The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales gathered at Hinsley Hall in the Diocese of Leeds for their autumn plenary meeting from 10-13 November 2025.
Statements were issued on assisted suicide and abortion, and environmental matters. A resolution was made on the Great Jubilee 2033. Video interviews are available on Life Issues (Archbishop John Sherrington), Prisons (Bishop Richard Moth), CAFOD’s work in Zimbabwe (Bishop Stephen Wright), and a plenary reflection from Cardinal Vincent Nichols.
The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales gathered at Hinsley Hall in the Diocese of Leeds for their autumn plenary meeting from 10-13 November 2025. As the meeting drew to a close, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and President of the Bishops’ Conference offered a reflection on the discussions held over the week, describing it as “a time of encouragement and hope,” as well as looking back at some of the extraordinary events which have taken place in the Church over the last six months.
2025 is marked by an assault on the value of human life.
The Bishops of England and Wales express deep sadness at the continued passage through Parliament of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill which could legalise assisted suicide. If passed by both Houses, this act would devalue life and put the lives of the vulnerable at risk. We have expressed our concerns on many occasions, highlighting the danger of coercive control and the pressure that will be put on vulnerable people who are ill, as well as the threat to the survival of care homes and hospices who oppose this legislation, especially where the mission and values of those institutions would prevent them from facilitating assisted suicide.
We are also alarmed by the amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill which proposes to decriminalise abortion up to birth in some circumstances. This amendment will further endanger the life of the unborn child.
At the end of their autumn plenary meeting, the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales called on the UK government to support the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty campaign that will be presented during the COP30 negotiations taking place from 6-21 November in Belém, Brazil.
In an interview recorded at the end of the plenary meeting, Bishop Moth reflected on the importance of remembering all the people who, in different ways, are impacted by the criminal justice system. In addition to the victims of crime and those who have committed crimes, he recalled with particular emphasis, “the hidden victims: the children of people in prison spring to mind, because very often they struggle. They may be bullied at school. They may be trying to live their lives with excuses to why mum or dad aren’t around.”
Bishop Stephen Wright, Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle and Chair of CAFOD, recently visited the remote Rushinga District in north eastern Zimbabwe. The visit was organised by CAFOD, the Church’s overseas aid and development agency, and Caritas in Zimbabwe.
After the bishops’ autumn plenary meeting, in a short video interview, Bishop Wright reflected on what he described as profound and life-changing experiences:
“I was privileged to go and visit the CAFOD projects in a very remote and poor part of Zimbabwe, in the northeast part of the country.” After a six-hour drive, half of which was on rough dirt tracks, Bishop Wright arrived at his destination.
In this episode of At the Foot of the Cross, Abbot Hugh Allan joins us again as we discuss the Gaza peace deal and the way forward for the Holy Land. Abbot Hugh also reflects on Pope Leo’s first Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi Te, and how we can best serve the poor, marginalised and vulnerable people in our communities.
The 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate was celebrated at the end of October and we look at how this foundational document is still of great importance today.
In this Catholic News podcast we are joined by Anton Asfar, Secretary General of Caritas Jerusalem and Fr Elias Tabban, Parish Priest of Zababdeh Parish, near Jenin in the West Bank. We learn about the hopeful but also cautious mood on the ground among the people following the Gaza ceasefire agreement and the beginning of the first phase of the peace process in the Holy Land.
Members of the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament, will be asked to decide whether Wales should give its consent to Westminster’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill — a law that would legalise assisted suicide. This would be a profound change for Wales and would mean that, for the first time, doctors could be asked to assist a patient in ending their life intentionally.
If enacted, this bill would put the most vulnerable in our society at risk of coercion. The conscientious objection clause for doctors is inadequate. Furthermore, parliament has explicitly rejected an amendment whereby care homes and hospices could opt out of facilitating assisted suicide on their premises and yet many care homes and hospices will want no involvement. Even with stricter rules, experience from other countries shows that once assisted suicide is introduced, the safeguards soon loosen and those who are elderly, disabled, or feel they are a burden begin to feel subtle pressure to choose death.
Write to a Member of the Senedd
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has passed through the House of Commons and is now with the House of Lords. Our clear principled objection to the Bill remains. The House of Lords has a responsibility to scrutinise the Bill in depth and reject it if necessary.
