Britain counts itself as a mature democracy. But what really guarantees freedom and fairness, asks Simon Barrow, and how does the church relate to the will of the people in wider society?

Roman Catholic bishops have warned that attempts at constitutional reform in Venezuela by President Hugo Chavez restrict the rights of citizens and grant too much power to the State with a "president who is re-elected indefinitely".

A report launched yesterday by the thinktank 'Theos', which argues for the retention of Bishops in a reformed House of Lords, has been criticised by humanists and Christians as failing to address issues of ethics, justice and equality.