China's participation in the Vatican organ trafficking conference is the latest sign of rapprochement between the two powers

Pope Benedict XIV wrote that the observance of Lent is the 'very badge of Christian warfare'

How has the MP become the bookies' favourite to be Prime Minister?

Life on the island of Tristan da Cunha began with Napoleon. Today, it is sustained by faith

There's a significant turnover of lay staff, but career clerics stay in position

The Vatican announced the canonisation of two giants of the 20th-century Church last week: Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Oscar Romero. Observers speculate that they will be canonised on the same day during this October’s youth synod. There is a precedent for such a pairing: in the year 2000, Pope John Paul II beatified Pius

✣ Pro-lifers march in Dublin ahead of crucial vote What happened? Tens of thousands of pro-lifers have marched in the streets of Dublin as Ireland prepares for a referendum in May which could sweep away laws protecting the unborn child. The organisers of the Rally for Life claim that 100,000 people joined the demonstration. One speaker,

✣ Highlights from the week online Reason as well as faith drove the crusades At Catholic World Report, Timothy Lusch welcomed a recent book, How to Plan a Crusade, by Christopher Tyerman of Oxford University. “The crusades have frequently been portrayed as ultimate symbols of of the power of credulity … the blind leading the

Cardinal Vincent Nichols has said that schoolchildren must accept the gender into which they were born if they are to be truly happy. The Archbishop of Westminster entered the gender ideology debate in a meeting with Catholic head teachers. During his talk he appealed to a “common sense of humanity” as an antidote to rampant

The former Archbishop of Canterbury has clashed with prominent Catholic MPs over the opening of new Catholic schools. Lord Williams co-signed a letter to the Daily Telegraph attacking the plans to lift a 50 per cent cap on the number of pupils a new school can select on the grounds of faith. The letter, also

A poll has shown growing disenchantment with Pope Francis in the Unites States, especially among political conservatives. A survey by Pew Research Forum found that fewer conservatives approved of Francis than was the case three years ago, though his overall popularity was still high. Among Republican and Republican-leaning Catholics, 55 per cent said the Pope

Pope Francis has appointed prominent supporters of married priests to the organising council of next year’s Amazon synod. The Pope named 18 members of the pre-synod council and announced the synod’s theme as “The Amazon: New paths for the Church and for an integral ecology”. The council works with the synod’s secretary general in preparing