Posts By Date - Catholic Herald

May 09, 2018

This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.

May 09, 2018

On May 25 Irish voters will decide whether to repeal the pro-life Eighth Amendment to the country’s constitution. The latest poll, published by the Sunday Independent, found 45 per cent in favour of repeal, 34 per cent against and 18 per cent undecided (four per cent did not express an opinion). With days to go

The best of the web

May 09, 2018

✣ Highlights from the week online A new rule to make the conclave work The college of Cardinals has become more international, said George Weigel at First Things – and that has obvious advantages. “A wider representation of countries and ecclesial experiences should, in theory, allow for a broader-gauged reflection on the Catholic reality in

Vatican: New Order

May 09, 2018

Can a well-connected Grand Master hold the Knights together? The Knights of Malta, in which Pope Francis has taken a direct and personal interest, have elected a new leader. The development might have been easy to overlook, coming as it did in the midst of other events more apparently touching the common weal of the

Britain: A Sunday snapshot

May 09, 2018

An academic reveals the make-up of British Catholicism “The Dark Age formula.” The phrase, coined by the theologian Fr Aidan Nichols, refers to the right mixture of identities for converting a nation. Seventh-century England came to the Faith thanks to Anglo-Saxons working together with missionaries sent from Rome. To bring modern England back to Catholicism,

United States: Taking a run at Roe

May 09, 2018

Legislators pushing for tighter abortion laws have the Supreme Court in their sights In March 2016, Donald Trump said “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who procure an abortion. The pro-life movement couldn’t distance itself from his comments fast enough. March for Life released a statement calling Trump, then running for

Fr Martin and his critics

May 09, 2018

Theological College Fr Martin was scheduled to address Theological College, the national seminary of the Catholic University of America, on October 14, 2017, but the college cancelled his appearance following a backlash. Fr Martin named Church Militant, LifeSiteNews, and Fr John Zuhlsdorf as the leaders of the campaign to revoke his invitation. He also suggested

Caught in the culture wars

May 09, 2018

Fr James Martin SJ is an American priest and author who has cornered the market in affable and polished liberal Catholicism. He is the most famous Jesuit in the United States; probably the most popular, too. And also the most disliked. Hated, even. The name will mean nothing to most British Catholics. Nor will the

Cartoon: by Kipper Williams

May 09, 2018

This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.

The riot that never ended

May 09, 2018

In 1968 itself it often felt as if they had put something in the water. It was a mixture of longing and exhilaration, and that choking feeling that something important was going on somewhere nearby, and you would have no peace of mind until you found it. In fact, I now think, they had put

Matthew Schmitz: The cardinal and the cross

May 09, 2018

Believe it or not, Christianity is returning to the centre of public life. In Poland, Christ has been crowned as king. In Hungary, the Holy Crown of St Stephen has been moved to the Parliament building and enshrined in a new constitution. In the US, Trump won his campaign in part by asserting that Americans

‘But are they real Catholics?’

May 09, 2018

The clergyman’s wife is an art restorer. The children are a cheery bunch, and the youngest looks set to follow his father into the village rugby team in due course. The church stands on a charming green sloping up from the road, with an adjoining hall where the Sunday school and social gatherings take place.