Diana lesson for the church

The Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday urged the Church of England to learn lessons from the "Princess Diana phenomenon" and to tap into the spirituality demonstrated by the reaction to her death. In a speech in Leicestershire, Dr George Carey called on formal religion to "adapt and innovate".

He said churches should build with the many people who may not go to church but who did have a spiritual faith. Dr Carey was speaking as part of the Ashe lecture at St Helen's church in Ashby de la Zouch during a two-day visit to Leicestershire.

He said the decline in formal religious observation did not imply wholesale abandonment of belief in the religious and spiritual significance of life.