Unlike MPs, Members of the House of Lords do not have constituents, meaning there is not a Peer whose job it is to represent you based on the area of the country in which you live. For this reason you should take some time to think about which Peer you will write to and why, such as whether you have a personal or professional connection with them, or you have professional expertise in medicine or healthcare.
Please visit this link for full guidance to help you write to a Peer.
Stop the 'Up to Birth Clause (191)' in the Crime and Policing Bill that seeks to fundamentally change our laws on abortion. Please take action and make your voice heard. In June 2025, pro-abortion MPs, led by Tonia Antoniazzi MP, hijacked the Crime and Policing Bill to rush through the abortion up to birth clause (191) after just 46 minutes of backbench debate – there was no prior consultation with the public, no Committee Stage scrutiny and no evidence sessions.
The Antoniazzi clause would make it more likely that healthy babies are aborted at home for any reason, up to birth. The clause would change the law so it would no longer be illegal for women to perform their own abortions for any reason, and at any point up to and during birth.
If this amendment becomes law, it would likely lead to a significant increase in the number of women performing late-term abortions at home, endangering the lives of many more women.
20 November
In July, the Department for Social Justice of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales published Render unto Caesar. This was a major publication on taxation and Catholic social teaching, with contributions by experts in the field. This webinar is being held at an important time in the Government's fiscal timetable, with the UK's Autumn Budget statement due to be delivered on 26 November.
This online event will be chaired by Bishop Richard Moth and will bring together three of the document’s authors: Prof. Anna Rowlands, Ruth Kelly and Prof. Philip Booth. They will each present their thoughts on taxation and Catholic social teaching, and will then take questions from the audience.
Wednesday, 3 December – Friday, 5 December
St Mary’s University, Twickenham, in association with Caritas Social Action Network, is holding a special conference dedicated to exploring the ongoing relevance of Gaudium et Spes. On 7 December 1965, Vatican II promulgated the Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World. It was the last and longest document to come from the Second Vatican Council. It remains central to the Church’s Magisterium and has guided so many aspects of the Church's life.
Catholic Christians must be committed to social justice and to the common good of humanity and our common home. This conference will consider the ongoing relevance of Gaudium et Spes, with specific reference to the Church’s commitment to Catholic education and social justice. Confirmed speakers include: Archbishop Malcolm MacMahon, Dr Gemma Simmonds, Dr Anna Abram, Monsignor Paul McPartlan, and Professor Stephen McKinney.
Friday, 21 November
Distinguished panellists will discuss the crisis in the Holy Land at a day conference on Friday 21 November at St Mary's University, Twickenham. Delegates can attend in-person or online.
Titled 'Weeping in Ramah - The Crisis in the Holy Land', the conference takes its theme from the prophetic lament from the Bible, Jeremiah 31:15, that describes Rachel weeping for her children who have been taken captive to Babylon.
Speakers include: The Most Revd John Wilson, Catholic Archbishop of Southwark; Professor Ian Linden, Visiting Professor at St Mary’s University, London, and former director of the Catholic Institute for International Relations; Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC, an Irish lawyer specialising in human rights and international law; Father John Deehan, Scripture scholar and parish priest of Our Lady Help of Christians, Kentish Town; Sir Vincent Fean, trustee of the Britain Palestine Project and former Consul-General, Jerusalem.
Friday, 28 November (clergy), Saturday, 29 November 2025 (everyone)
Baptism is transformative, it is the gateway to Christ. The Diocese of Shrewsbury and the Baptism Collaborative, a national group of catechists and clergy interested in highlighting the importance and transformative power of baptism, are organising an event for northern-based clergy, catechists and all those interested in Reimagining Baptism.
You can join a national conversation about how baptism is understood in the life of the Catholic Church today – how to reawaken a baptismal mindset in our families and parishes and how might we spread the light of hope.
The keynote talk will be given by Abbot Hugh Allan O.Praem, Director of Mission for the Bishops’ Conference, and will feature workshops run by seasoned catechists and clergy from around the country.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, through its Biblical Apostolate, and Birmingham Newman University are conducting research into neurodiversity and our faith. If you're an adult neurodivergent Catholic or a caregiver of a neurodivergent Catholic, we want to hear from you. Your experiences will help us to become more aware of and responsive to your needs. Please complete our short surveys.
Join our team responsible for communicating the work and mission of the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, you will contribute to planning, creation, and delivery of high-quality media and communications content across multiple platforms. The role requires someone able to help prioritise the primacy of storytelling for the mission and work of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales by harnessing the power of compelling content.
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