Oh Lord, not another 90 minutes please

SICK AS a parrot with the national sport? Christians who are will be delighted that on the morning of the World Cup final in July they can join in a televised ecumenical celebration broadcast from Paris, writes Joe Jenkins.
Rather than giving thanks for the month-long feast of football that begins next month, some might be offering a prayer of thanks for the brief interim when the world's most popular sport will be off our screens. The service broadcast on the ITV network on July 12 is at the American Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, in Paris, and will bring together Catholic, Anglican and Free Church worshippers.
• CARDINAL HUME suffered the indignity of a Newcastle United defeat in the FA Cup Final at Wembley last Saturday. But it was not wholly unforeseen. Speaking to the Catholic Herald before the match, the Cardinal predicted that the first team to score would win. Arsenal scored the only goals, winning 2-0.