‘At the Foot of the Cross’ is a monthly podcast from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales bringing you the latest news, project updates, events, prayer and more. We discuss our workstreams, from pro-life issues, Catholic life and worship and social action, to heritage and patrimony, environmental concerns and international aid and development.
16th October 2024
At the Foot of the Cross returns with a new episode as we enter the autumn months, and October’s podcast takes on a subject that is literally life or death. On Wednesday, 16 October, the House of Commons heard the first reading of a new bill on assisted suicide tabled by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater. This is an attempt to legalise assisted suicide and we simply must raise our voices to oppose it.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, President of the Bishops’ Conference, has issued a powerful and important pastoral letter on this difficult subject encouraging Catholics to be fully engaged in the debate and to write to their MP to oppose assisted suicide being rushed into law.
Regular studio guest, our General Secretary Canon Christopher Thomas, joins us for his penultimate podcast. After serving two full five-year terms, Canon Thomas returns to his diocese – Nottingham – in mid-November but not before he imparts his analysis and prayerful wisdom on this and other key issues crossing his desk this month.
As well as assisted suicide, we discuss the installation of a new bishop in Plymouth, the next Bishops’ Plenary meeting, the new Lectionary, and finally we have an excellent scriptural reflection to meditate on.
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24th July 2024
As things begin to quieten down for a month or so, it’s time for a Summer At the Foot of the Cross podcast.
Canon Christopher Thomas, our General Secretary and regular studio guest, is in the chair to talk to us about what’s currently on the slate at the Secretariat of the Bishops’ Conference.
Since our last podcast, we’ve had a joyous number of Episcopal Ordinations, with new Bishops ordained in Westminster and Birmingham, as well as a new Bishop Ordinary for the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.
In addition we learned of the appointment of a new Apostolic Administrator for the Prefecture of the Falkland Islands – a role that also includes oversight of the Missions for the South Atlantic islands of Ascension, St Helena and Tristan da Cunha for a period of five years.
The working document for the synod, the Instrumentum laboris, has been released and we also look ahead to Adoremus at Oscott – a mini National Eucharistic Congress that will be held on 14-15 September.
Canon Chris Thomas then gives us a lovely reflection on the prophets during this time when we’re hearing so many of their warnings and guidance in our readings at Mass.
The podcast concludes with an interview with Bishop David Evans, our Lead Bishop for Marriage and Family Life, looking at the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly that falls on Sunday 28 July.
So much of our content this time looks at how each of us is called to deepen our discipleship and proclaim the Gospel mission of the Church. It’s not just a Sunday job, it’s how we go from Eucharist to service in our daily lives.
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6th June 2024
The only place to start with June’s At the Foot of the Cross podcast is to offer an apology. After two months of radio silence, we return with an episode that looks back over April and May and forward into June. At least it’s packed with audio clips to keep you engaged!
The thread running through our conversation with regular studio guest Canon Christopher Thomas, General Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference, is the Body of Christ. Released just after the great feast of Corpus Christi, Canon Thomas reflects on a weekend he spent helping out with priestly duties in Grimsby.
“I told the people, you’re going to hear me say ‘The Body of Christ’ six or seven hundred times this weekend,” says Canon Thomas. “These four words contain the most profound mystery of love that we can experience.”
He shapes his reflection around three understandings of the Body of Christ: the physical body born of Mary, the resurrected body that ascends to heaven, and the Body of Christ in the Eucharist that sustains us all.
In terms of news, we look back on the visit to the UK of Fr Gabriel Romanelli, Gaza’s priest who is now back in the Strip with his parishioners. We discuss the episcopal ordination of Bishop Bosco MacDonald for Clifton and the retirement of his predecessor Bishop Declan Lang. We talk about the launch of a new document from the Bishops of the International Affairs department – Called to be Peacemakers – on weapons, emerging technology and disarmament. Then it’s time to move forward looking ahead to the General Election, Day for Life and Adoremus.
With Canon Thomas’s reflection to boot, and a few words on pilgrimages with a particular focus on Lourdes and the National Shrine to St Winefride at Holywell in North Wales, there should be something for everyone in this month’s packed offering.
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19th March 2024
March’s At the Foot of the Cross podcast focuses on Holy Week and our journey to the Cross at this profound moment in our Catholic life. Canon Christopher Thomas, our General Secretary, joins us to bring us up to speed with the workings of the Secretariat of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
We talk about Canon Christopher’s appearance before a Home Affairs Select Committee panel that met to receive oral evidence on Asylum decision-making and conversion to Christianity.
Another big piece of news for us this month was the announcement of Bishop Declan Lang’s resignation and the appointment of a Bishop-elect in the form of Canon Bosco MacDonald, Dean of Clifton Cathedral. This gave us a fitting opportunity to pay tribute to the outstanding contribution of Bishop Declan to both the Bishops’ Conference and the life of the Catholic Church in the west of England, and also the space to offer a prayerful welcome to Canon Bosco.
