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Duncan MacLarenIt is one of the most important humanitarian groups in the world, supported by legions of volunteers and donors. But now the Vatican has moved to bring it further under control of Rome. One of Caritas’ former secretary generals explains how this could jeopardise the organisation’s work Free
From the editor’s desk
| A relationship in need of repair Free It is only three months since an international symposium on clerical child abuse was held in Rome, causing many observers to believe that the Church was beginning to understand the full scale of the scandal. There were wise words from Mgr Charles Scicluna, ... | So close, yet so different In Britain, the anniversary of the day 67 years ago that hostilities ceased in Europe slipped by this week with scarcely a mention in the media. Across the English Channel, by contrast, it was marked in France by a public holiday, as it is every year. ... |
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Battle for religious freedom is far from over
Lord Alton gives the 2012 Tyburn Lecture
The prophet Isaiah reminds us that you should never forget "the rock from which you are hewn." And in the Book of Deuteronomy we are told to "remember the days of old; ... | Vatican conference tackles trafficking
England and Wales bishops host one-day symposium
On Tuesday the bishops of England and Wales and the Vatican's Justice and Peace office, in conjunction with the British embassy to the Holy See, hosted a conference on ... |
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Features
 A plague on all your housesJulia LangdonMid-term local elections are frequently used by voters to punish the Government, and last week, in the midst of continuing economic turmoil, they did exactly that. But for all three main political parties, especially the Lib Dems, there were several other important messages... |  Right turn for the Catholic voteBirthe PedersenThe defeat of Nicolas Sarkozy in the French presidential contest has devastated his party, the UMP, and opened up the chance of huge gains by Marine Le Pen’s National Front in next month’s parliamentary elections. Her appeal to young Catholics may be crucial to her success... |
 An ever-widening dividePaddy AgnewThe BBC investigation into child abuse in Ireland, with its revelations about the role of Cardinal Seán Brady, has sent shock waves south and north of the border.
The very different Vatican reaction exposes just how deep is the chasm between Rome and a once-devout nation... |  Hope that grows under a tamarind treeJonathan TullochFrom modest beginnings running a mobile clinic in southern India, nurse Sylvia Wright now operates a hospital, nurse-training centre and a school for deaf children. On a rare visit to her native Yorkshire, she talked to Jonathan Tulloch about her work... |
 Voice of AmericaMichael Sean WintersThe Catholic point of view has become increasingly central to public debate in the US, heard all the way to the White House. It signifies a marked change in the landscape of discourse in a nation once shaped by separation of Church and State ... | Home truthsUlick LoringWhat happens during baptism is often not well understood by the family and friends
who come to celebrate the sacrament, and suitable materials to help them prepare are in short supply. One parish found a solution: make your own...
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Columnists
 David Blair‘All the pent-up emotion of a generational struggle lies behind this crisis’ Sara Maitland‘Neil’s crook sits in an ingenious tube glued on to the quad bike, rather than being carried’
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Books and arts
How a religion was born Free
In the Shadow of the Sword: the battle for global empire and the end of the ancient world
Tom Holland
The period of European history spanning, broadly speaking, the fifth to the ninth centuries of our era, used to be labelled the Dark Ages. Today, most historians prefer the term ... |
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Errant Knights need to show some humility
Elena Curti
Precisely why has the British branch of the Knights of Malta had a huge falling out over ... Nuncio is nudging the bishops
Christopher Lamb
Having brought about considerable improvement in previously difficult relations between ...
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