Given at Westminster Cathedral at the Mass opening the diocesan phase of the listening journey on Saturday 16 October 2021 Cardinal Vincent NicholsArchbishop of WestminsterE very Catholic diocese in the world is invited, this weekend, to launch its ‘Synodal Pathway’, a journey of mutual listening and discernment. We can’t be left out! This is the Pope’s
This month, October 2021, an ‘Assisted Dying’ Bill will receive its Second Reading, with full debate, in the House of Lords. If successful, it will enable terminally ill adults with less than six months to live, assistance to commit suicide. Pope Francis has said that, ‘Physician-assisted suicide is part of a “throwaway culture” that offers
Fr Stephen Wang, a priest of the Diocese of Westminster and recently appointed Rector of the Venerable English College, Rome has just published a new book: Sycamore: The Catholic Faith Explained (London, CTS: 2021 [ISBN 978 1 78469 616 0]). It has 20 short chapters that explain the central beliefs and practices of Catholic Christianity
Cardinal Vincent Nichols has issued the pastoral letter below which focuses on Pope Francis’ call for us to become a “synodal Church”. This will involve a process that will begin in local churches (i.e., parishes and dioceses) and concluding with a synod of bishops from all over the world in 2023. In the first stage,
Feast Day: 23 September Padre Pio was born on 25 May 1887 in Pietrelcina, southern Italy. He was tutored privately until his entry to the novitiate of the Capuchin Friars at the age of 15. Of feeble health but strong will, with the help of grace, he completed the required studies and was ordained a
This Friday, 24 September, is the Memorial of Our Lady of Walsingham. The story of Walsingham is enchanting. For it was in that tiny Norfolk village in the year 1061 that a noble lady called Richeldis had visions of the Blessed Virgin. In prayer, Our Lady showed her the Holy House of Nazareth, the home
The Right Revd David Oakley, Bishop of Northampton gave a ‘Pause for Thought’ reflection on the twentieth anniversary of 9/11. Bishop Oakley answered the question: ‘Where Were You When…’. Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Monday 6 September, you can listen to Bishop David’s reflection on the BBC website. Below is the full text.
Bishop John Sherrington, auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, writes to ask our prayers, advocacy and action to thwart Baroness Meacher’s ‘Assisted Dying Bill 2021’ coming before the House of Lords: Full letter In the next weeks, we face an unprecedented attack on the sanctity of life with Baroness Meacher’s ‘Assisted Dying Bill 2021’ which received its
Wednesday, 8 September, is the feast day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – a great day to go to Mass, if you can. The Church has celebrated Mary’s birth since at least the sixth century. A September birth was chosen because the Eastern Church begins its Church year with September. The 8
It’s September and our younger parishioners are making their way back to school again for a new school year. Our thoughts and prayers go especially with those in our community who are starting in a new school for the first time! Church is also “back”, after so many restrictions brought on by the pandemic. Understandably,
