Features this week

A recipe for change at Eccleston Square
The new general secretary of the English and Welsh bishops’ conference is a formidable cook, discovers Mark Greaves

Fr Marcus Stock, left, on the bishops’ ad limina to Rome Mazur/catholicchurch.org.uk

‘Young Catholics are hungry for meaning’
The Catholic Youth Ministry Federation aims to rejuvenate the Church’s work with young people. Anna Arco attends its first ever congress

A grandmother’s guide to going to Confession
Before Nicole Hall died she wrote three books for her grandchildren about her love for the Catholic faith. We publish an extract from the first

Older features

'One has to speak the truth regardless'
Rory Fitzgerald meets the controversial former Bishop of Rochester and unofficial leader of conservative Anglicans

Witnessing a new dawn of the spirit in Walsingham
Peter Stanford embarks on a 21st Century pilgrimage to Walsingham

The Lord is there in our suffering
There is an insistent urgency in the Gospel passage of the third Sunday in Lent writesMgr William Shomali

‘John Paul the Great was a true prophet’
Joanna Bogle speaks to Brian Gail about his novel Fatherless, a word-of-mouth sensation that challenges the ‘culture of death’

How Newman read the Bible
Fr Henry Wansbrough OSB describes the cardinal’s response to the challenges of modern exegesis

The Order of Malta’s next mission
After its sterling work in Haiti, the order is tackling Britain’s care crisis, says John Jolliffe

A little Spirit, and a lot of perspiration
Catholic pianist Christopher Langdown tells Ed West that St Peter's failings inspired him to compose - but the rest was hard graft

Art for art's sake
The world of art needs the Church as much as the Church needs the world of art, says Webster Young

Another stunning twist in the Boffo case
Pope Benedict XVI has been dragged into a mystifying scandal involving an Italian Catholic newspaper editor, says Desmond O'Grady

Nigeria's Christians are on a knife-edge
After last month's sectarian riots, Fr Alex Longs explains why life is becoming increasingly hard for Christians in the mainly Islamic north

Heaven's hounds
Do dogs go to heaven? Well, it wouldn't be paradise without them, says Angelo Stagnaro

A new English translation? Amen to that
The objections to the new English translation of the Missal fall apart upon close inspection, says liturgical publisher John Newton

Rescued from racism by the love of GK
At 20 the National Front's youth leader was sent to jail. Today Joseph Pearce is a leading Catholic writer. Ed West talks to him

Meet the most heroic priests of our age
In the Year of Priests John Pontifex of Aid to the Church in Need hails the 'tireless and hidden service' given by priests around the world

John Paul II: teacher of Christ's Passion
Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith says we shouldn't be disturbed by the revelation that John Paul II mortified himself

Two years in Middlesbrough
Last Wednesday Bishop Drainey completed his second year as Bishop of Middlesbrough. James Preece meets him

Vatican II: a triumph of naïve optimism?
Author Moyra Doorly and theologian Aidan Nichols continue to discuss the merits of the Society of St Pius X's critique of the modern Church

How we lost control of sex education
Eric Hester challenges the Catholic Education Service to prove that Catholic school governors remain in charge of sex education policy

In Russia, the path to unity
is defrosting
Neville Kyrke-Smith has visited Eastern Europe for the past 25 years. Now, he believes the end of the schism with the Orthodox is in sight

Catholics and Jews: learning to disagree
Some commentators argue that Catholic-Jewish relations are at an all-time low. In fact they have attained a new maturity, says Anna Arco

'He changed history through prayer'
Paolo Gambi meets a distinguished Italian politician who has made an intensely moving film about Pope John Paul II

The Anglo-Catholic myth
Robert Ian Williams replies to an article arguing that Anglo-Catholicism is the authentic Anglicanism

How to avoid the 'congregational shuffle'
Parishes should ditch 'third-rate nursery rhymes', says composer Colin Mawby, and use only the best modern congregational music

It's as if you are really seeing the Passion
Katy Hounsell-Robert goes behind the scenes as villagers prepare for the 2010 performance of the world's most celebrated Passion play

The sedia gestatoria would protect the Pope
Security expert Dominic Scarborough urges the Vatican to draw on tradition to prevent a repeat of the Midnight Mass attack on Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI and the Christ Child
Leading US Catholic writer Amy Welborn says the Pope's brilliantly perceptive reflections on the birth of Our Saviour can help us to deepen our appreciation of the truth and promise of Christmas

