For this special Catholic News podcast, we take a look back on Bishop Declan Lang’s twenty-three years as Bishop of Clifton. Let me set the scene for you…

It was the evening before his successor's episcopal ordination, and we were fortunate to side-step all the intense planning and preparation for the day to come, in order to sit down in the garden of the retiring Bishop of Clifton as the Spring sun gave out its last.

Metaphorically, the sun was setting too on Bishop Declan’s years of ministry as the ninth Bishop of Clifton – it was just a matter of hours before his handover to the incoming Bishop Bosco MacDonald. So, for this podcast, it seemed apposite to take a stroll with Bishop Declan to look back over almost a quarter of a century shepherding the diocese.

In this 'Catholic News' podcast we discuss:

His upbringing on the Isle of Wight The call to the priesthood Being both a seminarian and a university student A meeting with the Apostolic Nuncio - Pope John Paul II's representative in the UK A pastoral plan from bottom to top for Clifton What it's like being a bishop How the episcopal ministry comes full circle Young people - the Church for today and tomorrow National and international work The challenge of living with Parkinson's

Poignantly, when discussing his health challenges, he said:

"It has strengthened my trust in God - that God knows what He's doing. I'm not saying that God sent me Parkinson's, but I am saying that you can live through Parkinson's.

"The Christian message is about life. It's about death, but it's about life coming from death. We are people of hope, and we can find God. We might think Parkinson's is totally destroying lives, but actually God can be found in illness, sickness and vulnerability, and it has made me more vulnerable in some ways."

Listen to our full podcast interview with Bishop Declan Lang - his last as Bishop of Clifton.

Subscribe

You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.

Father Gabriel Romanelli is the parish priest of the Holy Family Church in Gaza City. He had to watch from a distance as the horrors of the 7 October Hamas attack unfolded, before Israel's bombardment of the Strip led to the humanitarian crisis and suffering we now see in this torn land.

Father Romanelli spent a week in the UK, in London and Glasgow, from 22 - 27 April, meeting with Christian leaders and politicians to highlight the plight of the near 500 people still sheltering in the compound of the Holy Family Church.

For this Catholic News podcast, we again partner up with Middle East Analysis - a podcast strand that emanated from the Bishops' Conference 15 years ago and features our former Middle East North Africa (MENA) consultant Dr Harry Hagopian.

Dr Hagopian, an International lawyer and analyst who has long worked for peace between Israel and Palestine, joins Fr Romanelli in conversation for this special podcast.

We discuss the current plight of the parish community in the north of Gaza, the lack of food, water and medicine, the Pope's daily phone calls and pastoral concern for the people, the need for a lasting peace, what Catholics in England and Wales can do, the light of faith in the darkness, and much more.

Subscribe

You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.

This Catholic News podcast looks at AI and Pope Francis' message for World Communications Day.

Bishop John Arnold, Lead Bishop for Communications here at the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, talks about how the technology can make information accessible and support the common good but we should make sure that it is carefully regulated.

"Let's use machines to assist us in what we're doing to make our world a better place, to enhance the way we live. But let's not allow machines in any way to think for us or to make decisions which are not appropriate."

Subscribe

You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.

We keep our firm focus on the Holy Land and whilst we continue to weep as we look on at the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and the suffering of all civilians caught up in this conflict, we're joined by Fr Fadi Diab to discuss the lived realities of the Palestinian people in the West Bank as well as in the decimated strip.

Fr Diab is from Ramallah and is the rector of St Andrew's Episcopal Church and also minister at St Peter's Church in Bir Zeit.

Subscribe

You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.

Bishop Declan Lang, Chair of our International Affairs department, recently joined former Middle East North Africa advisor to the Bishops' Conference, Dr Harry Hagopian, on a special podcast to discuss the tragic events playing out in the Holy Land as the conflict continues to rage in Gaza.

Five long, painful months after the Hamas terror attack of 7 October and the subsequent bombing and ground offensive that has reduced Gaza to rubble and led to several thousand deaths and a humanitarian disaster of the most tragic proportions, this 'Middle East Analysis' special asks the question: Is there a road map to peace in the Holy Land or are we eternally to walk the path of violence, revenge and hatred?

Dr Harry Hagopian, an international lawyer, commentator, and MENA region analyst, joins his old friend Bishop Declan for a 30-minute podcast that we have, with permission, uploaded to our 'Catholic News' channel.

They look for any signs of light in the darkness, and mourn decades of failure when it comes to securing a lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis.

Subscribe

You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.

The focus of this Catholic News podcast is the Year of Jubilee in 2025, and the preparation year proceeding it that we're currently living - the Year of Prayer.

Pope Francis wants the Church to be prepared for the Jubilee Year with a particular focus on prayer, and what better prayer to use than the 'Our Father' that Jesus taught us.

During Lent, we are offering a five-week course designed to help us deepen our understanding of the Lord's Prayer called We Dare To Say.

Father Jan Nowotnik, Director of Mission for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales talks to us about how important a prayer the Lord's Prayer is to us as Christians:

"There is a line in the Our Father that is a prayer of petition, 'Give us this day our daily bread'. When I pray that line, I'm saying, 'Give me today, Lord, just what I need - just for this day'. In the midst of some of the trials and tribulations of life, but also the joys, it's about realising that I put my hope in the Lord who gives me everything that I need - the Lord whose kingdom is in heaven.

"'Give us this day our daily bread'. Why? So that we can joyfully trust and hope in Him, but also so that we can forgive each other, so that we can put right some of those wrongs. Which takes us back to the major theme of a Jubilee year taken from the book of Leviticus - allowing the land to grow fallow, allowing that time of tranquilly and peace, so that we can rid each other of the debts that often occur when we don't forgive each other, when we're not kind and supportive to each other. To do that, you have to hope in the promises of the Lord - 'Give us this day our daily bread'."

Subscribe

You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.

Deliver Us From Evil is a new booklet, published by the Catholic Truth Society (CTS), offering Catholics a useful set of prayers and supplications, humble requests for the Lord's help, that can be used in times of fear, distress or temptation.

The prayers are drawn from Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition and are intended for individual use to protect us from the forces of evil.

In this Catholic News podcast, Father Robert Taylerson, a member of our Spirituality Committee and Spiritual Director at Oscott College, joins Liturgy Office Director Martin Foster for a conversation about the booklet and how it can be used by Catholics.

Buy the booklet

Deliver Us From Evil costs £9.95 and can be purchased from the CTS website. It's a handy pocket-sized guide to help us in the struggle against the powers of darkness.

Subscribe

You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.

As the Church enters the season of Advent, on the first Sunday, 3 December, we also celebrate the International Day of Disabled Persons. It's an occasion that reminds us, should we need reminding, that the Church needs to be a place of belonging for people with disabilities.

For this Catholic News podcast we're joined by Cristina Gangemi from the Kairos Forum, her friend Sean, a man who has never let disability get between his love of God and desire to serve the Church, and also Tracy, a lady who helps Sean and kindly assists at those times when Sean's words are hard to understand during this podcast.

Please do use the transcript too in order to follow the conversation more closely.

We discuss: The International Day of Disabled Persons and why it's important, valuability not vulnerability, the four Ps to help us value people with disabilities, and finish with a good focus for prayer this Advent.

Transcript

Subscribe

You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.