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Gospel of 28 April 2024 John 15:1-8 'I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can ... Read More

Father Ibrahim Faltas ofm, Vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, writes: It is a duty to remember with sadness and respect every human life lost due to the violence of war. These are losses that could have been avoided. But humanity is looking for the possibility of war and not for the possible peace. Among the many innocent victims, particularly sad is the preventable death of Lara al-Sayegh, ... Read More

Young supporters of the international development agency Christian Aid, and some of its partners are coming together on Sunday, April 28, for a pilgrimage around the UK capital to demand an end to UK weapons sales to Israel. The group, made up of 18-30 year olds, will be setting off from Lambeth Palace - the official residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury - to highlight the fact their faith has... Read More

Fifth Sunday of Easter The image of the vine One of the advantages of coming from a mixed family background is the variety of experiences that we sample in the course of our lives. At the risk of putting a bit too much of my personal heritage before you, the French side of my family keeps me in touch with farming, particularly through their rearing of Montbéliarde cattle, whose milk is essential ... Read More

Gospel of 27 April 2024 John 14:7-14 Jesus said to his disciples: 'If you know me, you know my Father too. From this moment you know him and have seen him.' Philip said, 'Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.' 'Have I been with you all this time, Philip,' said Jesus to him, 'and you still do not know me? 'To have seen me is to have seen the Father, so how can you say, "Let us... Read More

A Catholic community in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater region have, for many months, been bearing witness to attempts by Tanzania's national government to squeeze out indigenous Maasai communities from their traditional lands, by cutting health services in a long-established clinic. The clinic, which has been run by the Catholic church since 1965, has suffered cuts to water and electricity, and the... Read More

Fr David Stewart SJ, from Scottish Bishops' J&P Commission writes: A large audience gathered in Glasgow's International Concert Hall on Saturday, to greet Fr Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of Holy Family Roman Catholic community in Gaza. Another nearby hall had been booked for Hope For Peace in Gaza: A Conversation With Fr Romanelli but it proved too small. Organised jointly by SCIAF (Scot... Read More

Sister Cathy, a Religious of the Assumption from the Twickenham community wrote on X (Twitter) today: @SrCathyRA - 30 years ago today, six Assumption Sisters were killed in Rwanda. We remember them with love, and pray for peace wherever there is violence & hatred. A reflection on the Assumption Sisters website reads: 'Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a sin... Read More

The Day of Prayer for Victims and Survivors of Abuse this year will be observed on 30th April 2024. It is always marked on the Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter in England and Wales. This year's focus is on communities who have been directly affected by allegations or convictions related to abuse, especially, but not exclusively, within the Church. This may be associated with clergy, a teacher i... Read More

Basic necessities like electricity are prohibitively expensive in Lebanon and Syria because of an ongoing economic crisis, making renewable energy systems crucial, according to the local Church. Priests and religious Sisters in Lebanon have explained how the solar panels donated by a Catholic charity have enabled them to survive soaring power costs. Sister Yaout of the Maronite Sisters of the Holy... Read More

The UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has decried a series of Israeli strikes on Rafah in the past few days that killed mostly children and women, repeating his warning against a full-scale incursion on an area where 1.2 million civilians have been forcibly cornered. Such an operation would lead to further breaches of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, he said. It... Read More

Once again this Saturday, Christians For Palestine will be gathering in London to pray and march for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Meet at St Matthew's church, Westminster, 20 Great Peter St, London SW1P 2BU ( behind Westminster Abbey) at 11.45am. The organisers say: "We will hold our prayers around 12pm and leave at 12.15, to march the route from Parliament Square to the national ... Read More

Gospel of 26 April 2024 John 14:1-6 Jesus said to his disciples: 'Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still, and trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father's house; if there were not, I should have told you. I am going now to prepare a place for you, and after I have gone and prepared you a place, I shall return to take you with me; so that where I am you may be too. You know the ... Read More

Father Gabriel Romanelli, Parish Priest of Holy Family Catholic Parish in Gaza, has been in London during a week-long visit to the United Kingdom, facilitated by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. An Argentinian priest of the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE), on Tuesday he met with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Rev Justin Welby, at Lambeth Palace. He has also met with... Read More