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by John Cornwell (Continuum Books, 256 pages, hardcover, $22.95).

Every book has an agenda, sometimes blatant, sometimes unintentional, but always present and needing to be judged at least partly on the question of whether it achieves its goal.

A new biography of John Henry Newman, published mere months before the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to England and Scotland, during which the Pope will beatify the 19th-century cardinal, thinker and theologian, is a natural subject for agenda detection.

  by Joseph P. Chinnici, O.F.M. (Orbis Books, 236 pages, softcover, $26).

The horror of clerical sexual abuse rocking the Church around the globe is a decidedly multi-faceted phenomenon. Coming to understand and perhaps transcend exactly what the scandal means, it matters deeply which perspective you choose. Over the coming months and years there will be a wave of books available to everyone struggling to make sense of and move forward from the sensationalist detail that preoccupies much of the mainstream media. Joseph P. Chinnici������Ƶapp When Values Collide is one of the first and it is a truly impressive starting point.

Science and Religion collide a lot these days, though clearly the tension between what referred to, as the , has existed for centuries. When the collisions occur it is the result of conflicting values as well as on theological grounds. This was made abundantly clear this week with the awarding of the to one of the co-creators of. On the one hand seemed of a note, sheer excitement and congratulation. On the other hand, . The Church������Ƶapp clear stance on IVF and Robert Evans socialist politics to being behind what many expected to be a much earlier awarding of the prize.

Clearly the Church is not indifferent to the pain experienced by couples incapable of conception but as the made “As Catholic doctors," we at FIAMC "recognize that pain that infertility brings to a couple, but equally we believe that the research and treatment methods needed to solve the problems of infertility have to be conducted within an ethical framework which respects the special dignity of the human embryo, which is no different from that of a mature adult with a brilliant mind."

None of this can be discussed without reference to the growing number of cases involving ‘mix-ups’, mistakes or possibly worse when it comes to the identity of the babies born of IVF. Recent are making news in Ottawa, and the problem is clearly not confined to individual doctors or to Canada and the are compounded by this growing list of ‘mistakes’.

Nor as even the Indian newspaper are the problems as simple as any of can imagine, “the widespread use of such methods has created new ethical issues. For example, ‘rent-a-womb tourism' has become a thriving business in India, with wealthy couples from abroad paying poor women large sums of money to carry IVF embryos to full term.”

As this report makes clear that Catholics are not alone in considering the Nobel winning tachnology to be a win win: “The bewildering array of options due to the IVF revolution -- from the morality of making "designer babies" to exploitation of poor women as surrogate mothers -- has created much concern and many debates among secular ethicists as well.”

, a noted American Bioethicist told the "In exploring the fundamental mechanisms of how human reproduction actually works, Edwards unleashed a social, ethical and cultural tsunami that he could not have predicted and I don't think anyone at the time could have anticipated. It opened so many doors that I'm not sure we even fully appreciate it today."

Every event needs a narrative, and this is oh so true of Pope Benedict XVI������Ƶapp just Prior to the trip, the buzz was about cost, security, protests and anger. During the trip, the buzz was about attendance at Papal masses, outings, ceremonies and the protests outside, inside and about. Now that the trip is done, the buzz centres on what he accomplished, how and whether the entire exercise was worth the effort? Or as Time Magazine put it,Notorious British M.P. George Galloway thinks he has it down and declares that the Pope������Ƶapp critics and much of the coverage were straight out of another time, when even being Catholic was a treasonous offence, . Dominic Lawson, writing in the Independent takes a different tack and places the credit with the Pope instead of the blame with the critics, noting, Lawson, a leading British journalist concluded his piece by observing “Humility is perhaps the most difficult of all the virtues; the smuggest among the Pope's secular critics could learn from his example.” David Willey in a blog on the BBC site believes that the entire Vatican is heaving a sigh of relief at a trip well executed and euphoria over besting all expectations and even hopes in Paddy Agnew in the Irish Times concurs with Willey������Ƶapp sentiment noting, Publications as far away as New Zealand couldn’t help but share in the growing international consensus with a report entitled . Even Prime Minister David Cameron heaped praise on the Pontiff and his visit, noting that the Pope had Anne Applebaum writing in the Washington Post adds an interesting layer of reflection on Cameron������Ƶapp sentiment in a thoughtful piece which actually does a nice job putting much of the coverage into an interesting perspective.

