Archbishop of York: Saying Lord's Prayer with Pope Francis changed me
The Church of England's most senior bishop has recalled how meeting the Pope and saying the Lord's Prayer together 'changed me'.
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said he had been privileged to meet Pope Francis on a few occasions, and remembered one encounter a few years ago when they prayed together.
Mr Cottrell said despite having said the Lord's Prayer – also known as the Our Father – countless times before, it was when he said it with Francis that the significance of the word 'our' came through.
He told Sky News: 'I've said the Lord's Prayer thousands of times – I say it every day – but sitting there saying the Lord's Prayer with Pope Francis, the opening word of the Lord's Prayer suddenly struck me – our.
'Our Father, our God, and what that means, therefore, is that everybody else who says this prayer is my sister and my brother, whether I like it or not, these are the people that God has made into his church.
'And just saying the Lord's Prayer with Pope Francis changed me – changed and renewed and refreshed my understanding of what it is to be the church, that we belong to each other across these denominational barriers, and then I think, 'what a message for the world'.
'We live in a world that's so divided, you know, where the church itself has made many mistakes and failings. We need to be a humble church.
'We need to be a penitent church but we also need to be a church where we recognise our common humanity and our belonging one to another. That's what Pope Francis reawakened in me, and I believe that will be his great legacy, both to the church but also to the world.'
A statement on the death of His Holiness, Pope Francis.@Pontifex pic.twitter.com/cqrT1dEQjB
— Archbishop of York (@CottrellStephen) April 21, 2025
Mr Cottrell has faced his own difficulties in recent times, including calls to resign over alleged safeguarding failures in the Church of England.
In February at the church's General Synod – also know as the Church of England's parliament – Mr Cottrell admitted he had 'made mistakes' but vowed he is 'determined' to do what he can to work with others 'to lead the change we all know we need'.
Continuing his praise of Pope Francis on Sky News, the archbishop said the pontiff had died while still serving the faithful of the Catholic church.
Noting Francis's appearance on Easter Sunday to bless the thousands of people gathered in St Peter's Square in Vatican City, Mr Cottrell said: 'It's amazing, isn't it, that, you know he, as it were, died with his boots on.
'Still serving, still praying, still blessing, still doing the things that Christian ministers do. And again, that characterizes his ministry.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Downtown LA is a scene of pandemonium and lawlessness
A shirtless man waving a Mexican flag stands atop a burning car in the heart of Los Angeles, as another man throws a traffic cone into the flames and some play drums and shout chants in opposition to immigration officials. In the background, city hall can be glimpsed through a haze of thick black smoke. The downtown district of one of America's biggest cities was a scene of pandemonium and lawlessness as protests, which had previously been mainly peaceful, turned ugly. Critics of Donald Trump said the president's extraordinary decision to deploy National Guard troops, defying the wishes of the state's governor, had inflamed tensions and stoked emotions. The 101 Freeway, the main highway cutting through the downtown area, was also closed down for much of the day as police and protesters faced off, with flash bang devices sending some people scattering. Bottles and other projectiles were hurled towards police, who responded by using tear gas and rubber bullets. It was this chaos, his critics say, that Donald Trump wanted to provoke. Trump's decision to call in 2,000 National Guard troops, several hundred of whom were on the streets of LA on Sunday, was taken without consultation with the California governor and LA mayor, and marked an extraordinary escalation by the president. The military arrived on Sunday morning and was ordered to guard federal buildings, after two days of protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. As part of Trump's closed border policy, ICE has been ordered to find, detain and deport as many illegal immigrants as possible, and it was these raids that stoked the first signs of protest on Friday into the weekend. By midday Sunday, the military was surrounded by protesters outside the Metropolitan Detention Centre in downtown LA. It was here that many immigrants had been held before being shipped off to detention facilities. The walls and floors are covered in expletive-ridden graffiti, reading f*** ICE. The Los Angeles police soon split the crowd and drove a wedge between the National Guard and the crowd. California Governor Gavin Newsom has called Donald Trump's acts those of a "dictator, not a president". He's formally requested that the Trump administration withdraw the National Guard. The White House say the military will remain there until order is restored. Five hundred marines are still on standby. Los Angeles Police Department police chief Jim McDonnell, asked whether the National Guard was needed, said: "This thing has gotten out of control." He said that although the LAPD would not initially have requested assistance from the National Guard, the disorder had caused him to reevaluate his assessment. Several people were arrested. Sky News witnessed a young woman, who called herself Gabriella, riding her motorbike at speed towards a line of police officers. Read more from Sky News:Analysis: Trump deploys federal force in LATrump claims CA officials 'can't do their jobs' One of the police officers used his arm to push her off the bike. She said she was protesting because her "people were being rounded up." Politicians on both sides of the aisle condemned the violence, but some vehemently disagreed about what actions led to the escalation.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Albo urged to go hard on Trump
