I don't think there's any denying that Jesus was a pretty stand up guy. When he wasn't bringing people back to life - always a generous thing to do - he seemed to spend most of his time feeding the masses or turning water into wine. He was just the kind of bloke who would make a great addition to any party.

The journey to the wonderful world of vicardom is not a particularly quick or easy one. I should know - I've been on it for about three years already, and I figure I've got another few years ahead of me before I'm fully cassocked-up.

Catholic guilt about sex is a myth, although religious people in general tend to feel more guilty about sexual 'sins' than other people, according to ...

What would happen if the different faiths began automatically adding 'humanism' to their names, Islamic humanism, Buddhist, Judaic, Hindu, Christian humanism, for example - then explored what each meant. We'd probably end up with a rich dialogue based on a celebration of two great realities: our shared humanity and the richness of our different religious traditions.

Should Christians be concerned with our 'image'? I've been told before that it's the Holy Spirit who does the 'work' of bringing people to Christ, not us.

Atheism is a dirty word. But not as dirty, apparently, as humanism.

Take a few headline statistics from last week's national census: numbers of people in Britain identifying as Christian, dropping fast, numbers professing no religion, growing, numbers in Britain born outside the country, growing fast.

Exploring the question of religion's role in contemporary conflicts is not an end in itself. Rather it leads on to the question of how the different faiths can disagree constructively, and how interfaith dialogue can refine understanding of our disagreements - as well as building on our human commonalities for the Common Good. Answering that question would deserve a Nobel Prize.

You might also have thought that after fifty years, the Catholic Church would have reached a fixed mind as to the significance of the Council. Not so either. Its consequences are contested, its nature, continuity or break with the past disputed, and all subject to opposing interpretations. Zhou Enlai's assessment of the French Revolution applies: "too early to tell".