‘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.
5th January 2023
“In one way it was a very straightforward celebration of a Funeral Mass as would take place at the death
of any Catholic in any parish church. And yet in another way it was a uniquely historical event and an event of great emotional depth and stature.
“I think we can say it’s the first time [in over 200 years] that a pope has buried a pope who has just died and in that sense there was a uniqueness to it. But I think it was also a moment in which, for me certainly, there was a heightened sense of loss – a sense of my own sadness that Benedict is no longer with us in person. At the same time the ceremony was an unshakable expression of faith and trust in the promises of Jesus. So we had both sadness and hope, we had the grief of loss and the certainty of faith.
“There were some words used in one of the prayers that appealed to me, particularly, and it was an appeal to Mary Salus Populi Romani, that she would intercede that Benedict would now see the face of Jesus and that we would be comforted on our pilgrim way.
“Those words touched me because I reflected on how much Benedict, his life and his spirituality, was focused on a relationship with Jesus. Those books that he wrote about Jesus of Nazareth in some ways summed up not only his learning but also his spirituality and his prayer.
“The other day, Archbishop Gänswein, who knows him better than anybody did, was saying that it was that image of Jesus always accompanying the Church, always being with the Church, that was the most radically fundamental thing in Pope Benedict’s life.
“And I was thinking of the time when I was in St Peter Square when he gave his last homily as serving Pope before he left for Castel Gandolfo. In that homily, he used the image of Jesus asleep in the back of the boat when the storm came on the Sea of Galilee and the disciples were frightened.”
Archbishop Gänswein repeated that and gave a little gloss on it. He said, “Benedict used to say, ‘but now Jesus never sleeps and he’s always with us’.”
So during the Mass I was thinking about those things and, quite simply, how lovable Benedict was and therefore thanking God for the gifts that He gave us through him.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols
Vatican, 5 January 2023
5th January 2023
Shortly after arriving in Rome the day before Benedict XVI’s funeral, Cardinal Vincent Nichols spent some time in prayer and quiet contemplation before the body of the late Pope Emeritus
Lying in state in St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Benedict was visited by tens of thousands of pilgrims who paid their final respects and offered prayers for the repose of his soul.
“Yesterday afternoon, I was able to go into the Basilica of St. Peter’s and be in the presence of Pope
Benedict’s body to pray for him, and on behalf of many people who had asked me to join their prayers together in the presence of Pope Benedict’s mortal remains.
“It was a very simple time, and what was impressive was the movement of people as they came up the whole length of the aisle of St. Peter’s and paused ever so slightly in front of the catafalque where the body of Pope Benedict was visible.
“Everybody did the same thing. They made the sign of the Cross. They whispered a prayer and tried to take a picture with their phone. The stewards who were there were saying, “please move on, please don’t stop.”
“I believe 160,000 or more people have passed through the basilica paying their respects and praying for Pope Benedict. And that, to me, is an expression of how much he was loved.
“For me, I spent a lot of the time reflecting on my association with Pope Benedict and what I loved and appreciated about him. In a way, it was quite difficult to come away. There was a draw. I felt pulled to stay, but then eventually I had to leave. It was very precious time.
“I think how he will be remembered will be as a great scholar who wrote with clarity and simplicity, and who had a very loving disposition and capacity to make people feel welcome and part of whatever it was he was doing – the conversation or the event.
“So he’ll be remembered both for his learning, but for his warmth of heart and generosity of character.”
18th November 2022
Audio taken from a virtual press conference in which four Catholic bishops from England and Wales discussed their autumn plenary meeting.
Bishop Paul Mason, who chaired the press conference, spoke about the Church’s safeguarding work, Bishop John Arnold discussed four resolutions concerned with environmental matters, Bishop John Sherrington addressed the issue of buffer zones around abortion clinics and Bishop Nicholas Hudson updated journalists on the Church’s Synodal Journey.
The Bishops’ plenary meeting took place at Hinsley Hall, Leeds, from 14-17 November 2022.
