Pope Francis damns Brexit
Pope Francis has written another encyclical, Fratelli Tutti. It isn't a great theological tome; indeed, it could easily be a series of religio-political blogposts on current events. Much of the…
Roman Catholic Church
Communal worship banned in England
From 5th November, it will be illegal to gather for communal worship in England. The Government has decreed that church buildings may open for private prayer, but not for praying with others. There shall be no preaching or teaching, and…
Catholic and Reformed: continuity and development
Toward the end of his ministry as Archbishop of Canterbury (though it may have been just after the end), Rowan Williams was interviewed about his beliefs, and in particular his…
Clergy sexual abuse: why can’t the Church cleanse its own temple?
"The gross evil of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy would have gone unexposed had it not been for three principal agencies, all secular." That's the damning opening sentence of…
Boris Johnson becomes the first baptised Catholic to made Prime Minister
Today is the Feast Day of St Boris (really). And today Boris Johnson kisses hands with the Queen (not the hand of the Queen) to become the 55th person to…
Church of England guidance used against Christian in court
There's something ever so slightly disquieting about this, but not for the reasons permeating the websites and chat-threads of Evangelical Christendom. Dr David Mackereth, who said in a Department of…
Imposition or liberation? Abortion and same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland
"If I was a Northern Ireland MLA I’d vote for equal marriage, just as I did in Westminster," tweeted former LibDem leader and committed Christian Tim Farron. "But I support…
Child sexual abuse: the Blackburn Pastoral Letter is game-changer for the Church of England
When St Paul began writing his letters I doubt he expected them to become as copied, shared, dissected and analysed as they are today. He wrote to help and support…
Is a diocesan bishop about to break ranks over historic child abuse in the Church of England?
The past few weeks have seen a huge escalation in the accumulation of evidence and opinion on the tragic story of the Church’s safeguarding failures. I write in the context…
‘General Synod has no confidence in the Church of England’s capacity to regulate its own safeguarding culture’
The laicisation of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick by the Roman Catholic Church was one more step on the long journey towards cleansing that institution of sexual abuse, much of it…
Anglican Ambassador to Rome denies the Resurrection of Christ
The Anglican Centre in Rome is the Embassy of the Worldwide Anglican Communion to the Roman Catholic Church. Its Director is effectively the Archbishop of Canterbury's Ambassador to the Vatican;…
Catholic Herald calls for disestablishment of the Church of England
The Catholic Herald has long held a certain antipathy toward the term 'Protestant', with occasional blurts of 'bigot' aimed at anyone so obtuse as to be duped by its theology…
Bishop blocked by Twitter – for telling the truth about sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church
That notorious purveyor of hate and guile, the Rt Rev'd Dr Gavin Ashenden, has been blocked by Twitter. Actually, the tense is wrong: he was blocked by Twitter, but recanted…
Death penalty: Pope Francis hasn’t changed the teaching; he just ‘developed doctrine’
One of the more curious aspects of Roman Catholic apologetics is its inability to answer certain specific questions to which it should have ready answers: 1. What is the content…
Ofsted chief says they have ‘no anti-faith bias’, but does she have anti-Protestant leanings?
Ofsted Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman gave a speech yesterday evening entitled 'The Ties that Bind', which concerned the need for a little more 'muscular liberalism' in education. She spoke at…
If Irish Catholic hospitals are forced to perform abortions, the Roman Catholic Church should close every one of them
Well, that didn't take long, did it? ‘Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has hit out at socialist parties and groups in the Dáil, accusing them of wanting to “turn religious people into…
Pope Francis: “There is no hell; there is the disappearance of sinful souls”
In the continuing assessment of whether or not the Pope is Catholic, the latest doctrinal confusion comes (again) from a statement reported by Eugenio Scalfari in La Repubblica. When asked…
The Church of England should welcome Methodists into the fold of the historic episcopacy
This is a guest post by the Rev'd Marcus Walker, who was Deputy Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome until January 2018. He is to be Rector of the…
If the Pope can honour a pro-abortion activist, why not bless Durex?
It is being widely reported that Pope Francis has bestowed the title of Commander in the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great upon pro-abortion activist Lilianne Ploumen, sometime…
Reformation 500: Vatican postage stamp commemorates Luther and Melanchthon
The Vatican has issued a postage stamp to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. At the foot of the cross, Martin Luther holds the Bible (the fons et origo…