18 AUGUST 2012 £2.80 www.thetablet.co.uk | Est 1840

THE

TABLET

York’s MysteryPlays

Where have all the penitents gone? As bishops urge a return to confession, John Cornwell sets out to discover why the sacrament lost its hold

The great divide Joe Biden and Paul Ryan, rival running mates in the US presidential election, are both Catholics. Michael Sean Winters assesses two very different versions of the same faith

Drone wars: a case to answer Theologians Tobias L. Winright and Mark J. Allman doubt the moral justification of using the latest in sophisticated killing machines

PLUS Sara Maitland • Daniel O’Leary • Sue Gaisford