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1st November 2022
Patrick O’Dowd, the director of Caritas Salford, spoke to us recently to give an overview of what the charity is doing to ease the burdens of struggling families in the north west of England.
Patrick relayed some shocking statistics about the devastating effects of the crisis, with hundreds of thousands of children lacking the bare essentials, families plunged into precarious positions, and even households with one member working are struggling to make ends meet.
Caritas Salford is part of the Caritas Social Action Network, an agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
19th October 2022
Every year, millions of pilgrims from around the world visit the foothills of the French Pyrenees to walk in the footsteps of Saint Bernadette at Lourdes. It’s one of the world’s busiest Catholic pilgrimage sites with around five million pilgrims visiting each year. It’s estimated that over 200 million people have visited the Marian shrine and sanctuary since 1860.
Why do they come? It’s a common misconception that most pilgrims visit Lourdes to experience a miracle. However, many are searching for strength and guidance in times of difficulty or distress. For many sick pilgrims, Lourdes offers the opportunity to bathe in the healing waters of the spring and to find peace with their prognosis rather than to seek a miraculous cure.
They also come to walk in the footsteps of a poor 14 year old girl, named Bernadette Soubirous, to whom the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in a series of 18 apparitions at a Grotto on the banks of the river Gave between February and July 1858.
Hers is a remarkable story that led from suffering and surrender to sainthood. We can take solace and draw closer to the Lord and His Blessed Mother through Bernadette’s story.
In this audiobook, produced in partnership with the Catholic Truth Society, we listen to the message of St Bernadette – a message that is as clear today as it was in the 19th century.
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This book, written by Vernon Johnson, was published by the Catholic Truth Society (CTS). The text was revised and updated by Donal Foley in 2008. You can listen to this audiobook version for free. Read by Pierpaolo Finaldi.
Duration: 1 hour 18 minutes
4th October 2022
As the Social Justice department of the Bishops’ Conference launches a new revised edition of the Bishops’ teaching document on the environment The Call of Creation, Bishop John Arnold, our episcopal lead for environmental matters, has been speaking to us about the current ecological crisis, our responsibilities as Catholics and custodians of the created world, and his belief that we all need to play our part to protect our common home.
We’re fundamentally going to talk about the ‘Call of Creation’, which is the Bishops’ teaching document on the environment, released in 2002, and I know it was revised along the way by CAFOD, but we are now re-releasing in 2022. Just tell us why we’re doing this now.
Well, I think the world was woken up a great deal by Laudato Si, Pope Francis’ encyclical, and that did a great service not just to the people of the church, but to the world. But still we’re not acting quickly enough. And if you look at the statistics that are emerging we’re really making a terrible mess of the environment and it’s having an appalling impact on so many people around the world.
In the news… Pakistan – 33 million people directly affected by climate change. We’ve got Japan with Typhoon Nanmadol – three million people evacuated; the Puerto Rico typhoon; Alaskan storms; the west states of the United States with their wildfires; Kentucky with its ongoing flood damage. Really, it’s an appalling state of affairs. When are we going to make it urgent to be effective in our response?
And that’s really before we mention war and other things that are going on in our world… Let’s go back to your foreword for The Call of Creation, in which you say a truly Catholic understanding of the environmental crisis does not see it as a series of individual problems that need to be solved. Now, I find that very interesting. How should we, then, as Catholics, respond to this environmental crisis?
Well, I think Pope Francis gives us a lead, when he says everything is connected and that each and every one of us has our part to play.
We’ve got to see climate change and the damage it’s doing as not just a series of things that we can cure one by one. It’s a matter of care for creation as a whole, which means changing our lifestyle and everyone has got to be part of that. It also includes our political actions. The war in Ukraine is an appalling, damaging feature for the environment. It’s a dreadful thing to be happening. It’s affecting food supplies and destroying property. There is evidence of a number of deaths that have not yet been accounted for. It’s all connected and we’ve got to have a global look, as Pope Francis says, and put these things together so that we can recognise a plan for all of us in order to save our common home.
