Starting in 2018, the Vatican will 'cease to sell cigarettes to employees'

'Amoris Laetitia can and must be interpreted in an orthodox way in the unity of Catholic tradition'

It marks the first major step on the path to sainthood for the late Pontiff

Some are seeking justification for their racism in the American Church's chequered history

Austria's next Chancellor is the commentariat's new bête noire. But plenty of Christians are pleased by the 31-year-old's ascent

The cardinal has overcome the challenges to his power. How much further can he go?

A quarter of a century ago, on November 12, 1992, members of the Church of England’s General Synod gathered to debate women priests. Five-and-a-half hours later, a measure approving female ordination passed by just two votes. Supporters outside Church House, Westminster, cheered. Opponents looked stony-faced. “In the end, the pragmatists won,” concluded a Guardian leader

✣  US bishops force Pope’s critic to resign What happened? The widely respected theologian Fr Thomas Weinandy stepped down as an adviser to the US bishops’ committee on doctrine after writing a letter accusing Pope Francis of fostering “chronic confusion” with “intentionally ambiguous” teachings. He resigned on the day the letter was made public after

Catholic, conservative, controversial – US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas seldom speaks but when he does, journalists’ notebooks flip open. Last week he gave a rare interview in the course of which he diagnosed the malaise afflicting America. He asked: “What binds us? What do we all have in common any more? I think we

✣ Highlights from the week online Are Britain-Holy See relations in jeopardy? The relationship between Britain and the Holy See has flourished in recent decades, said Catherine Pepinster at the Guardian website. “And yet that newfound understanding may be in jeopardy.” Pepinster, a former editor of The Tablet and author of the new book The

Prince William has been criticised for saying that “staggering” population growth in Africa could have a “terrible impact” on the environment. The Prince was speaking at the Tusk Trust Ball last Thursday. He is a patron of Tusk Trust, which was set up in 1990 to protect African wildlife. “In my lifetime we have seen

A talk at Oxford University last week was disrupted by protesters who shouted slogans at pro-lifers for half an hour. The event at St John’s College was organised by pro-life society, Oxford Students for Life, to discuss next year’s abortion referendum in Ireland. The speakers were Irish Times columnist Breda O’Brien and Lorcan Price of