‘The Muslim Council wants Muslims to be able to settle family disputes according to Islamic principles. Fine, but only if those principles are consistent with the law of the land’

‘An everyday ramble round a graveyard subliminally corrects any tendency to assume ourselves immortal’

Jovial, informal and compassionate, the new Pontiff has the qualities to restore faith in the Vatican and to promote women in the Church

Faced with an astonishing revival of Christianity in China, Beijing is reacting with a mixture of alarm, repression and control