‘Catholic News’ is a podcast carrying interviews with a diverse range of people – lay people, religious and clergy – involved on the front line of the Catholic Church’s work in England and Wales.
19th December 2024
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa, took some time out of his very busy schedule to be guest of honour in a joint Catholic News / Middle East Analysis podcast just before the First Sunday of Advent. You can listen to the full podcast here.
This excerpt from the full episode offers the Patriarch’s meditation on faith and hope through the lens of Advent and Christmas:
“The question of Advent is the question of John the Baptist. When he saw Jesus in the River Jordan, he said, ‘He is the Lamb of God. He is the One.’ But when he was in jail, he was perplexed as Jesus was not doing what he expected Him to do. He wanted someone strong to bring justice but He was not doing anything. He ate with sinners. So John asked ‘Are you the one we were expecting or should we wait for someone else?’ This was his question. What was Jesus’s answer? He told John to look at what was happening. The quotation from Isaiah – the blind are seeing, the prisoners are liberated, and so on.
“Jesus is coming and it’s up to us to have our hearts open to see the signs of His presence.”
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11th December 2024
We have a special guest for this Catholic News podcast episode – Sister Helen Alford OP, the President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
Sister Alford, a religious sister of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena, was born in London and graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in manufacturing engineering, where she was also awarded a PhD.
Touching upon Artificial Intelligence, the role data could play in telling the Church’s story, and what Catholic social teaching has to say about a “human-centred economy”, Sister Alford gives a deep insight into what the Church has to say about the social sciences.
You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
Sister Helen Alford, O.P. © Facoltà di Scienze Sociali, Pontifical University of St Thomas (Angelicum). Used with permission.
2nd December 2024
Our studio guest for this special 30-minute Catholic News podcast is the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
Born in northern Italy, the Patriarch, a Franciscan, has spent 35 years of his ministry in the Holy Land. In this time he has seen many episodes of war and tension. The current cycle of violence is particularly devastating.
However, it is the season of Advent and the eyes of the world slowly turn to Bethlehem. Hope prevails in the darkness, and the Patriarch clings to this when discussing the region’s Christians. Cardinal Pizzaballa talks about the intense and challenging situation facing the Catholics of Gaza, the West Bank and Israel. We talk in particular about the small community sheltering at the compound of the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City.
This episode is a collaboration with Middle East Analysis – a podcast strand that emanated from the Bishops’ Conference 15 years ago and features our former Middle East North Africa (MENA) consultant Dr Harry Hagopian. Harry, an Armenian who once served as an Assistant General Secretary for the Middle East Council of Churches, grew up in Jerusalem and his family has traditionally had close ties with the Patriarchate. He fondly reflects on how his father, a doctor, used to treat former Patriarchs at his GP surgery.
Cardinal Pizzaballa and Dr Hagopian share thoughts on a number of subjects in the half-hour podcast:
Gaza and the Christians sheltering at the Church of the Holy Family
Parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli and his joy at being back in Gaza
Memories of engagement with the various Churches of the Holy Land
Hope and grassroots dialogue in the face of war and violence
The Patriarch’s meditation on Advent and faith
You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
21st November 2024
For this Catholic News podcast, we take on a difficult subject – one that needs a carefully considered pastoral approach to those in acute need.
Our topic today is domestic abuse and we’re speaking to Nikki Dhillon Keane from Safe in Faith, an organisation that fosters safe support for survivors of domestic abuse and gender-based violence.
Nikki is a Catholic psychotherapist and counsellor who specialises in domestic abuse, trauma and faith. She is also the author of a book titled: ‘Domestic Abuse in Church Communities: A Safe Pastoral Response’.
That’s what we’re exploring today by looking at the different types of domestic abuse, the challenges faced by victims and survivors, and ways in which the Church can provide effective support to end suffering.
Safe in Faith is a service of Caritas Westminster and promotes trauma-informed, faith-sensitive support for survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence and exploitation, with a compassionate approach that respects how faith influences their experiences.