'Dialogue with Islam is vital and possible'
Cardinal Francis George of Chicago tells Edward Pentin about evangelisation and his vision of harmony with Muslims

We remain the Church of Tradition
Following their exchange in October, author Moyra Doorly and theologian Aidan Nichols discuss what true fidelity to Tradition
consists of

'The Church is always one step ahead'
Gabriel Byrne talks to Gabrielle Donnelly about the Irish and Freud

'It is amazing to be the son of a saint'
St Gianna Beretta Molla died to give life to her daughter. Edward Pentin spoke to her son about his mother's inspiring legacy

'I will never forget their faces'
Timothy Sowula joins four British teenagers as they discover the plight of Nigeria's mothers-to-be

Anglo-Catholics do have a real patrimony
Anthony Reader-Moore responds to Catholics who suggest that Anglicans considering the Pope's offer have no true tradition of their own

Meet the English bishop
who taught Marx
Bishop William Kenney talks to Luke Coppen about his working-class boyhood, Swedish academic life and dodging bullets in East Timor

'I am not exceeding my authority'
The chief prosecutor tells Andrew M Brown that his guidelines on assisted suicide will not endanger lives

Darwin's idea has cost lives
The naturalist is a secular saint yet he has left a legacy of mass sterilisation and murder, argues Dennis Sewell

Why the sign of Our Lady reigns over Europe
When secularists parade with the European Union flag they are unwittingly honouring the Immaculate Conception, says Angelo Stagnaro

A faithful fighter for penal reform
Rachel Billington tells Hugh David why she is following in the footsteps of her father, prison reformer Lord Longford

Robert Burns, an ecumenical poet
As Scotland marks Burns's 250th birthday, Gerard Carruthers points to his warm relationship to Catholicism

Why girls love chaste Edward Cullen
The vampire hero of the Twilight series shows a deeply appealing restraint when faced with temptation, says Sophie Caldecott

‘Politics can’t avoid spiritual questions’
Greg Watts meets the philosopher causing a stir by arguing that faith should not be excluded from democratic debate

The black nobility still serves St Peter
The ancient Roman families allied to the papal court are less powerful than they once were but are still a force, says Edward Pentin

This is what it takes to become a saint
With Cardinal Newman’s Cause in the news Christopher Keeffe considers the qualities that are required for canonisation

Can the Church win over the art world?
Later this month the Pope will meet 262 leading cultural figures in the Sistine Chapel. Mark Greaves asked 11 Catholic artists for their thoughts

'The Catholics have someone who cares'
Inside Nigeria's jails the Church is offering hope to people abandoned even by their families, finds Sister Janet Fearns

'I am not fazed by military life'
On the eve of Remembrance Sunday Ed West meets the 'straight down the line' new Bishop of the Forces

This offer was 400 years in the making
Fr Michael Rear says that new provisions for the reception of Anglicans should not surprise those who are familiar with English history

Preaching the Beatitudes to the Stasi
Simon Cole tells the little-known story of the Lutheran Church's role in co-ordinating opposition to Communism in the key city of Leipzig

'New Labour sees the Church as a rival'
As Bonfire Night approaches Ed West meets 'Guido Fawkes', the Catholic blogger who humiliated the Government

Is the SSPX right about the liturgy?
Following their exchange in July, author Moyra Doorly and theologian Aidan Nichols discuss the merits of post-Vatican II liturgical reform

Good Catholics should not wear aprons
Fr Ashley Beck says the Church teaches clearly that Freemasonry and Catholicism are incompatible

'We are always missing the other half'
Anna Arco meets the blogger who is successfully bridging the ideological divide in the American Catholic Church

Bishop Bernard through a friend's eyes
Fr Michael Seed has known the Archbishop-Elect of Birmingham for almost a quarter of a century. Here, he offers a light-hearted portrait

Pilgrims on a popcorn-strewn path
John Pungente SJ says that when we go to the local multiplex cinema we are often unconsciously seeking spiritual enlightenment

The Church that grew out of crayons
Michael Coren's heart sank when he first encountered Canadian Catholicism. But today he is proud of the country's vibrant Catholic life

