Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has described his private meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican earlier this week as "friendly and informal". They talked for an hour, especially about Christian-Muslim relations.

As the government faces criticism on its anti-poverty policies, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has called for more action to protect the poorest and most vulnerable from the likely consequences of an economic downturn.

The celebration of Easter challenges human beings to accept death without delusion, but it also seeks to challenge our acceptance that death is without hope and the end to all meaning, says the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has joined worldwide tributes paid to Chiara Lubich, founder of the religious and humanitarian Focolare Movement, whose death was announced on Friday.

Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury's headquarters, has rejected claims made in a speech earlier this week by Conservative leader David Cameron, that Dr Rowan Williams was seeking the incorporation of Sharia law in the UK.

As questions about the fairness of UK migration policy once more come into the spotlight, the Anglican archbishops of Canterbury and York have been visiting the Oakington Immigration Detention Centre as part of a trip to Cambridge.

As the furore over Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams' remarks about religious and civil law subsides into a more considered debate beyond the headlines, the Anglican leader is receiving backing from some unexpected quarters.