The government’s flagship Criminal Justice Bill has important amendments that could fundamentally change our laws on abortion. We uphold the dignity and value of every human life from conception to natural end and have clear views on these amendments. Read more.
Bishop John Sherrington, Lead Bishop for Life Issues for the Bishops’ Conference, has released a statement on the Criminal Justice Bill expressing his deep concern about two tabled amendments that seek to liberalise abortion laws, set to be debated next week, Wednesday 15 May. Bishop Sherrington also voiced his support for two other tabled amendments, one of which would reduce the abortion time limit and the other that would not allow babies with Down syndrome to be aborted up to birth. Read more.
Bishop Marcus Stock, Bishop Chair of the Catholic Education Service (CES), has welcomed the decision by the Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, to lift the faith-based admissions cap on new free schools in England. The decision paves the way for Catholic free schools to open, having previously been excluded under the 50 percent cap or ‘rule’ which would have forced schools to turn away some Catholic pupils. Read more.
A new edition of the Lectionary, the book which contains the readings which are proclaimed at Mass, will come into use in England and Wales on the First Sunday of Advent 2024.
For information and resources on the new Lectionary, visit the dedicated section in our What’s On area.
Gaza’s parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli joined us in April to discuss the plight of the Christian community sheltering at the Holy Family Church. With former Middle East North Africa consultant, Dr Harry Hagopian, we talked about the humanitarian crisis in the Strip, the lack of food, water and medicine, the Pope’s daily phone calls and pastoral concern for the people, the need for a lasting peace, what Catholics in England and Wales can do, the light of faith in the darkness, and much more. Listen below or subscribe here. You can also read a news article here.
The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales have issued a pastoral reflection on gender, highlighting the teaching of the Church but stressing that accompanying those struggling with gender dysphoria is “a complex but essential pastoral task.”
The document, titled Intricately woven by the Lord: A pastoral reflection on gender by the bishops of England and Wales, emphasises that all are welcome in the Church, but says that the sexual identity of an individual is not a purely “cultural or social construction.” Read more.
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