This podcast was recorded ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women that is marked on 25 November. Read a statement by the Caritas Social Action Network and the National Board of Catholic Women.
You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
If you feel unsafe at home or are worried about someone else, please contact:
The National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247
nationaldahelpline.org.uk
Life Fear Free Helpline (Wales): 0808 8010 800
welshwomensaid.org.uk
Rape Crisis: 0808 5000 2222
rapecrisis.org.uk
Galop: 0800 999 5428
galop.org.uk
If you are concerned that you may be harming the people you love:
Respect Phoneline: 0808 8010 327
respectphoneline.org.uk
You can find more ideas and information about how to help by using these links:
23rd October 2024
Canon Christopher Thomas, General Secretary here at the Bishops’ Conference secretariat, gives us an update on the new lectionary that will be used for the first time in parishes across England and Wales on the First Sunday of Advent.
Speaking on our monthly At the Foot of the Cross podcast, Canon Thomas tells us that we need to be patient with the new text, and gives us some examples of the differences between the English Standard Version – Catholic Edition – the base text for our new lectionary – and the Jerusalem Bible that has been in use for over 40 years.
You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
10th October 2024
On this Catholic News podcast, you can listen to the President of the Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, talking about why it’s so important to inform ourselves about assisted suicide and take action to oppose attempts to legalise it.
In a pastoral letter to the priests and people of his diocese, the Cardinal refers to a private members’ bill on assisted suicide that will shortly pass through the House of Commons.
Cardinal Nichols offers three key points for Catholics to be aware of, and calls on the faithful to be fully engaged in the debate and to write to their MP to oppose assisted suicide being rushed into law.
You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
25th July 2024
If you’ve been a regular at Mass over these summer months you will have listened to the guidance of the prophets in our readings.
Whether you’ve heard God’s wisdom and warnings through Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos, Micah or Hosea, it’s that time of year when we are given the revelatory word that brings about change in the hearts of some or consolation in the hearts of others.
But, as our General Secretary Canon Chris Thomas tells us, prophets are often misunderstood.
“Lots of people think that prophets are there to predict the future when really that’s not fully their role,” he tells us on our At the Foot of the Cross podcast. “Prophets, as we understand them, are people who are endowed with a supernatural gift of wisdom to be claimed in the hearts of the people. They challenge current day practices and make known to the people the consequences of not changing their ways.”
Canon Thomas uses three vocational stories about prophets and their preaching, focusing on Amos, Isaiah and Jeremiah.
As we go through the Summer, we’ll hear the prophets time and time again. Listening to their words can, at times, be quite difficult, but Canon Thomas offers some advice.
“If you keep in the back of your mind that prophets are given a specific word by God to preach to the people so that they will return to being faithful to the covenant and adapt their way of living,” he says. “They can then, as the Prophet Micah says, act justly, love mercifully or tenderly, and more humbly with God. This then leads them to the fullness of life.”
You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
19th July 2024
Ahead of the World Day of Prayer for Grandparents and the Elderly, Bishop David Evans has spoken about the need for us to value the elderly and recognise the important contribution grandparents make to society.
On this ‘Catholic News’ podcast we discuss how we can use this day, on Sunday 28 July, as one of thanksgiving and prayer for grandparents and the elderly.
“We might have a rather rosy idea of family life or of the life of older people,” says Bishop Evans, our Lead Bishop for Marriage and Family Life. “In fact, they have their difficulties and their burdens. We are able to recognise these, and to think about the social implications of their isolation. It’s important we pray for them and recognise that they too are included in God’s love for all.”
Bishop Evans affirms young people in their care for the elderly – particularly grandparents:
“One thing that strikes me is the love which grandchildren have for their grandparents. We’re not asking anything exceptional, for them to take care of their grandparents. Many are doing this already, which is a wonderful thing. But it might just be an opportunity just to do something a bit extra for them on this day, to keep them in our prayers, to think perhaps a bit beyond family members, not just our grandparents, but the older people who might live next door.”
He adds a further suggestion for social outreach:
“It may be that one or two people are able, with the proper precautions, to visit older people who live nearby or who live in care homes – paying a little visit to make their day a bit better.”
