Marriage between a man and woman is “sorely needed” in today’s society and it could soon be “too late” to save that union, the leader of the Roman Catholic church in England and Wales has said.

The Pope’s visit to Britain this week will allow the country to gain “fresh energy and inspiration” from its “rich Christian inheritance”, a leading Catholic said today.

There is no statistical connection between the abuse of minors and a celibate way of life, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales said tonight.

A US Roman Catholic deacon spoke yesterday of how the agonising pain he had suffered from a spinal disorder disappeared after praying to the revered English Cardinal John Henry Newman.

Pope Benedict XVI is to come to the UK next year in the first official visit by a pontiff, it was reported today.