Following the resignation of the Right Reverend Ralph Heskett C.Ss.R. as Bishop of Hallam, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Marcus Stock as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Hallam. This appointment is in addition to his office as Bishop of Leeds and additional responsibilities as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Middlesbrough. Read more.
Archbishop John Sherrington, Archbishop of Liverpool and Lead Bishop for Life Issues for the Bishops’ Conference, has issued a statement following the House of Lords’ decision to keep clause 208 in the Crime and Policing Bill. The clause decriminalises abortion up to birth in some circumstances.
Archbishop Sherrington expressed his distress at the decision and has warned that “this move is likely to lead to more late-term abortions putting pregnant women and their babies at risk. Many women could likely also face even greater risks of isolation, coercion, and pressure.” Read more.
The Archbishop of Southwark, the Most Reverend John Wilson, has described the legislation as “frightening” and that it not only ignores the unborn child, but also raises “serious concerns for the safety of women”. Read more.
On the day that countries in the Middle East celebrate Mother’s Day, 21 March, a week after the UK marked the occasion, Bishop Jim Curry has reiterated Pope Leo’s call that “paths of dialogue be reopened” and that the people of the Middle East can be spared the ongoing “atrocious violence of war.”
In particular, Bishop Curry, Lead Bishop for the Holy Land for the Bishops’ Conference, urged Catholics to pray for all mothers and their children. Read more.
March’s At the Foot of the Cross podcast has arrived just before Laetare Sunday. Our Director of Mission and regular guest, Abbot Hugh Allan, takes the opportunity to offer a few words on this special Sunday of Lent that we celebrate on 15 March. We then briefly look ahead to Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum before discussing the Bishops’ April plenary meeting that takes place this year in Rome at the Venerable English College’s summer villa, Palazzola. Listen below or read more here.
Our 2026 Lenten resource seeks to encourage an appreciation of what is given in Christian Baptism. God desires what is best for each of us while respecting our freedom to choose. To express our acceptance of the wonderful gift that God offers us, with open hearts and a willingness to change for the better, all we need to do is ask. Read more.
Guidance to help you write to a Peer to oppose the Bill seeking to legalise assisted suicide as it passes through the House of Lords.
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