Anthony Albanese should play hardball with the US on beef as tariff talks grind on, Nationals leader David Littleproud says. American beef imports have emerged as a key negotiating item in the Albanese government's efforts to secure a tariff carve out. The Trump administration has been pushing for Australia to loosen import rules to include beef from cattle originating in Canada and Mexico but slaughtered in the US. The Prime Minister has confirmed biosecurity officials were reviewing the request but vowed his government would not 'compromise' Australia's strict bio laws. But the prospect of changing laws has sparked unease among cattle farmers worried about keeping bovine diseases well away from the country's shores. With beef imports seemingly key to securing a US tariff exemption, Mr Littleproud on Monday said there needed to be some 'perspective'. 'The United States does need Australia and other countries to import beef to be able to put on their hamburgers,' he told Sky News. 'They don't have the production capacity to be able to produce the type of beef that goes on their hamburgers. 'So this is a tax on themselves that they put on Australian beef.' Despite being subject to the blanket 10 per cent tariffs on foreign imports, Australian beef into the US has risen by 32 per cent this year, according to Meat and Livestock Australia. Meanwhile, the cost of domestically produced beef within the US has been climbing, as cattle farmers struggle with drought. Mr Littleproud said the Nationals were not against importing American beef provided that it was from cattle 'born in the United States and bred all the way through to their slaughter in the United States'. But beef from cattle originating in third countries was a risk because 'we don't have the traceability that we have over the US production system'. 'And that's why Anthony Albanese needed to rule out straight away that he would not open that up to those cattle that were born in Canada, Mexico, or anywhere else in the Americas, because that poses a significant risk unless we can trace those cattle,' Mr Littleproud said. Mr Albanese has been clear in saying he would 'never loosen any rules regarding our biosecurity'. But he has also said that if a deal can be struck 'in a way that protects our biosecurity, of course we don't just say no'. Mr Littleproud acknowledged Mr Albanese's words but said 'when you see reports from departments saying this is what's on the table in terms of negotiations – where there's smoke, there's fire'. In addition to the baseline 10 per cent duties on foreign goods, Australia has also been subjected to 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium. Only the UK has been able to secure a partial exemption from the Donald Trump's tariffs. A key UK concession was scrapping its 20 per cent imposts on American beef and raising the import quota to 13,000 metric tonnes. But with many British goods still subject to tariffs, analysts have questioned whether the deal was worth it. The US has trade surpluses with both the UK and Australia. Though, Australia also has a free-trade agreement with the US, meaning goods should be traded mostly uninhibited. The Albanese government has repeatedly criticised Mr Trump's decision to slap tariffs on Australian products as 'economic self-harm' and 'not the act of a friend'.
UPI
5 hours ago
- UPI
Pope asks God to 'open borders, breakdown barriers' during papal mass
Pope Leo XIV arrives to lead a Holy mass for the beginning of his pontificate in St Peter's square in the Vatican in May. File photo by Stefano Spaziani/UPI | License Photo June 8 (UPI) -- Pope Leo asked God to "open borders, break down walls and dispel hatred," during Sunday mass with tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square Sunday. The pontiff has been critical of nationalist political movements and the "exclusionary mindset" they convey, but did not name a specific country or government. "There is no room for prejudice , for 'security zones' separating us from our neighbors, for the exclusionary mindset that, unfortunately, we now see emerging in political nationalisms," the pope said during the mass. Leo added that the church "must open the borders between peoples and break down the barriers between class and race." "People must move beyond our fear of those who are different," he continued, and said the Holy Spirit "breaks down barriers and tears down the walls of indifference and hatred." While the pontiff did not mention President Donald Trump by name, he has been critical of his administration and policies. Prior to ascending to pope in May, Leo, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, routinely posted negative comments about Trump and vice-president JD Vance on social media. The Prevost X account was deactivated shortly after he became pope. Prior to Leo, pope Francis, who died earlier this year, was also critical of Trump. "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not a Christian," Francis said about Trump when asked about him in 2016.
