in relatively short supply these days. As we arrive at the fourth and final Sunday of Advent, we look at the extraordinary bonds of trust we see in the Nativity story. Joseph trusted Mary, Mary trusted God - both turned away from the judgements of society.
For the Third Sunday of Advent Peter and John The Baptist come into focus for Canon Christopher Thomas in his Advent reflection. Peter's confidence and John's doubts stem from the extent to which they 'know' Jesus.
Jesus is the one we come to worship - week in, week out. We have great tools for this - the generations of Catholics who have gone before us, the lives of the saints, our history as the Catholics of England. Above all we have the Holy Scriptures and prayer.
For Advent 2019, as the Church enters a new year, we're bringing you four seasonal reflections from Canon Christopher Thomas, General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. Second Sunday of Advent.
For Advent 2019, as the Church enters a new year, we're bringing you four seasonal reflections from Canon Christopher Thomas, General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. First Sunday of Advent.
Archbishop John Wilson, the Catholic Archbishop of Southwark, spoke to journalists assembled in London for the post-Bishops' plenary meeting press conference.
The media gathering focused on the forthcoming General Election and a number of matters concerning human dignity and justice.
The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales met in Leeds from 25-28 November 2019.
"No chaplains, no army" is a quote attributed to General Sir Peter de la Billière - commander of British forces during the first Gulf War in the early 1990s. It's a sentiment that aptly highlights the high regard in which military chaplains are held. Whether serving in the army, navy or air force, they really are indispensible to the service men and women who put themselves in harm's way for their country.
The Catholic Bishop of the Forces, the Right Reverend Paul Mason, spoke to us on Armistice Day 2019. He was speaking after a Mass of remembrance in Westminster Cathedral.
"It's important to give honour to those who have given of themselves so we can live and enjoy the freedoms that we do. It's not just a question of remembering. For us, as Catholics, it's so important that not only do we remember, but we pray for those who have died. We believe our prayers can help them, just as their prayers can help us."
For today's Catholic News podcast we turn our attention to the Middle East - the region of Christ's birth, ministry, death and resurrection.
Our studio guest is an experienced commentator on regional realities. Ziad El-Sayegh is the Policies and Communications advisor to the Middle East Council of Churches and has been in the UK talking to some of our bishops about the work of the council and the challenges facing the the Christian communities in the Middle East.