Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
Starting on the First Sunday of Advent, 'Wave of Hope' offers 25 short multimedia reflections for the season - one a day - as our contributors share a moment in 2025 that has led them to a place of hope.
Speaking as a guest on the December 2025 episode of 'Middle East Analysis', a podcast series that examines the complex religious, political and socio-economic realities of the region covering the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf States, Bishop Jim Curry encouraged Catholics to look at Advent as a time to seek hope in the coming of Christ at Christmas as the light for change in a troubled world:
"Jesus could have been born in a palace. He could have stayed in heaven. He could have been born anywhere. But he was born into our mess: the mess we make of our lives, the mess we make of our world, the mess we make in our families. But he’s born into that mess so that there is always the hope of a possibility that things can be different and that we can be part of that difference. That’s the hope that sustains us."
The theme for this year’s 16 Days focuses on digital violence and the growing threat of abuse through digital images, technology-based stalking and harassment or the use of AI to control or threaten victims/survivors of domestic abuse.
Emphasising the importance of being aware of non-physical violence, Nikki explained:
“Digital abuse is a form of coercive control, which is the umbrella under which all of these forms of violence and abuse happen. When we’re looking at ideas of violence, it’s really important to be aware that violence isn’t just about physical violence. We need to be mindful also of that death of the soul that happens when we’re not free to live our God-given life because someone’s controlling everything we do.”
In one of his first episcopal acts in the diocese, the Right Reverend Nicholas Hudson, the Bishop of Plymouth, has celebrated a Mass for the Dedication of the new church and altar of St Benedict’s, formerly a Methodist chapel, in Gillingham, Dorset on Tuesday 9 December.
The Gillingham church project was identified against the background of the area’s local plan, with 1,800 new homes planned in Gillingham (increasing the town’s dwellings by 30%). These developments would exacerbate the need for a bigger Catholic church to serve a growing community. Even before the redevelopment, there were not enough spaces for parishioners, who had to arrive early to get a seat. St Benedict’s is part of larger diocesan plans, which include a church development in Tiverton: a response to an increasing Catholic congregation and new housing developments.
Our Lead Bishop for the Holy Land, Bishop Jim Curry, has appeared as a guest on the December 2025 episode of Middle East Analysis, a podcast series that examines the complex religious, political and socio-economic realities of the region covering the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf States.
This is very much a podcast of two parts. The first dedicated to more political themes, the second an appropriately spiritual take on the coming of Christ at Christmas.
During the 16 Days of Activism against violence against women and girls, we met with Nikki Dhillon-Keane, a therapist, trainer, author and activist, and the founder of Safe in Faith, a project of Caritas Westminster working to support survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence and exploitation in ways that understand how their faith impacts their experiences.
Nikki explored the expansion of violence against women in the digital world and explained the additional barriers and difficulties that women face when they stand at the intersection of gender-based violence and racial violence or other forms of oppression.
Sharing practical advice and information about resources, Nikki reflected on the increasing support available to vulnerable women and shared her hope for the future to be able to reach more people and help them change lives and save lives.
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.
Advent starts on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day. It marks the start of the Church’s liturgical year. In 2025, we enter Cycle A.
Advent comes from the Latin adventus, meaning ‘arrival’ or ‘coming’. It’s a key time in which we prepare ourselves to celebrate the Lord coming into the world as the incarnate God of love.
The liturgical vestments priests wear during the season are purple, matching the candles lit on each Sunday of Advent. Purple is a colour typically associated with penance. The exception is the third Sunday – Gaudete Sunday – when priests wear pink vestments – the colour of rejoicing.
Starting on the First Sunday of Advent, 'Wave of Hope' offers 25 short multimedia reflections for the season - one a day - as our contributors share a moment in 2025 that has led them to a place of hope.
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.
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