Now, without getting too controversial, I think there might be something of a problem with the psychology behind action. Sometimes you’ll get people saying, well, what about India, China, the US, ourselves, the big polluters? How can we avoid individuals getting disheartened by these big polluters so they carry on doing their bit, changing their relationship with the environment, going about it in a positive way, thinking about their consumption, recycling etc? How do we keep their spirits up so they continue to make a difference?
Well, I think Christian hope has a great deal to do with this – that we’ve not been defeated. Pope Francis is very clear, we live on in hope and that hope can’t be just something that we put nicely on the windowsill and say, it will happen, we’ve got to be part of this. And it’s all very well to feel very pessimistic about certain nations in the world and what’s going terribly wrong and they’re correcting their ways of destroying the environment.
At the same time, we’ve got quite an upsurge of popular understanding, people around the world, particularly young people, who are learning so much about the environment and wanting to make it a priority. Now, if our political leaders are going to lead us effectively, they’ve got to listen to us. And the more noise that we can make about their prioritising the environment, I think the better place we will be in to persuade governments around the world to make those necessary actions.
Now, obviously, you’re our Lead Bishop for the Environment, and I won’t ask you to speak for every diocese and to tell us about every single church building, for instance, but in your experience, and in your diocese, perhaps in particular, how are we getting on with our carbon net zero aims, emissions, efficiency in churches, schools and offices?
I think we’ve made some good progress. We’ve got the Guardians of Creation project, which is effectively helping us to combine our thoughts and share our best practise. We’ve certainly, as a church, got a lot of properties and we can do a great deal in terms of moving towards net zero in carbon.
We’ve got that sense of education going on. Certainly among the young people in my diocese, I do feel a real enthusiasm. We’ve got to try and make sure that we express our concerns about the environment, not in a frightening way for young people, but in a way that encourages them in their understanding of what they can be doing and what their families can be doing in terms of modifying our behaviour and helping at ground level with care for the environment.
But we’ve got a lot more to do, and it’s very important that we, as bishops, speak out very firmly about the urgency of what we face, and that, as bishops, we also need to be approaching the politicians loudly and clearly about what needs to be done and that they must lead.
Well, talking of which of course we have the COP 27 UN Climate Change Conference in Egypt in November. You talk about young people, but also we have a number of groups in and around the church, of potentially older people actually, that can support the bishops and help guide and be a bit more active. What can we do to make our voices heard to the world’s decision-makers ahead of November?
I think we’ve got to responsibly demonstrate what we believe and I think that’s happening more and more. Yes, there are a number of organisations, both of Christian faith, other faiths, or of no particular faith, who are promoting good practise. We’ve got to make sure that this education goes on, because when we know that we’re responsible, I feel that we can react more sincerely and constructively in our actions.
Talking about that – being better formed, understanding the theology and spirituality behind looking after the environment as good custodians of creation – how would you like people to interpret this revised Call of Creation document?
I think the tone of it is a very practical description of what’s happened and the direction in which we are going. It offers a sense of education that we can all be part of the way we respond to the needs of our times. We can do that in a sense which is promoted by our faith, that it’s part of our theology and our spirituality, and that it’s now something that we really need to turn our attention to because it underpins all the other difficulties in our world. We’re not going to solve poverty if we’ve not got an environment in which we can survive happily. We’re not going to sort out people’s lack of clean water if we’re not caring for the environment. We’ve got to make sure that we know about our common home and appreciate the value of it and that we are going to look after it and repair it. Which is so important.
We need to look beyond short term goals. So many politicians look to their term in office and wanting to be elected and that really depends on how much prosperity they can engage for their people. But this is a time when we can’t just be looking to prosperity but to the very survival of humankind because we’re not looking after that common home in which we live.
