A sneak preview of this week's issue

The avant-garde composer's infamous piece reminds us that we need silence

The Russian Orthodox leader said the continent was 'a model of an ideal humankind'

Pope Francis discussed Donald Trump during his in-flight press conference on the way back to Rome from Mexico

Himmler, Goebbels, Heydrich and others were all drawn to Nazism after rejecting their Catholic faith. Were they searching for a new saviour?

Friends and admirers of the late justice shared their thoughts about him after Saturday's funeral Mass

The headlines promised a breath-taking revelation about the best-known Catholic of the 20th century – “Revealed: St John Paul II’s relationship with a married woman”, wrote The Tablet, while The Independent asked: “Did the Pope have a lover?” They were reporting on a supposedly explosive discovery by the BBC’s Panorama programme. Presenter Ed Stourton had

Merkel can’t recall ‘angry’ call to Pope German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office has said she does not recall phoning the Pope to express her anger at his speech in which he compared Europe to a “barren woman”. Francis suggested last week that she was angered by his comments. Francis calls for better leadership in Iraq

The president of the Brazilian bishops’ conference has criticised a proposal by the UN Human Rights Commission that countries should allow abortion in cases where the mother has been infected with the Zika virus. “Abortion is not the answer for the Zika virus,” Archbishop Sergio da Rocha of Brasilia told reporters during a press conference

Pope Francis marked the beginning of Lent by sending off several hundred religious and diocesan priests as “missionaries of mercy” to local parishes. “Look upon your servants, Lord, that we are sending as messengers of mercy, salvation and peace. Guide their steps” and sustain them with “the power of your grace,” the Pope said during

Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill emphasised their obligation as Christians and bishops to encourage collaboration among Christians and charity for all who suffer, during their historic meeting last weekend. “I felt an interior joy that truly came from the Lord,” the Pope told reporters travelling with him as he flew to Mexico from

Pope Francis fulfilled his much-desired wish to pray in silence before the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe last Saturday. After celebrating the first Mass of his papal trip to Mexico, the Pope made his way to the camarin (“little room”) behind the main altar of the basilica dedicated to Mary. The miraculous mantle,