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Cardinal Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago: "A Call to Conscience"

Cardinal Blase Cupich

As more than 1,000 Iranian men, women and children lay dead after days of bombardment from U.S. and Israeli missiles, the official White House X account on Thursday evening posted a video of scenes from popular action movies spliced with actual strike footage from their war on Iran. The clip was captioned: "JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY." A real war with real death and real suffering being treated like... Read More


Gospel in Art: A woman from Samaria came to draw water

Christ and the Woman of Samaria at the Well,  by Il Guercino, 1640 - 1641  © Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, Madrid

Gospel of 8 March 2026 John 4:5-42 At that time: Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, 'Give me a drink.' (For his disciples had gone away into the... Read More


Pope: Peace is a constant journey of reconciliation

Image: Vatican Media

In a letter sent to a gathering in his home town of Chicago, Pope Leo said: "when people of different religious traditions come together in prayer, it has the power to change the course of history." Writing to participants in the International Encounter for Peace and Reconciliation at Loyola University, Pope Leo began by saying he was pleased they were continuing with the 'Building Bridges Init... Read More


Iraq: 'If Christians are forced to leave again they will not return'

Patriarch Louis Rafael Sako

As the war in the Middle East continues to escalate, with the spectre of a broader regional conflict looming, the Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad, Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako, has voiced his alarm. "As Patriarch, I am deeply concerned. No one knows where this war will lead," he told Vatican News today. Like much of the Middle East, Iraq has come under rocket and drone attacks from Iran over the pas... Read More

Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls

Leela Ramdeen

The Theme for International Women's Day tomorrow, 8 March is: 'Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls'. António Guterres, Secretary General of the UN, has stated that achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls is "the unfinished business of our time, and the greatest human rights challenge in our world." Christianity teaches that all people possess inherent, inviolable dig... Read More


Battersea parish hosts panel discussion on papacy of Pope Leo

l-r: Rev Erin Clark, Fr David O'Malley and Christopher Lamb during the discussion

Christopher Lamb, Vatican correspondent for CNN and Rev Erin Clark, Vicar of St Mary's Anglican church in Battersea were guest speakers at a packed meeting in the Sacred Heart church, Battersea on Thursday, to reflect on the hope and unity that Pope Leo's election might bring to our church. Fr Peter Pagac SDB, Parish Priest hosted the event. The conversation was chaired by Fr David O'Malley SDB f... Read More


Sunday Reflection with Canon Robin Gibbons: 8th March 2026

Christ and the woman drawing water  Catacomb of Callistus, Rome. 2C AD

Third Sunday of Lent The true Place of the Woman at the Well Let us begin our reflection by letting the woman of Sychar unsettle us for a good cause, challenging our own preconceptions about the company Jesus kept, to help us place this Samaritan woman not only as a key figure but a primary witness in John's Gospel. This is a form of recovery, rebalancing ourselves if you like, by letting the fact... Read More


Gospel in Art: Optional Memorial of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs

Perpetua and Felicitas,  6thC mosaic, Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna  © Photo by Fr Lawrence Lew OP, Flikr

Gospel of 7 March 2026 Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 At that time: The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, 'This man receives sinners and eats with them.' So he told them this parable: 'There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, "Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me." And h... Read More


As war spreads, Bishop appeals for prayers for peace

Bishop Bosco MacDonald, Bishop of Clifton, has issued the following statement regarding the war in Iran and the wider Middle East: The widening war involving Iran is a grave cause of sorrow and alarm. After the long agony of Ukraine and the appalling suffering in Gaza, the world now faces another conflict whose consequences are unpredictable, and whose cost is already being paid first by ordinary ... Read More


Women Peacemakers: Celebrating International Women's Day

This Sunday, 8 March at 7pm, you are warmly invited to gather for an International Women's Day celebration that is both prayerful and theologically rich, rooted in the Church's growing reflection on Gospel nonviolence and the call to become peacemakers in a wounded world. Taking inspiration from the 2026 World Peace Day message of Pope Leo: "Towards an 'unarmed and disarming' peace," the evening w... Read More


LCSB invitation to celebrate Easter in Wales

This Easter, the Lay Community of St Benedict (LCSB) gathers at Cefn Lea in mid Wales for a community celebration of Easter, to which all are welcome to come. This is a unique way of living the Triduum. Away from chores and distractions, planted in the Welsh countryside, we pray and sing together, we enjoy a family friendly atmosphere, and deepen our love of the Lord in this sacrificial feast. Thi... Read More


To see a rogue state, the US need only look in the mirror

Johnny Zokovitch

In 2024, more than 200 mental health professionals issued an open letter theorizing that President Trump exhibited behaviours that meet the criteria for antisocial personality disorder. "Even a non-clinician can see that Trump shows a lifetime pattern of 'failure to conform to social norms and laws,' 'repeated lying,' 'reckless disregard for the safety of others,' 'irritability,' 'impulsivity,' ... Read More


Professor Jack Scarisbrick RIP

Professor Jack Scarisbrick MBE

Professor Jack Scarisbrick MBE died on Saturday, 28 February at the age of 97. After announcing the sad news, Lord Alton wrote: "I count it one of the great privileges of my life to have known Jack - a brilliant historian, his powerful intellect and profound compassion were underpinned by remarkable energy and drive. "In charting a path to create a coherent and effective pro life movement - based ... Read More


Northern Arabia: Bishop appeals to Christians and Muslims to unite in prayer for peace

Drones hit oil refinery.  Screenshot

The Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia has called on believers of all faiths to pray "so that the roar of missiles may cease" and that the people of the Middle East may live in communion, highlighting the spiritual context in which the conflict has erupted. "In these difficult days marked by the pain and uncertainty of war", Bishop Aldo Berardi addressed the people of the Kingdom of Bahrain, its ... Read More

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