Arguably everything in the news the past few weeks has been about the key importance of tolerance and freedom, especially religious tolerance and freedom. Three different moments capture a sense of the forces at work.

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Benedict XVI������Ƶapp visit to the United Kingdom, which started on , provoked numerous reflections on the and it������Ƶapp deeper on the part of and throughout the world. In the first day alone, Benedict made clear that despite the criticism, he was intent on fighting back the tide of secularism and insisting on the need for religious liberty. , the Pope, as is his wont, delved into history for evidence of the evil that can flow from the desire to kill off God and Religion. He was referring to Nazism but it seemed to . But as is often the case, the reality of a Papal visit canand charm, though of course the .

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The Papal visit, and its attendant arguments about ‘extreme’ atheism and religious liberty comes in the same week as given by John F. Kennedy while running for President. It������Ƶapp difficult to imagine now, but in that campaign the idea that a Catholic might be President was the subject of bitter debate. And the young candidate traveled to a meeting of the Greater Houston Ministerial Association where he delivered a plea and forged an argument about religious tolerance, liberty and the distinctions between By the issue and made his Presidency possible. But while possibly creating the space for Catholics in politics, the long-term result may have been to render Catholic values in politics difficult, or so of Denver and with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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Stephen Hawking creates the third corner of this triangle of tolerance and liberty. The physicist made news this month with the assertionsin the creation of the universe. This is a shift from his thinking as expressed in early works. Hawking used to believe the universe needed a prime mover but now believes the Universe came into existence on its own. The list of people unimpressed is extensive and includes a Jesuit , and The intriguing think about Hawking and the God issue is the ease with which much of the media assumed that if Hawking says so then it must be so. The reality is that an assertion by Hawking that God didn’t exist is still an assertion, not a fact, which takes us back to the ideas of religious freedoms, religious tolerance and the dangers of extreme atheism.

In a little over a week, Pope Benedict XVI arrives in the United Kingdom on the first ever . John Paul II went in . Benedict������Ƶapp journey is promising, for better or worse, to be a much different event. Context is everything and this visit comes after a year of nasty accounts of clerical abuse in and as well as a flood on UK commentary on the role the Pope himself did or didn’t play in dealing with the abuse crisis then and now. Just this week it was announced that the Pope would .

Aside from the sexual abuse cloud over the visit, the most controversial aspect of the trip so far has been the question of cost. As a State Visit the and the Church is to cover its share of the costs. And while officials insist that no one will be denied access due to financial difficulties, the question of the cost and value of the trip just will not go away. Opinions on this are truly conflicted with some believing the Church should absorb all the costs while others denounce the Church for charging the faithful.

The visit, in the planning for most of this year has also provoked and appropriateness. And the result is thousands of news stories, opinion pieces and arguments. And while to the visit, no one is ignoring the visit. One of the true treats of British Journalism is that the favourably to the coverage of politics and sports. It������Ƶapp lively, witty and engaging, if at times unfair, biased and rude. Consider the the Pope is insisting that the main part of all masses during the visit will be conducted in Latin as example of the way British media deal with religious news.

There will be tension. The UK Catholic Church and the government are wrangling over ‘, which insists that Catholic Organizations adhere to non-discrimination laws when it comes to Gay and Lesbian employees. at every Papal stop, though there is a growing within the anti-papal forces about the. As well there is lingering angst and animosity over last year������Ƶapp Vatican outreach to troubled Anglicans. The , a highlight of the visit, is seen by some as rubbing , given that Newman spent the first half of his life as a prominent Anglican Thinker and the last half as a devout Catholic. Adding to these expected tensions are the plans of noted anti-Church forces led by Richard Dawkins and company and in particular to have the Pope arrested when he comes to British soil for crimes against humanity. In a strange twist of attention, of a visit sure to be marked by vitriol and celebration in equal measure.

