Pope Francis has opened the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica and officially inaugurated the 2025 Jubilee of Hope. With the liturgical gesture of the Door’s opening at the start of the Christmas Mass during the Night, as explained in the papal bull for the Jubilee Spes non confundit, the Pope inaugurated the Ordinary Jubilee, a historic event taking place every 25 years. Read more.
Twelve bishops, including two bishops from England and Wales, will travel to Jerusalem from 18-23 January 2025 for the Holy Land Coordination – an annual meeting that is defined by four Ps: Presence, prayer, pilgrimage, and pressure. The bishops go to be present to the Christians who remain in the Holy Land, to let them know they are not forgotten; to pray with them; to encourage pilgrimage to their land; and to advocate on their behalf at home. Read more.
Sister Helen Alford, an English Dominican nun who is the President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, said that the development of artificial intelligence must always keep human beings at its centre, as all technology should. Speaking on our Catholic News podcast channel, she said that Catholic social teaching informs that we must be wary of ‘adversarial technology’.
Following the decision of MPs to vote in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at the Second Reading on Friday, 29 November, Bishop John Sherrington, Lead Bishop for Life Issues, issued a statement. Read More.
‘Remember Me’ is a new document on criminal justice by the Department for Social Justice of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, exploring contemporary issues of criminal justice in the light of Catholic social teaching. Read more.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales continues to be seriously concerned about the implications of the current two-child policy on Universal Credit payments for vulnerable, larger families.
Introduced in 2017, the policy has been undermining the financial security of families with three or more children. Such families often have no choice but to make claims for Universal Credit as a result of common, but unpredictable, life events, such as job loss or the onset of disability. The majority of families affected by the two-child policy are working families. The UK Government is reviewing the cap as part of the work of the newly formed Child Poverty Taskforce. You can take action here.
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.
Visit our ‘News‘ section for our full archive.
Photos from recent events can be found on our Flickr photo channel.
Press releases, news, statements and more. Learn more
Profiles of our diocesan bishops and retired bishops. Learn more
This section keeps at the forefront those iconic, important events that remain a little longer in our memories. Learn more
In this section you can find out more about the Pope, the Vatican and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. Learn more
The Catholic Church in England and Wales is made up of 22 dioceses. Learn more