We know about custodianship, and we can always do better with that, but I think this document is very relational, isn’t it? It’s not just our relationship with the natural world as we see it, it expands beyond that. We mentioned war a bit earlier, relationship between peoples. You touched on it there, that damage to the environment affects the poor most of all, doesn’t it, as those poor communities inhabit the worst affected and most vulnerable locations. You mentioned at the very start of this piece the flooding and the terrible situations around the world caused directly by environmental damage. So do you see this as a relational document where it’s not as simple as just sorting out our relationship with the created world, it’s about sorting out our relationship with one another?
Oh, certainly. And one of the things that looked so optimistic with COP 26 was this loss and damage budget, where it’s proposed £100 billion a year be set aside for those countries that are already suffering so much. But as far as I know, very little has come of that promise for the loss and damage budget. But certainly we, as the prosperous Global North, are inflicting dreadful damage on so many countries in the Global South. It’s interesting to see that we are now being affected quite radically. California and the western states of the United States have had some real destruction. We’ve got troubles in Japan now with typhoons, and we had those floods in Europe. So we are all being affected. Perhaps that’s going to nudge us into more action, recognising that while we’re affected, other people have been really life threatened by what’s happening to them. The droughts in the Horn of Africa now going on for seven years, they’ve had no crops because of the seasonal breakdown in weather conditions. Yes, we’ve got to think globally. We have our common home and we must recognise our responsibilities to one another.
And finally, Bishop John, for those in our pews, our Catholic community, when they look at this, and they might get quite disheartened by all the things that are happening around the world. Obviously, we believe in working for the common good, but what would you say to them if they feel a little bit of inertia or a little bit of a difficulty in stepping forward and making some of those relational changes you’ve been talking about?
Well, there’s so much information on so many websites, diocesan newsletters and parish newsletters of even the smallest things that we can do which will make a change. Pope Francis had said that drops of water eventually put together make a reservoir. It is in those little changes that you and I can actually make a difference today. And it doesn’t mean great deprivation in our lives at all, but it means a more careful use of the resources that are freely available to us and that sense of promoting a “good” which will build up. I’m confident that we will make the whole question of the urgency much more prominent and that our political leaders will take a real notice and provide the policies which will save the environment.
2nd September 2022
In this audio interview, Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, takes us through the Consistory that saw him elevated to the rank of Cardinal by Pope Francis.
He explains the role of cardinal, how it impacts on his work in the Roman Curia and how he supports the ministry of the Holy Father.
9th August 2022
The director of a new Ukrainian Welcome Centre in central London has urged Britons to keep their hearts and doors open to Ukrainians who are arriving in the UK fleeing the war in their homeland.
Andriy Marchenko talks to us about the Centre, based at the cathedral of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family near Bond Street in central London
It provides a single point of contact for essential information for arrival, settling and long-term living in the UK and is a partnership between the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family of London and the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain.
“Many of these people have come through a lot of hardship before ending up in the United Kingdom. Many have been through a lot and they tend to be stressed out, they tend to be disoriented sometimes and we aim to help them, to signpost them to the right services in the UK, to give them correct advice so that they know exactly what to do – what their next move should be in order to succeed and, eventually, to thrive in the United Kingdom.”
My name is Andriy Marchenko. I’m the director of the Ukrainian Welcome Centre. The Ukrainian Welcome Centre has been set up in London as a joint initiative of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family of London and the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain. This is, of course, a direct response to the escalation of Russia’s war against Ukraine. It is common knowledge that there are many Ukrainians who are coming to the United Kingdom as they are seeking refuge here from Russian attacks.
Our centre aims to support these people as they arrive in the United Kingdom. They need to settle, they need to get all their documentation ready, they have to send their children to schools – the majority of those who are coming are mothers with children. They need to find the proper accommodation, they need social support, they need to find jobs, they need practically to start life anew – even if it is for a little while.
Many of these people have come through a lot of hardship before ending up in the United Kingdom. Many have been through a lot and they tend to be stressed out, they tend to be disoriented sometimes and we aim to help them, to signpost them to the right services in the UK, to give them correct advice so that they know exactly what to do – what their next move should be in order to succeed and, eventually, to thrive in the United Kingdom.
