Fr Raniero Cantalamessa also told an Anglican synod in London that what is needed in relations between churches is a "qualitative leap forward".

Fr Cantalamessa, who has been Preacher to the Papal Household since 1980, was preaching at a service at the Church of England's Tenth General Synod, held in Westminster Abbey.

Addressing Queen Elizabeth II and the whole synod, he said the focus today must be on the person of Jesus the Lord, crucified and risen, not on this or that doctrine.

Fr Cantalamessa added: "This does not mean ignoring the great theological and spiritual enrichment that came from the Reformation or desiring to go back to the time before it.

"It means instead allowing all of Christianity to benefit from its achievements, once they are freed from certain distortions due to the heated atmosphere of the time and of later controversies."

Reflecting on the preparations for the fifth centenary of the Protestant Reformation, Fr Cantalamessa said, "it is vital for the whole Church that this opportunity is not wasted by people remaining prisoners of the past, trying to establish each other's rights and wrongs".

He added: "Rather, let us take a qualitative leap forward, like what happens when the sluice gates of a river or a canal enable ships to continue to navigate at a higher water level."

Fr Cantalamessa said that "we need to start again with the person of Jesus, humbly helping our contemporaries to experience a personal encounter with him."

He added: "Christ is the light of the world, the one who gives meaning and hope to every human life - and the majority of people around us live and die as if he had never existed!

"How can we be unconcerned, and each remain ‘in the comfort of our own panelled houses'?

"We should never allow a moral issue like that of sexuality divide us more than love for Jesus Christ unites us."

Sources

• Catholic Herald
• Full text of Fr Cantalamessa's address
• Image: Anglican News

"I've also brought something from all our estates, which is for you personally," said the Queen, wearing a lavender dress and a purple hat, as she handed Francis a wicker basket full of food at the end of a 17-minute private meeting in the Vatican. Read more

A February 4 statement said Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, will meet the pope on April 3.

The queen and prince will visit Rome at the invitation of Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, the statement said.

It said the royal couple would attend a private lunch hosted by the president at the presidential palace, then would have an audience with the pope at the Vatican.

The 87-year-old queen, who has reigned since 1952, was the first British sovereign to welcome a pope to England when she greeted Blessed Pope John Paul II in London in 1982. Continue reading

Continue reading

Mr Key confirmed the Queen's lady-in-waiting had briefed him that Queen Elizabeth wanted to talk about the future of the Cathedral after a flood of letters.

The Queen is the nominal head of the Anglican church in Britain, though not New Zealand.

"The Queen has had an extraordinarily large amount of correspondence in relation to the Christchurch Cathedral," Mr Key said.

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The article, "Sixty years of service" is about "three kiwis who have also spent six fulfilling decades in their fields".

The article tells how Sister Yvonne, who came from Hokitika, met some Home of Compassion sisters and was so impressed with them that she decided to join up.

She entered the Home of Compassion in 1952 and over sixty years has worked in Fiji, Auckland, Wellington, Carterton and the Hutt Valley. Much of her career was spent nursing, but she also spent time supervising the Home of Compassion kitchen.

Yvonne now lives in retirement at Silverstream but still visits the elderly in the nearby hospital and rest home.

Source

• Australian Women's Weekly New Zealand edition (not available online)
• Image: The Sisters of Compassion

In the course of the all the celebrations, it won't however be the only reference to religion.

The 86-year-old queen recently delivered a speech to a group of religious leaders from various faiths gathered at Lambeth Palace, home of the Archbishop of Canterbury,

"Our religions provide critical guidance for the way we live our lives, and for the way in which we treat each other. Many of the values and ideas we take for granted in this and other countries originate in the ancient wisdom of our traditions. Even the concept of a Jubilee is rooted in the Bible" said Her Royal Highness.

Defending religious pluralism, Queen Elizabeth claimed the role of the established church in Britain is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other faiths, but instead to protect the free practice of all faiths in the country.

"This occasion," continued the Queen, "is thus an opportunity to reflect on the importance of faith in creating and sustaining communities all over the United Kingdom."

"Faith plays a key role in the identity of many millions of people, providing not only a system of belief but also a sense of belonging. It can act as a spur for social action. Indeed, religious groups have a proud track record of helping those in the greatest need, including the sick, the elderly, the lonely and the disadvantaged. They remind us of the responsibilities we have beyond ourselves."

Sources

• Deseret News
• Image: Examiner.com

British Prime Minister David Cameron has proposed a change in royal succession law to remove the bias against female heirs and the disqualification on a heir who marries a Catholic.

Locke said the Government should tell Cameron that any reform bill going through the New Zealand Parliament will also end the prohibition against a Catholic ascending to the throne.

To do otherwise "makes a mockery" of New Zealand's Human Rights Act, which prevents discrimination on religious grounds, he said.

"We should ask Mr Cameron to be a little bolder and remove all discrimination against Catholics.

"If that means the Monarch can no longer automatically be head of the British Anglican Church, so be it."

Brian Rudman has pointed out that and law change will have to be agreed to by 16 different commonwealth parliaments and the only people who stand to gain or lose by any proposed law are the "handful of blue bloods who can claim legitimate descent from the 17th-century Electress Sophia of Hanover, who was a granddaughter of James IV of Scotland (and James I of England) and the niece of Charles I. "

Source

• TVNZ
• New Zealand Herald
• Image: The Telegraph