Faith in the market
Useless tat has long played a part in Catholic life – and now the Church itself is getting in on the act, says Belinda Webb
Faith & Religion
Sins of the Father
Human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson tells Matthew Adams why the Pope must take responsibility for the crisis in his Church
Mint on the breath
A corrupt priest, an abused child, a knife. The dreadful consequences of clerical child abuse unfold in a specially written short story by Mark Say
“To forgive, divine?”
Is forgiveness just for the devout? asks Eve Garrad
Stargazer
David Wootton, author of a new biography, uncovers evidence that Galileo really was a heretic
There will be blood
Butchery is always a messy business, but is religiously inspired ritual slaughter really worse than other methods? Physiologist Harold Hillman dissects the evidence
Q&A: Marilynne Robinson
She has won the Pulitzer and Orange prizes for her fiction, and been called the greatest writer of prose in the English language. With her new book she enters the…
It’s all just words
Blasphemer, failure, hypocrite, comedian – Stewart Lee tells Caspar Melville why he’s so offensive
An audience with the Pope
If you were invited to address Benedict XVI during his UK visit, what would you say to him? Richard Dawkins, Philip Pullman, Claire Rayner, Ben Goldacre and many more take…
Should Britain ban the burqa?
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and Kenan Malik debate whether the UK should follow the French