We normally organise open days here at the centre where Ukrainians can come and ask the questions that are troubling them. We also get quite an extensive support from the UK government. So, for instance, the Home Office Department for Levelling Up and the Department for Work and Pensions send their representatives to our centre for drop-in sessions with the Ukrainians where they can actually directly point those questions to the government.
We also provide additional services such as psychological support, GP access, immigration lawyers and so forth. We have set up quite an operation, mostly volunteer-based, but of course we have a lot of support on the part of the Eparchy and also on the part of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain who have supplied a lot of knowledgeable people with a lot of experience in dealing with such matters, who are instrumental to running this centre. I feel blessed that I am surrounded by so many people.
We have lots of plans for the future. Right now we have been more or less setting up [our operations] and the past few months have been what we would call the initial few months for our centre.
It is not a very easy process because there is quite a bit of bureaucracy involved. First of all, people have to apply from outside the United Kingdom to come here. So before coming here they need to be granted a visa. In order to get their visas, they need to travel outside Ukraine because there is no British visa centre in Ukraine. So first of all they have to travel to places like Poland, France or Germany and apply for UK visas there. They give their biometric data and then just wait for their visas to be processed. That can take quite a long time. For some lucky ones it is not very long, for some it takes a long time. I have heard of several people who have actually given up hope of getting a UK visa and travel to some other country or indeed back to Ukraine.
Once they’re here, the process can be quite difficult for those newcomers. So this is part of our mission – to try and help them. We give them a one-stop, single point of contact where they can get all the necessary basic information – where to go, which services to apply for, and where to apply for those services.
I think the most important thing is for these Ukrainians to remain connected to their homeland because they can end up in very different conditions and situations. Sometimes we have seen these people come in [to the centre] just to speak Ukrainian instead of getting their questions answered. So I think the essential part of it is to keep them together as a community so that when it’s time to go home they will remain integrated to Ukraine rather than detached from it.
The main challenge is, perhaps, that these people are really very stressed and they have been through a lot and sometimes when we hear these stories it can be quite shocking.
Please keep your hearts and doors open to Ukrainians because this is the decisive ground where history is actually being made. Ukrainian people are not coming here on a whim. They have to come here to find refuge from what’s happening in Ukraine. Russian forces, the Russian government, have been deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and that includes residential quarters.
These people are actually on the run from something that’s unavoidable. They had to leave in order to survive, and by helping these people, the British nation is helping the Ukrainian nation survive – a fellow European nation. There is a lot of hardship but I would say that Russia is fighting a war against the whole of the civilised world and not just against Ukraine. It is very important to support Ukraine by supporting Ukrainian people.
The United Kingdom is at the forefront of supporting Ukraine and we would be absolutely grateful if British people continued this support to Ukrainian families at this grassroots level.
Practically all of them are asking, “Okay, you’re working at the centre, you probably know the situation better than us… When will it be safe to go back home?” We should remember that most of these women have left their men fighting in Ukraine. So, of course, they want to go back home, and they want their families reunited. Most of all, they want their old life back – their normal, peaceful life.
9th August 2022
The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family has opened a Welcome Centre in London in partnership with the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain.
Based at the Eparchy’s cathedral near Bond Street in central London, the Centre provides a single point of contact for essential information for arrival, settling and long-term living in the UK.
Bishop Kenneth Novakowski, the Ukrainian Catholic Bishop for the Holy Family of London, talks to us about the new welcome centre and how the Ukrainian community in the UK is working with the government, NGOs and other charities and organisations to help Ukrainians fleeing war in their homeland.
I’m Bishop Kenneth Novakowski, the Ukrainian Catholic Bishop for the Holy Family of London. The shock of the invasion of Ukraine in many ways seemed to almost paralyse people of conscience and goodwill throughout the world in those first few days. Eventually the Ukrainian people started to realise that they had to flee from their homes – to flee from harm’s way – because of the consistent bombings and invasion of their country.