Given Benedict������Ƶapp well known love of music, there������Ƶapp no surprise that one of Britain������Ƶapp leading that has choirs across the country trying to get up to speed. And news that , the YouTube sensation, as well as a current fave in Britain������Ƶapp Got Talent TV show, , are scheduled to sing at Papal Masses has created a real buzz. But perhaps the most intriguing news on the music front is the choice of based in London to provide the “official youth anthem” for the visit. .

And what������Ƶapp a State visit with out In addition to the usual run of plates, cups, glasses and so forth there are new the visit and the Newman Beatification. While the souvenirs seem relatively normal,and are calling for something a bit more out there. For even more details, check out the or link up with the

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It������Ƶapp truly an unfortunate coincidence and couldn’t come at a worse time. In just a week and a half America and the world will mark the and Muslims in America and the World will be marking the end of This would be an awkward coincidence at the best of times and has many that traditional celebrations marking the end of a month of fasting might be seen as a Being on edge makes sense simply because so many around the globe are asking what asks this week in its provocative cover story “Is America Islamaphobic?” And what continues to drive the issue is the increasingly ugly argument over the so-called “And even though this is not strictly a Catholic Fight, Catholics are involved, enlisted and cited as examples for both sides. In a issued to mark the end of Ramadan, His Holiness obliquely touched on key tensions, some of which are on the boil throughout the United States. are big issues for the Church and other religious leaders and the confrontation with truly radical Islam is a tricky one, whether it is provoked by the , the , or simply the continuing comparisons made between the Mosque in lower Manhattan and the in Auschwitz which necessitated the intervention of John Paul II in 1993. One example of the use of the story to define the Mosque controversy is captured almost entirely in The Wall Street Journal story������Ƶapp headline:And for every time the Auschwitz example is used to demonstrate the wisdom of ‘discretion is the better part of valour’ then the irrational is offered as evidence of the need to fight anti-religious bigotry. As Commonweal notes, ”. This is most vivid in a that resurrects the history of the building of Church in New Haven in 1879 and the accompanying bigotry at the time. The stark similarities to the language used today is breathtaking: Catholics were the Muslims of that era, at least as far as the New York Times was concerned. This is a complicated issue withbeing tossed around and you need a clear head to try and sort out and from what������Ƶapp . You know just how tricky the territory is when noted feels compelled to come who want to build the Mosque.    

It������Ƶapp bad enough that the controversy over the , New York has become a poster child for religious intolerance in the United States with reverberations around the world but there is a over the celebration of the of the birth of that is splitting Catholics. The Albanian Born Indian Sister who founded the Missionaries of Charity 60 years ago in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) was born on August 26^th 1910. The Noble Prize winner has become for millions the model of self-sacrifice and charitable works. , of , writing in the National Post captures what he sees as her special qualities, the ones that moved her after her death in 1997.

There������Ƶapp a planned worldwide to mark the day, throughout India and around the world. But one suggested honour,in New York has provoked an ideological battle over what meaning should be taken from her life. On one side is Bill Donohue of the , who petitioned the Owners of the Empire State Building to join other prominent landmarks in New York City in lighting up in a birthday celebration. One the other side is a coalition of Catholic reform groups, led by , which is accusing Donohue of manufacturing a crisis.

There's a certain sadness to the whole affair. suggests theis 'extremist' and not representative of Catholics generally and, almost as if the birthday celebration is a mask for another type of argument entirely.

Meanwhile India is focusing on the including the publication of ahonouring the life and work of Mother Teresa. And for those who think there might be more to this story than temporary controversies, Sister Mary Prema, Mother Teresa's succesor has her on how we might remember her.