You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
5th July 2024
Ahead of Sea Sunday, the day we come together to pray for seafarers and fishers to thank them for the vital role they play in all of our lives, we spoke to Deacon Nick O’Neill, the Senior Area Port Chaplain for the South of England and Wales for Catholic charity Stella Maris.
In this Catholic News podcast, Deacon Nick discusses the joys and challenges of his job supporting seafarers with host Fionn Shiner.
You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
14th June 2024
Hospices – places you go to die, right? Horizontal in a bed for the last months of your life? Decades ago, perhaps, but the modern hospice offers a wide variety of services – all designed to provide high quality, compassionate care for the dying person.
In fact, around 50% of people that use the facilities and treatments go home at the end of the day. It’s time to challenge the stereotypes, bust the myths and go behind the scenes to find out just how hospices work and how they are the jewel in the crown when it comes to end of life care.
Produced in partnership with the Centre for the Art of Dying Well, this special podcast sends us to a truly remarkable place – St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney, East London.
Most people want their death – or that of a loved one or friend – to be comfortable and reconciled. A dignified death. At St Joseph’s Hospice the dying person always comes first so why not listen to find out more?
You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
16th May 2024
For this special Catholic News podcast, we take a look back on Bishop Declan Lang’s twenty-three years as Bishop of Clifton. Let me set the scene for you…
It was the evening before his successor’s episcopal ordination, and we were fortunate to side-step all the intense planning and preparation for the day to come, in order to sit down in the garden of the retiring Bishop of Clifton as the Spring sun gave out its last.
Metaphorically, the sun was setting too on Bishop Declan’s years of ministry as the ninth Bishop of Clifton – it was just a matter of hours before his handover to the incoming Bishop Bosco MacDonald. So, for this podcast, it seemed apposite to take a stroll with Bishop Declan to look back over almost a quarter of a century shepherding the diocese.
In this ‘Catholic News’ podcast we discuss:
His upbringing on the Isle of Wight
The call to the priesthood
Being both a seminarian and a university student
A meeting with the Apostolic Nuncio – Pope John Paul II’s representative in the UK
A pastoral plan from bottom to top for Clifton
What it’s like being a bishop
How the episcopal ministry comes full circle
Young people – the Church for today and tomorrow
National and international work
The challenge of living with Parkinson’s
Poignantly, when discussing his health challenges, he said:
“It has strengthened my trust in God – that God knows what He’s doing. I’m not saying that God sent me Parkinson’s, but I am saying that you can live through Parkinson’s.
“The Christian message is about life. It’s about death, but it’s about life coming from death. We are people of hope, and we can find God. We might think Parkinson’s is totally destroying lives, but actually God can be found in illness, sickness and vulnerability, and it has made me more vulnerable in some ways.”
Listen to our full podcast interview with Bishop Declan Lang – his last as Bishop of Clifton.
You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
27th April 2024
Father Gabriel Romanelli is the parish priest of the Holy Family Church in Gaza City. He had to watch from a distance as the horrors of the 7 October Hamas attack unfolded, before Israel’s bombardment of the Strip led to the humanitarian crisis and suffering we now see in this torn land.
Father Romanelli spent a week in the UK, in London and Glasgow, from 22 – 27 April, meeting with Christian leaders and politicians to highlight the plight of the near 500 people still sheltering in the compound of the Holy Family Church.
For this Catholic News podcast, we again partner up with Middle East Analysis – a podcast strand that emanated from the Bishops’ Conference 15 years ago and features our former Middle East North Africa (MENA) consultant Dr Harry Hagopian.
Dr Hagopian, an International lawyer and analyst who has long worked for peace between Israel and Palestine, joins Fr Romanelli in conversation for this special podcast.
We discuss the current plight of the parish community in the north of Gaza, the lack of food, water and medicine, the Pope’s daily phone calls and pastoral concern for the people, the need for a lasting peace, what Catholics in England and Wales can do, the light of faith in the darkness, and much more.
You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.