This Sunday, you have a chance to save lives
Sister Janet Fearns FMDM says that your donations to World Mission Sunday will support nearly 200,000 schools and 5,000 hospitals

The abbey that revolution could not destroy
With English support, an abbey seized in the French Revolution is once again a centre of traditional religious life, reports Will Heaven

'Tolerating intolerance is not a virtue'
Ed West meets the extraordinary Egyptian convert warning Europeans not to abandon their Judeo-Christian heritage

The Britons who inspired Benedict XVI
Britain may be small, but its saints, theologians and sceptical philosophers have left a deep impression on the Pope, says Anna Arco

Why pills aren't making us any happier
On the eve of World Mental Health Day, James Le Fanu explores why more and more Britons are prescribed anti-depressants

'I am stepping out of time into eternity'
Late last year Tony Foley, a 41-year-old tax adviser, was told he had terminal cancer. In this frank account he explains how he has coped

Berlusconi: a friend of the Church?
Desmond O'Grady says the relationship between Church and state in Italy is under severe strain following the 'Boffo affair'

'Happiness comes from self-giving'
America's leading priest online tells Andrew M Brown that Catholics must do more to show the beauty of the faith

'Soon there will be no Christians left'
The Patriarch of Jerusalem tells Ed West that the only thing that will keep the faithful in the Holy Land is a lasting peace

Why a prayer a day keeps the doctor away
Quentin de la Bédoyère says there is a wealth of evidence suggesting that the devout lead healthier and happy lives than non-believers

'We are squeezed so that rich nations prosper'
On the eve of the G20 summit Fr Joe KomaKoma, a Zambian bishops' conference official, says poverty is literally killing his fellow countrymen

'I wasn't born to be a movie star'
The Mexican film star Eduardo Verástegui tells Anna Arco that discovering the emptiness of fame led him to his life's true calling

Face it: most Anglicans are happy as they are
Ex-Anglican Fr Ashley Beck takes issue with a recent article suggesting that Anglo-Catholics are ready to stream across the Tiber

Vera's story must be a warning to us all
As doctors fear 'euthanasia by the back door' Felicity Smart describes her chilling experience when a elderly neighbour entered hospital

How I woke up from spiritual slumber and inched at a snail's pace to Rome
Former Telegraph proprietor Conrad Black was an agnostic until his 20s, but, after trips to Rome, Lourdes and Fatima, he found he could not shut out a sense of God

'Islam is in no sense Europe's religion'
With post-Christian Europe facing demographic disaster, Ed West speaks to the unlikely American prophet of our doom

Young singers full of passion and sincerity
BBC presenter Petroc Trelawny on a Prom season
spent in the crumb-covered bowels of the Albert Hall

Thérèse of Lisieux: The greatest saint of modern times
Peter Stanford travels to the home of St Thérèse of Lisieux ahead of her relics' highly anticipated month-long tour of England and Wales

A 'bad boy' who championed the poor
Edward Kennedy, a quintessential liberal with deep personal vices, symbolised the rise of Catholicism in America, says Freddy Gray

The family who defied the taint of treason
The story of the Throckmortons is the story of a country cut like a knife by the Reformation, says David Starkey

Letters to a non-believer
An extract from Fr Thomas Crean OP's new book

Stonework that reaches for the light
John Haldane celebrates the artistry and profound spirituality of Gothic architecture

'Top managers are not nasty people'
Distinguished social scientist Sister Helen Alford tells Edward Pentin why she hopes the Pope has rattled the consciences of business leaders

Sisters at the crossroads
Anna Arco reports on the visitation of American female religious orders

'We have so many uncanonised martyrs'
Christians in Pakistan are living in daily fear of violence from extremists, writes Sister Janet Fearns

'It's not my job to preach in the canteen'
A veteran Metropolitan police officer, Sgt Andrew Bayes, tells Mark Greaves that the service is a hotbed for vocations to the diaconate

The truth about Pius and the Nazi 'ratlines'
There is no reason to believe the pope was complicit, says Guy Walters

'Now, if I read that I'm remote...'
Bishop Bernard Longley talks to Luke Coppen

'The Church helps everyone'
Ed West meets the people at the sharp end of the homelessness crisis

