A church that safeguards children can never justify an unconditional seal of confession

Sometimes it’s worth reminding ourselves that God is infinitely better than his supposed representatives on earth. The Catholic church, my own denomination, is one of the most striking cases in point.

The Catholic lesson on managing the homosexuality question: go back to basics.

If you think about LGBT people, your thoughts this weekend will surely be drawn to the marking of Pride – and well they should be, for this event both celebrates the great strides that have been made towards LGBT equality, and reminds us that, particularly if we look to the global picture, there is much still to be done.
You might not have realised though that the subject has once again taken up a great deal of time at yet another Church of England synod.

Home Mission Sunday: we've forgotten that our lives our our most powerful witness

It was 5 years ago this weekend that the Pope made his visit to Britain and was jubilantly received by British Catholics. Today, it’s Home Mission Sunday – a day to remember the evangelising mission at home in England and Wales. It is my sincere belief that our country is one of the battlegrounds for faith and secularisation, even more than France and other countries you might think of. It’s Britain that is one of the most challenging arenas for the Christian mission.

The Long Road Back for Rome: where next for the Catholic church in the West?

When I think about Ireland, I cannot separate that from thoughts of the Catholic church, a church which, though far from perfect, I love dearly.

I don’t often find, in that most Catholic of countries, more in-depth theological knowledge than that of Catholics elsewhere, or even full agreement with everything the church says and teaches, but a Catholicism routed in everyday lives, with religious references peppering many a conversation.

It’s ingrained, deep in the Irish consciousness. Or is it?