Sunday Folgen

In this last ‘Sunday’ of the year, Emily Buchanan looks back at 2024 and forward to 2025.2024 has been a record breaking year for one of the world's busiest pilgrimage routes - the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The rising numbers of pilgrims, as well as the soaring summer temperatures, mean more people are considering ‘coolcation’ pilgrim trails in countries like Norway. Will they catch on?‘Wicked’ has been one of the biggest movies of the year. Emily speaks to Gregory Maguire, the Catholic writer whose novel inspired the hit stage musical and new start-studded film. What was it like writing the backstory of the notoriously evil Wicked Witch of the West?And astronaut Barry 'Butch' Wilmore will be seeing in the New Year in space, having been stranded on the International Space Station since June. He won’t return until well into 2025, and worshippers at his Baptist Church in Pasadena, Texas have been keeping a close watch on the situation.Presenter: Emily Buchanan Producers: Dan Tierney and Saba Zaman Editor: Tim Pemberton.

As Christmas draws near, this week’s Sunday brings the latest religious stories shaping the news agenda.Pope Francis is about to release his autobiography – the first by any pontiff. Among its revelations is a startling account of how UK intelligence foiled an assassination plot during his 2021 visit to Iraq. Colm Flynn, who accompanied the Pope on that trip, shares his insights into the dramatic events.At Great Ormond Street Hospital, the fallout from disgraced surgeon Yaser Jabbar has cast a shadow over its vital work. Yet, amid the challenges, lead chaplain Dorothy Moore Brookes is bringing comfort and joy to families spending Christmas far from home. We join her on the wards to witness the impact of her work.Gold has always been more than a precious metal – it carries deep spiritual significance and a cosmic story. Alan Ereira, author of A History of Gold: How It Shaped Humanity, traces its journey from interstellar collisions to its role in empires and its environmental legacy today.In Gaza City, where the conflict rages on, aid worker George Antone describes life in the compound of the Holy Family Church. With homes destroyed and hope tested, 500 parishioners prepare for their second Christmas in exile.And after a tumultuous few weeks for the Church of England – with Archbishop Justin Welby stepping down and safeguarding allegations swirling around his successor – we ask Bishop Michael Ipgrave of Lichfield what lies ahead for the embattled institution.Presented by Emily Buchanan Producers: Rajeev Gupta & Katy Davis Editor: Chloe Walker

The people of Syria have been celebrating again this weekend, with many protestors outside the largest mosque in Damascus deriding the former president, Bashar al-Assad, as a "Zombie". With a sense of relief that Assad is now gone, there is anxiety too about what might follow. William Crawley explores how the new regime will affect the religious make up of the country with Makram Rabah, Assistant Professor of History at the American University in Beirut.This week, the justice secretary has said that even under the government's plans to open 14,000 more prison places, they could still run out of space over the next few years. Oasis Restore school opened in the summer and aims to transform the justice system for young people by focusing on education and therapy, rather than punishment and retribution. The Founder, Baptist Minister Steve Chalke, says ‘The philosophy behind everything we do here is not, ‘What have you done wrong?’ but, ‘What’s happened to you?’ For generations, a story has been told in Liverpool's Catholic community about a local man, wounded in the first world war, who went to Lourdes and returned with a miracle. Now, a hundred years after that previously paralyzed man, Jack Traynor, shocked everyone by carrying his own bags off the train at Lime Street Station, the Archbishop of Liverpool has officially recognised his healing as a miracle. Sunday hears from Alex Taylor Jack's great-great grandson, as well as Dr Kieran Moriarty, a British physician who reviewed the original case files and gave evidence to a canonical commission.Presenter: William Crawley Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Catherine Murray Studio Managers: Nat Stokes & Sam Mills Editor: Tim Pemberton