Miracles happen - even to hard-headed lawyers
Dwight G Duncan listens to Jack Sullivan's moving account of his healing through Cardinal Newman's intercession

'A Jesuit would have sorted me out'
Ed West discusses faith, feminism and Dawkins with Sarah Dunant, the author of this summer's most talked-about religious novel

Zimbabwe's suffering goes underground
Although the supermarkets are full again and the banks secure life in Zimbabwe remains as hard as ever, discovers Nana Anto-Awuakye

The British Sister who became a Holocaust hero
Anna Arco uncovers the story of an Englishwoman declared Righteous Among the Nations

John Ryan: a great Christian gentleman
Luke Coppen remembers the Herald cartoonist

'It's as if single people are invisible'
Jack Carrigan meets a single Catholic who has found a spiritual family in the L'Arche communities of central Europe

'The most important thing that a parent can do is to remain faithful themselves'
Archbishop Nichols speaks to Luke Coppen about the burden of leadership, his advice for Catholic parents, seeking God - and praying for his enemies

The Indian saint who blazed her own path
St Alphonsa is known as 'India's St Thérèse', says Jacob Ignatius, but despite the similarities she offers distinctive spiritual insights

'Who's there for them?'
Greg Watts talks to a De La Salle Brother who counsels the suicidal

Benedict gives social teaching an injection of theology
Fr Aidan Nichols says there is more genuine Christian doctrine in the Pope's new encyclical than in Paul VI's 1967 letter Populorum Progressio

The Pope has set us a challenge. Will we rise to it?
Benedict XVI's encyclical encourages Catholics to see that life issues, peace and justice can never be separated, says economist Philip Booth

How to see the greatest play on earth
Oberammergau's Passion play is so authentic that actors are not allowed to wear false beards, wigs or make-up, says Conal Gregory

Time travel in the cradle of civilisation
Two thousand years after St Paul's birth Syria is still home to a thriving Christian centre where Christ's language is spoken, finds Ed West

'You can feel all the years of prayers here'
Opposite the Pope's summer residence Andrew M Brown discovers an ancient religious house catering especially for British visitors

'I've already planned my Requiem'
Novelist Wendy Perriam tells Peter Stanford that she maintains a strong emotional bond with the Church despite drifting away

Rome and the SSPX: a very puzzling dialogue
When Moyra Doorly began to wonder if the SSPX is right about Vatican II she asked leading theologian Aidan Nichols to address her doubts
Letter from a confused Catholic
Reply to a confused Catholic

'Good Hebridean food - it's so easy'
Carolyn Reynier meets one of Britain's oldest priests who rises at five and does all his own cooking in his remote island parish

'They pick up the phone and threaten you'
Anna Arco meets two Colombian women who help to protect the country's journalists as they engage in dangerous investigative reporting

The triumph of the 'less beautiful' sister
Leonie Caldecott honours the less famous sister of Thérèse, who could be the patron of those persisting against almost impossible odds

The Chinese PM who became a Catholic priest
Roy Peachey tells the amazing story of the patriot who refused to sign the Versailles Treaty then dramatically embraced the monastic life

This will be a cause of rejoicing for everyone
We begin our celebration of the Year for Priests, which starts today, with the help of a Catholic priest, an Anglican vicar and a religious Sister

'When I was young I was nasty and cynical'
Piers Paul Read talks to Tom Teodorczuk about his new thriller

The seminary set in a sea of extremism
Fr Khalid Yousaf describes the challenges of running a major seminary in Lahore, a city that is a global hotspot of Islamic radicalism

A reluctant poet touched by the 'hand of fire'
Donal McMahon explains why he teaches seminarians at Maynooth the story of Caedmon, the labourer who struggled to find his voice

Religious freedom is under attack in Britain
By Neil Addison

Cardinal Hume, as his friends remember him
The nation mourned when the Archbishop of Westminster died 10 years ago. Here, the people who knew him best recall his holiness and humour

'Journalism is a very moral trade'
The editor of the Independent tells Mark Greaves why he admires Pope John Paul II and can't stand militant atheists

Would ET shake his faith? Not at all
The head of the Vatican Observatory tells Edward Pentin that the faithful do not need to fear the existence of alien life forms

The holiness of Chesterton
An essay by William Oddie

Mary Tudor and the 'theatre of justice'
In our final extract from his new book Eamon Duffy argues that the queen's campaign against heresy wasn't as merciless as some claim