Last, but by no means least, we look back on a splendid occasion in south Wales – an interfaith pilgrimage from the Anglican Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff, to the Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of St David, which included the first time the Cross of Wales, containing shards of the True Cross, entered the Catholic cathedral. Archbishop Mark O’Toole gives us his thoughts on this special day.
You can subscribe to our At the Foot of the Cross podcasts using your podcasting platform of choice. Subscribe using Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher and TuneIn.
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16th February 2024
It’s an early Lent this year and as such, the focus of February’s At the Foot of the Cross is very much on the three pillars of the season – prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
Canon Christopher Thomas, our General Secretary, joins us to talk about what’s crossing his desk at the Secretariat of the Bishops’ Conference. Firstly, we talk about Cardinal Vincent Nichols’ statement on the war in the Holy Land echoing Pope Francis’s call for a lasting ceasefire, the release of all hostages, for humanitarian aid to be allowed through to help those most in need in Gaza, and for hospitals, schools and places of worship to be protected.
We also talk about a day of prayer for peace in the Holy Land that will be marked on Friday, 8 March.
Another topic for discussion is Deliver Us From Evil – a new booklet by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales offering a treasury of prayers drawn from Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition that can be used by Catholics to protect themselves from the powers of darkness.
Canon Chris offers a Lenten Scripture reflection, looking at the Ash Wednesday readings and also those of the previous Sunday when Jesus heals the man with leprosy.
There are two other important contributions to this podcast. We hear from Fr Jan Nowotnik, our Director of Mission, who speaks to Fionn Shiner about the forthcoming Jubilee year and also the Year of Prayer we are currently celebrating. The five-week resource on the Lord’s Prayer, We Dare To Say, is the main topic for discussion.
Finally, we conclude with a poignant reflection from Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, who looks after the UK’s Ukrainian Catholic Community, explaining how we can mark the two-year anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine whilst keeping the suffering people at the forefront of our minds.
You can subscribe to our At the Foot of the Cross podcasts using your podcasting platform of choice. Subscribe using Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher and TuneIn.
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24th January 2024
The first At the Foot of the Cross podcast of 2024 has a very ecumenical flavour to it. That is a word that can confuse rather than clarify so what we’re discussing today is dialogue and Christian unity.
There are many reasons for this. Firstly we have the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, from 18-25 January, then, following hard on its heels, the Bishops of the Church of England and our Catholic Bishops will have their biannual joint meeting in Norwich on 30-31 January. They will explore a diverse range of subjects and discuss areas of common interest. They will also reflect on two great saints – Julian of Norwich and John Henry Newman – as well as share their experiences of synods and the Coronation of King Charles III.
Our regular studio guest Canon Christopher Thomas, General Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference secretariat, discusses this important meeting, the nature of our unity with other Christian confessions and his own experiences of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
You can also listen to our Scripture reflection and, as we push into February, look ahead to the World Day for Consecrated Life on 2 February and a very early Lent with Ash Wednesday falling this year on St Valentine’s Day, 14 February.
Please accept a humble mea culpa for the lack of a December podcast as 2023 drew to an end.
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30th November 2023
The November 2023 episode of At the Foot of the Cross has crept in on the very last day of the month. The task set for our General Secretary, Canon Chris Thomas, is to bridge the gap from the Feast of Christ the King to the wonderful season of Advent – that sacred time before Christmas we use to prepare ourselves to celebrate the Lord’s coming into the world as the incarnate God of love.
Before Canon Thomas’s Scripture reflection on this very subject we discuss the conflict in the Holy Land, the need to pray for peace, and the Bishops’ desire to see our latest English saint elevated to the status of ‘Doctor of the Church’ – St John Henry Newman.
November is, of course, a ‘plenary month’ that sees the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales gather at Hinsley Hall in Leeds to discuss the issues of the day and how they impact on the Church and the faithful. Our podcast concludes with Canon Thomas and Director of Mission, Fr Jan Nowotnik, in conversation about the four-day meeting and its resolutions.
Rest assured December’s podcast will arrive in the middle of the month rather than at the end.
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26th October 2023
October’s At the Foot of the Cross comes out as we approach the end of the month so we felt it appropriate to look ahead to November and the month of the Holy Souls when we pray for and remember our loved ones and friends who have died.
Canon Christopher Thomas, General Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference, joins us to talk about how our parishes mark this important month – starting with the Feast of All Saints on 1 November. As a priest, he shares his parish experiences of praying for the Holy Souls and gives us two poignant personal analogies to help illustrate his reflections.
We also hear from two guest contributors. Firstly we catch up with Fr Jan Nowotnik in Rome, a non-bishop voting member of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. Participants have been discussing the mission of the Church in the 21st Century for almost a month now. Fr Jan, an expert on ‘synodality’, shares his experiences.
We conclude by talking to economist Philip Booth, our Director of Policy and Research, about a new cost of living statement from the Department for Social Justice of the Bishops’ Conference.
You can subscribe to our At the Foot of the Cross podcasts using your podcasting platform of choice. Subscribe using Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher and TuneIn.
