January
'III seven archbishops of England, Scotland and Wales joined together in issuing their first ever joint statement. It set out in detail the reasons why the Church condemns abortion. The fullest survey to date of Catholic opinion in England and Wales was published by sociologists from Surrey university in conjunction with Gallup Polls.
February
THE painter Graham Sutherland died aged 76. A convert to Catholicism, Sutherland's works included the Christ in Glory tapestry in Coventry cathedral.
March
THE Government abandoned its plan to introduce bus charges for school pupils after the proposals, were heavily defeated in the House of Lords. The campaign against the transport cuts was led by the Catholic peer, the Duke of Norfolk.
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PROFESSOR Hans Kiing, the theologian whose license to teach was withdrawn last year by the Vatican, won his fight to keep his post at Tubingen University in West Germany. The Institute of Ecumenical Research which he heads was separated from the Catholic faculty of Theology.
May
CARDINAL Hume and Dr Gerald Ellison, the Anglican bishop of London, made a savage attack on the authorities' failure to provide adequate housing in London. They said it was time the provision of decent homes was made a priority.
June
AN exclusive report in the Catholic Herald revealed that the Pope was shortly to reopen the process of laicisation. Four months later, in October, new and tougher rules about laicisation were sent to the world's bishops by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
J2.2 THE British celebrations of the 1500th anniversary of the birth of St Benedict reached a climax with a major gathering in Westminster cathedral.
August
isawm■i THE .lesuits announced that the Pope had refused the proffered resignation of Fr Pedro Arrupe, the Order's Superior General "in slew of the good of the Church and of the Society of Jesus."
September
DR Walter Mr:Crone, a top American scientist, said that his investigations had led him to the conclusion that the Shroud of Turin was a "medieval fake." His comments, first published in the Catholic Herald, provoked fresh discussion about the Shroud throughout the world.
October
i HE Queen made her first state visit to the Vatican. In her formal speech to the Pope she stressed European unity, ecumenism and the forthcoming papal visit to Britain. In reply Pope John Paul praised the British people's Christian history and cultural achievements as well as "the ideals of freedom and democracy anchored in your past." The visit was hailed as a triumphant success.
November
IN a pastoral letter Cardinal Hume called on seven convicted IRA criminals at the Maze prison in Belfast to abandon their hunger strike. The strike was intended to force the British government to revive "special category status."
December
POPE John Paul's second encyclical underlined the need for mercy and forgiveness in all human relationships. The Church shared the ardent desire for justice but justice alone was not enough, he said.