From persuasion to force
Eamon Duffy challenges the conventional verdict on Mary Tudor

Joseph Haydn, a composer for grown-ups
On the 200th anniversary of Haydn's death Damian Thompson discusses the elusive appeal of this delightful composer

'I try to serve the Pope with all my heart'
Andrew M Brown meets the Pope's embattled spokesman, the kindly Italian Fr Lombardi

'I can't live like I'm dead already'
Andrew M Brown talks to a 24-year-old with inoperable brain cancer who is hoping to start seminary this year

Amid Chelsea's hubbub, a pilgrim's rest
For better or worse this year's Chelsea Flower Show reflects the prevailing national spirit of austerity, says Jill, Duchess of Hamilton

The secularists are wrong about us
The National Secular Society insists that hospital chaplains are a waste of money. A Catholic chaplain, writing anonymously, responds

'I believe that God protects us all'
Archbishop Nichols's press secretary tells Luke Coppen that his brushes with death help him keep problems in perspective

Britain is ready for a new 'Catholic moment'
With our country in a deep political and economic crisis thinkers are once again turning to the Church for answers, says Stratford Caldecott

Byzantium with a twist of mulberry silk
Christina White visits the legendary clerical outfitters creating new vestments for the installation of Archbishop Vincent Nichols

Fear and loathing in the Holy Land
Jill, Duchess of Hamilton, reports from Jerusalem on preparations for the Pope's visit to Israel, which is fraught with diplomatic dangers

Catholics go to war over Notre Dame
The university's decision to honour Obama has exposed a deep rift in the US Church, says Freddy Gray

'My wife and I grew up hating Pius XII'
But today Gary Krupp devotes his life to debunking the wartime pontiff's persistent critics. He tells Simon Caldwell why

'We must serve God with magnificence'
The Institute of Christ the King superior tells Anna Arco he's committed both to beautiful liturgy and serving the poor

Throwing its arms around the world
In this book extract Keith Miller says St Peter's offers a warm welcome to Catholic, aesthete and unbeliever alike

Learning to pray the rosary with Newman
As we enter May, the traditional month of Mary, Fr Jerome Bertram reflects on the great convert's Marian devotion

'The media treat Benedict XVI unfairly'
Britain's brilliant ambassador to the Holy See talks to Ed West about seminary, Blair and when the Pope will come to Britain

Meet the Christian whistleblowers
Terry Messenger speaks to two former bankers who risked their careers when they raised questions about the culture of big business

'I pray for guidance... Nothing is easy'
Will Heaven on the extraordinary story of the quiet Yorkshire woman who has given her life to India's neediest people

'God's plan for marriage must be told to all'
Couples who marry in the Church are often non-believers. But, says Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue of Lancaster, they should still learn the truth

'A spark that will go round the world'
A photographer tells William Keenan how his new image of Divine Mercy provoked an incredible worldwide response

A guide for the conversion of England
Fr Geoffrey Riddle has spent his life as a missionary abroad. So how would he bring England back into the Church?

The leader who caught flies with honey
After an early crisis Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor emerged as one of the most respected archbishops of Westminster, says John Wilkins

A poet walks along the Way of the Cross
Jessica d'Este, our poet in residence, uses the traditional devotion of the Stations of the Cross to meditate on the Passion of Jesus Christ

'The pierced, disfigured Christ looks like me'
Révérien Rurangwa was a devout Catholic until the Rwandan genocide left his body scarred and his faith shattered. Ros Wynne-Jones meets him

The days that shook the Austrian Church
The case of the 'Katrina pastor' has opened up old wounds in a deeply divided Church, says Anna Arco

'Archaeology is always political here'
Jill, Duchess of Hamilton, meets a legendary Jerusalem-based biblical scholar and cousin of Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor

Rising in the candle's gentle ray
Lenten reflection by Archbishop Patrick Kelly

Features Archive

Interview Archive
A selection of past interviews and speeches are available here. They are presented in reverse date order.

Cardinal Lubomyr Husar
31 January 2008

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Archbishop of Quebec
26 January 2008

Cardinal Roger Etchegaray
12 September 2007

Inaugural John Henry Newman Lecture

More coming soon!