Every cathedral should have a holy door as part of the year of mercy, the bishops of England and Wales have said. The bishops have welcomed Pope Francis’s initiatives for the Jubilee Year of Mercy which starts on December 8. Among these is installing a holy door at each cathedral and shrine. Holy doors, or Read more
Posts Tagged ‘England’
Consumerism in religious orders key to decline in England
Tuesday, March 10th, 2015
A drift into consumerism and a preoccupation with money and finance are key reasons for the stagnation of religious orders in England, says an historian. Dom Aidan Bellenger, former Abbot of Downside Abbey and a leading historian of the monastic life, made this assertion in an article in The Tablet. He suggested that communities had Read more
Halloween’s Catholic roots
Friday, November 1st, 2013
We’ve all heard the allegations: Halloween is a pagan rite dating back to some pre-Christian festival among the Celtic Druids that escaped church suppression. Even today modern pagans and witches continue to celebrate this ancient festival. If you let your kids go trick-or-treating, they will be worshiping the devil and pagan gods. Nothing could be Read more
Off shore confession growth yet to gain real momentum in NZ
Friday, September 13th, 2013
The “confession boom” reported to be hitting Roman Catholic parishes in England and Wales does not yet fully seem to have reached New Zealand. With the exception of the Auckland Cathedral, where the priests report an increase in young people attending the sacrament, a ring-around survey, yesterday, of several New Zealand parishes showed most recorded no Read more
Catholic royals must bring up children in the faith
Friday, May 17th, 2013A spokesman for the Catholic bishops of England and Wales has denied telling politicians that a Catholic marrying into the royal family would be released from the usual obligation to ensure that children were raised as Catholics. “I wish to state clearly that neither I, nor the Catholic bishops of England and Wales, have ever, Read more
Vocations rise for third year in England and Wales
Friday, April 19th, 2013Vocations to religious orders in England and Wales have risen for the third year in a row, and this year has seen a noticeable increase in the number of men joining. The rise in men and women entering religious orders is across a wide variety of different orders, some of which have not had novices Read more
Lay people to preside at funerals in England
Tuesday, September 18th, 2012
Liverpool is the first diocese in England and Wales to commission lay people to preside at Catholic funerals. The commissioning of 22 lay people is an effort to relieve pressure on priests. “In some of our parishes in the diocese priests are being asked to celebrate over 120 funerals each year,” Archbishop Kelly wrote in Read more
One priest’s ministry at the London Olympic Games
Friday, August 17th, 2012
While Team Great Britain’s (and New Zealand’s) crews rowed to four gold medals at the London Olympics, a Catholic priest, who is a chaplain offering pastoral support to visitors to the Games, meditated on the parallels between the Olympic sport and the life of a Christian. “Rowing is the perfect metaphor for life,” says Father Read more
British students want RE to remain compulsory
Friday, June 22nd, 2012
Some 63% of young people in Britain think that Religious Education should remain compulsory in state schools, reports the Tablet. The survey conducted in Britain also shows more than half of the adults questioned believe Religious Education lessons in schools are worthwhile with many favour making Religious Education (RE) compulsory. The poll comes as increasing numbers Read more
Same sex marriage threatens divorce of British church and state
Friday, June 15th, 2012
The biggest rift between Church and state for centuries is how the Church of England has described British Prime Minister, David Cameron’s plan to allow couples to have a same sex marriage. Responding formally to the Conservative Government’s proposals, the Church of England said the move would change the “intrinsic nature of marriage as union Read more
- Study: Children fare better in traditional mom-dad families
- Christian attitudes to same-sex marriage
- Government's marriage document makes no reference to children, husbands or wives
- How different are the adult children of parents who have same sex relationships? Finding from the New Family Structures Study (Study)
- Same sex parenting and children's outcomes: A closer examination of the American psychological associations' brief on lesbian and gay parenting (Study)