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28th September 2023
Mission and good custodianship are the order of the day for this ‘At the Foot of the Cross’ – the first after the summer break.
Canon Christopher Thomas, our General Secretary, rather skilfully threads the ‘mission’ topics of the day through this podcast. We talk about two forthcoming documents from Pope Francis. An Exhortation on environmental issues, updating his 2015 encyclical Laudato si’. That’s due for release on 4 October – the Feast of St Francis of Assisi. Bishop John Arnold, Lead Bishop for Environmental Issues, joins us to talk about why now is the time for action.
On 15 October, we look forward to an Apostolic Letter on St Thérèse of Lisieux – Co-Patroness of the Missions alongside St Francis Xavier. Many of us will remember with affection, the visit of the relics of St Thérèse to England and Wales in 2009 – a real time of grace.
Finally, how can we forget the Synod on the mission of the Church in the 21st century taking place in Rome throughout October? We join Fr Jan Nowotnik, our Director of Mission who will attend as a non-bishop voting member, to preview the synod with theologian Professor Anna Rowlands.
You can subscribe to our At the Foot of the Cross podcasts using your podcasting platform of choice. Subscribe using Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher and TuneIn.
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1st August 2023
Our summer ‘At the Foot of the Cross’ is very much a pilgrimage podcast. So whether you’re staying at home or travelling abroad, there’s always time to walk with the Lord and deepen your faith.
Canon Chris Thomas, General Secretary here at the Bishops’ Conference, joins us to welcome a newly-installed Bishop for Hexham and Newcastle and to discuss his recent pilgrimage to Lourdes with the Diocese of Nottingham. He also gives us an apt Scripture reflection from Luke 6:43-49. It’s the Gospel that relates to the pastoral theme for pilgrimages to Lourdes in 2023. The words that Mary, the Mother of God, entrusted to Bernadette Soubirous on 2 March 1858 were: “Go and tell the priests that a chapel be built here and that people should come here in procession.”
We’re also joined by Fr Jan Nowotnik who, in an historic move, is travelling to Rome for the Synod in October as a non-bishop with full voting rights. This, too, should be looked at as a journey of faith for the global Church. Fr Jan gives us an update.
We then have a short preview of World Youth Day – a pilgrimage to Portugal’s capital Lisbon for hundreds of thousands of young people who will share their Catholic faith and celebrate being in the presence of Pope Francis. Luegi Lopes, our digital officer, is in Lisbon and is looking forward to this global Catholic mega event.
Finally, we celebrate those marvellous pilgrimages that can be embarked on in our own lands. These rich, walkable ‘Pilgrim Ways’ can be explored in every diocese of England and Wales. Philip McCarthy tells us why these routes – some ancient, some modern – can awaken our ‘Hearts in Search of God’.
You can subscribe to our At the Foot of the Cross podcasts using your podcasting platform of choice. Subscribe using Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher and TuneIn.
Feed: cbcew.org.uk/feed/podcast/at-the-foot-of-the-cross
29th June 2023
June’s At the Foot of the Cross podcast is just creeping in at the end of the month. It’s a ‘mea culpa’ from the presenter who has been away for a few weeks.
This is very much a programme of accompaniment and encounter – very apt words for the synodal pathway we find ourselves treading.
Resident studio guest Canon Christopher Thomas, General Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference, joins us to discuss the working document for the first Synod meeting in Rome taking place in October. In the interests of managing expectations, this is an initial glance at the Instrumentum laboris. We will explore it further in the podcasts to come.
We also welcome the appointment of a new bishop for Hexham and Newcastle, the Right Reverend Stephen Wright, and preview an evangelisation conference taking place in Liverpool from 30 June to 2 July.
Plus we have an eye on Lisbon as the countdown begins to World Youth Day when the Pope Francis will join thousands of young people in Portugal’s capital.
You can subscribe to our At the Foot of the Cross podcasts using your podcasting platform of choice. Subscribe using Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher and TuneIn.
Feed: cbcew.org.uk/feed/podcast/at-the-foot-of-the-cross
19th May 2023
The mission of the Church, how we share our faith with others and the need to communicate clearly and truthfully from the heart – these are the over-arching themes of our At the Foot of the Cross podcast.
Know who you’re speaking to, be human, be relational – all aspects of good communication modelled by the Apostles who set out to build the early Church and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Our General Secretary, Canon Christopher Thomas, joins us to give us a spring update on the work of the Secretariat of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
We’re also joined by the Church’s Lead Bishop for Communications, Bishop John Arnold. With Artificial Intelligence, especially chatbots, dominating news headlines in recent times, we spoke about the need to embrace emerging technologies with an ethical mind, to ensure human beings don’t suffer on the path to ‘progress’.
You can subscribe to our At the Foot of the Cross podcasts using your podcasting platform of choice. Subscribe using Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher and TuneIn.
Feed: cbcew.org.uk/feed/podcast/at-the-foot-of-the-cross