And so in the first several weeks of the invasion we saw a huge migration of people departing their homes and their cities to western Ukraine. More than 7 million, in a very short time, left the country and made their way into the border countries with Ukraine – especially into Poland.
The government of the United Kingdom developed two schemes to receive displaced persons fleeing harm’s way. One was ‘Homes for Ukraine’ and the second was concerned with family reunification.
According to government statistics here in the United Kingdom, 100,000 displaced people from Ukraine have been welcomed into the UK. Very quickly our cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile in central London became the focal point for people wanting to help and for those needing help.
So along with the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family decided to provide a safe place – a place of welcome – for those fleeing and also for those who are sponsoring people who have opened up their homes and their hearts. A place of welcome where we would work closely together with other non-government agencies and governmental agencies to provide information, counselling and even community for those who are fleeing.
We were able to provide fairly large premises in our cathedral dedicated to that goal of providing a place of welcome to our newly-arrived brothers and sisters. This joint venture is true community outreach, and I can’t emphasise enough the co-operation we have had from so many other non-governmental organisations, other religious communities and the government.
In the area of pastoral care and concern for not only those who are arriving but for those who feel they want to have a place to pray during the daytime, we have kept our cathedral doors open between 10am and 8pm. This allows people to come in, have a time of prayer and silence – a place where they can come and think about the benefits that we have here in the United Kingdom. They can say a prayer and light a candle – for those who have died in defending Ukraine, for those who are fleeing and for those who are helping those that have arrived here. As this war continues we can become desensitised to the horror that the war is bringing to Ukrainian people but the reality is that the war is still going on. People are still losing their lives, their homes, their businesses.
Here in the UK, through the work of so many people, we are providing a place that is safe allowing people to keep their dignity. It’s a place of welcome from which I continue to ask for people to pray for peace in Ukraine or those who are helping in the various charity organisations working in Poland, Ukraine, and all the other border countries – especially organisations like CAFOD, Caritas Ukraine, Caritas Internationalis and for all of those volunteers who every day are providing care and kindness to those fleeing harm’s way.
18th July 2022
The Lead Bishop for Marriage and Family Life, Bishop David Oakley, has spoken to us about a new resource that offers reflections on the main themes of Amoris Laetitia – the 2016 Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation.
‘The Joy of Love’ looks at the themes of Joy, Love, Mercy, Realities and Discernment, and Mission encouraging prayer and reflection for individuals, couples and families.
The Joy of Love can also be found in our ‘Documents and Publications‘ area.
15th June 2022
In December 1916, deep in the Sahara, an unknown French hermit was shot through the head and dumped in a ditch. He was 58.
An accomplished geographer, linguist and explorer, in youth he had been a disillusioned soldier and aristocratic playboy.
Why at 30 did he abandon family, career, everything, to search for ‘the last place’, close to the poor and suffering?
This audiobook describes his epic pilgrimage from misery to love and of silent witness to Christ among the Tuareg of the Sahara, including his writings and prayers, and the work being done today by Little Brothers and Sisters of Jesus.
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This now out-of-print title offered by the Catholic Truth Society (CTS) was written by the late J. Fawley in 1999 and published a year later. But, fear not, this excellent book has not been lost. You can listen to this audiobook version for free. Read by Monica Nash.
Duration: 1 hour 21 minutes
13th May 2022
Bishop Thomas Neylon, Lead Bishop for Asia for the Bishops’ Conference, has recorded a short reflection on Blessed Lazarus, also called Devasahayam, an 18th-century Indian martyr. He was a married Hindu man who converted to Catholicism and suffered much persecution for his faith.
A Catholic for only seven years, he was shot dead in the Aralvaimozhy forest on January 14, 1752.
Statue of Devasahayam Pillai, St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Kottar, Nagercoil
Kumbalam on Wikimedia Commons
CC BY-SA 3.0
