There’s something ironic about journalists criticising children with an enormous megaphone and yet maintaining that they are on the side of the powerless. Consider a recent Washington Post column by Jonathan Capehart, entitled “Time to take on the Covington ‘smirk’”. He reassured readers that their first impressions about the Covington affair were right all along

What was “Washington’s Birthday” is quickly approaching us: now often redubbed “Presidents’ Day”, the repackaging allows us to forget “Lincoln’s Birthday” earlier in the month – which is now celebrated on the Monday closest to February 22, the actual day. In any case, thinking of George Washington, “the Father of His Country” and our first

Dear Father Rutler, I don’t like giving the Sign of the Peace at Mass. It seems to me like a needless distraction. I can glad-hand Mrs Smith any time I want. On Sundays, I’m there to see Jesus. Is this uncharitable or disobedient? Kelsey J from Grand Rapids, MI The Sign of Peace is a

I was in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, last week, nosing around a sarcophagus, when a man with a beard asked if I was who he thought I was. It turns out I was – and we had a lot in common. We’d both been at Cambridge 10 years ago; we were both visiting for a

Mixed voice adult choirs have given us new perspectives on the trove of Renaissance choral music over the past 30 years or so. The Clerkes of Oxenford, for instance; then the Tallis Scholars, Tenebrae, the Sixteen, and Polyphony: transformative choirs that are now joined by, among many others, Voces8 and Stile Antico. The Gesualdo Six

The saddest funerals are those that mark the end not only of a life but also of a culture that surrounded it; and an example was the funeral Mass for Monika Saunders which took place a few weeks ago at St Augustine’s Abbey in the depths of rural Surrey. Monika had the good fortune to

For Christmas I was given a copy of the newly translated biography of Annibale Bugnini, architect of the Novus Ordo Mass – and hero or éminence grise of the Council’s liturgical reforms, depending on your viewpoint. It is difficult not to tend towards the latter, though I don’t think the author intends it so. Startling

On February 2, even the most diehard acknowledge that it’s time to put away the crib, take down the mistletoe and leave the season of Christmas behind. But Candlemas has a positive meaning too: for a start, it’s the day when candles are blessed for use in churches. And, traditionally, in homes: you could bring

At 8:45am last Sunday, a bomb exploded during Mass near the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the southern Philippines. It shattered windows and ripped pews to smithereens. As soldiers rushed to help, a second bomb detonated outside the cathedral compound, hurling “human remains and debris across a town square fronting the church”,

The big story of the past seven days ✣ Pope Francis: I’ll think about exceptions on priestly celibacy What happened? Pope Francis said on Monday that priestly celibacy was “a gift” and that “I do not agree with allowing optional celibacy”. But there could perhaps be exceptions for “pastoral necessity” in “far-flung places” such as

Notre Dame, Indiana Christopher Columbus murals to be covered up Notre Dame university has decided to cover up its 19th-century murals depicting the arrival of Christ­opher Columbus because they are seen as demeaning to Native Americans. The murals “reflect the attitudes of the time”, said university president Fr John Jenkins, but in recent years many

Pope Francis launched his own profile on the “Click To Pray” app on Sunday, January 20, just ahead of his departure for World Youth Day celebrations in Panama. Vatican Media described Click To Pray as “a platform that invites men and women from around the world, to accompany the Pope in a mission of compassion