Opponents of assisted suicide legislation hailed it as a “significant win” when the House of Lords approved the establishment of a select committee to scrutinise further the proposals in the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at its second reading. The Bill’s formal committee stage will not now take place until the the select committee has…
Author: Fr Michael Campion
Statement from Archbishop John Sherrington, Lead Bishop for Life IssuesOn the consideration of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the House of Lords
As the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is being considered at length in the House of Lords, we reiterate our firm opposition to the bill in principle and in practice. Despite being described by proponents as the safest of its kind, the bill remains unworkable. It puts the safety of our healthcare institutions,…
Why the government should back down on Palestine Action
The laws against terrorism in the United Kingdom are understandably ferocious, given the gravity of the crimes involved This raises serious questions about the use of such laws against the organisation Palestine Action, which has been proscribed on the grounds that it promotes or encourages terrorism. This seems disproportionate and is therefore unwise. It risks…
The Catholic influencers spreading the word of God
by Margaret Mitchell in The Spectator, 7 August 2025 In an auditorium just outside St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, sat solemnly in the front row as a young crowd sang, danced and hopped around to a pop hymn. The cardinal, who is 70, was widely expected to become the…
Life in Bottom Gear
The slow delights of an OAP coach tour Roger Lewis in The Spectator 12 July 2025 Early on Monday mornings, in service stations across the country, armies of the elderly are mustering. These are the OAPs about to embark on motor coach tours to the Norfolk Broads, Cornish fishing villages, the Yorkshire Moors and Welsh…
Might Latin Have A Part to Play?
Catholic traditionalists are sometimes accused of selecting the bits of the Second Vatican Council they like and forgetting the rest But this amnesia also exists elsewhere, not least regarding clause 36:1 of the decree Sacrosanctum Concilium: “The use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rite.” The celebration of Mass in a…
The NCR papal front-runners: Meet 12 men who could be pope
The chimney on the Sistine Chapel is up, and voting to elect the next pope will begin on Wednesday afternoon, May 7. There will be 133 cardinals who participate in the conclave and they will elect among themselves Pope Francis' successor. Eighty-nine is the magic number to pass the two-thirds majority mark required to be…
The secrets of ‘God’s influencer’
Assisi In a medieval church built of white stone, pilgrims and tourists shuffle past the body of a 15-year-old boy in a tomb with a glass side. The boy is handsome, with dark curly hair, and wears a blue tracksuit top, jeans and Nike trainers. Everyone peers through the glass and some realise, with a…
Bruce MacDonald 1948-2024
Bruce Walter MacDonald, cherished husband, devoted brother, loyal friend and beloved by his extended family, was born on 29 September 1948, the youngest son of Charles and Ruth MacDonald of Hyde Park, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He passed away unexpectedly but peacefully on 8 December 2024. An alumnus of Withrow High School, Bruce attended Princeton University…
Assisted Suicide: An Error of Judgement
From the Editor, The Tablet, 14 February 2025 As was entirely predictable, the proposed law to allow state-assisted suicide in England and Wales is in trouble. The House of Commons committee examining the draft bill has comprehensively proved the adage that “the devil lies in the detail”. It is likely, therefore, that the bill that…
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