SPIRITED THINKING SINCE 1888
September 26, 2019
Pope Francis: Clericalism linked to fixation on sexual morality
September 26, 2019
In a meeting with Jesuits in Mozambique earlier this month, Pope Francis said that clericalism is a direct result of rigidity and linked to a fixation on sexual morality. “One dimension of clericalism is the exclusive moral fixation on the sixth commandment,” Pope Francis said according to the Jesuit-run journal La Civilta Cattolica transcript published
Christian girls are being kidnapped and forced to convert, Pakistan Archbishop warns
September 26, 2019
A surge in under-age Christian and Hindu girls in Pakistan being kidnapped, raped and forced to marry and convert to Islam has been condemned by one of the country’s leading bishops. In an interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Archbishop Sebastian Shaw of Lahore confirmed reports of abductions involving girls as
Cardinal Levada, former CDF prefect, dies aged 83
September 26, 2019
Cardinal William Levada, the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has died at the age of 83. He was the first American to lead the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), one of the most senior positions in the Curia. Levada was appointed to the position by Pope
Pope Francis: being elected Pope doesn’t wash away your sins
September 26, 2019
While his responsibilities are greater and his prayer list longer, Pope Francis said he’s basically the same person he was before he was elected in 2013, so he still goes to confession every two weeks. “The mere fact that I now dress all in white has not made me any less sinful or holier than
Leading Catholic philosophers say JPII Institute changes threaten credibility
September 26, 2019
Leading American Catholic philosophers have written to the leadership of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Rome to express their concern that recent changes at the university have not properly respected the academic integrity of the institution. “Observance in full of previously instituted procedures is part of what defines any academic institution as free
German bishops vote to adopt statutes for Synodal Assembly
September 26, 2019
The bishops of Germany have voted to adopt a set of statutes for their long-planned “Synodal Assembly.” The decision was taken in a vote on Wednesday, September 25, the final day of the plenary session of the German bishops’ conference. The bishops voted to adopt the statutes by a margin of 51-12 with 1 abstention.
Morning Catholic must-reads: 26/09/19
September 26, 2019
Germany’s bishops have voted 51-12 in favour of adopting the statutes of their “synodal assembly”. A bishop in the Philippines has called for children to be vaccinated after the first outbreak of polio in almost 20 years. George Weigel accuses the reconfigured John Paul II Institute of “a craven surrender to the spirit of the
US cover
September 26, 2019
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
Archbishop Chaput: The best diocesan bishop of our time?
September 26, 2019
As he was growing up on the plains of Kansas in the late 1940s and early 1950s, it’s unlikely that young Charles Joseph Chaput, a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, imagined himself a major figure in Catholic history. Educated by Capuchin Franciscans and impressed by their commitment to simplicity of life and service,
Jesus Christ: the person and the mystery
September 26, 2019
We quite naturally tend to think of the word “Christ” as Jesus’s second name. We think of the name “Jesus Christ” in the same way that we think of names like Susan Parker or Jack Smith. But that’s an unhealthy confusion. Jesus didn’t have a second name. The word “Christ” is a title which, while
A meeting with my ‘cousin’, Rosanne Cash
September 26, 2019
The travel group Thomas Cook, which went into compulsory liquidation this week, may have invented mass tourism, but it failed to embrace technology and convert to a modern online model. It stuck with its one-stop-shop philosophy of summer and winter travel bibles, backed by an expensive chain of increasingly empty high-street shops. Like the Church,
Heretic of the week: Joseph Murphy
September 26, 2019
One of the many joys of my youth was perusing the Saturday religion section of the Los Angeles Times. Among other things in the babbling brook of competing sects that is the religious life of the City of Angels, in those far-off days innumerable varieties of “New Thought” schools advertised their wares. One that caught
Most Popular
Donate
Please Donate

Having been unable to sell in churches for well over a year due to the pandemic, we are now inviting readers to support the Herald by investing in our future. We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values.

Please join us on our 130 year mission by supporting us. We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching. For more information from our chairman on contributing to the Herald Patron's Fund, click here

Make a Donation

Donors giving £500 or more will automatically become sponsor patrons of the Herald. This includes two complimentary print/digital gift subscriptions, invitations to Patron events, pilgrimages and dinners, and 6 gift subscriptions sent to priests, seminaries, Catholic schools, religious care homes and prison and university chaplaincies. Click here for more information on becoming a Patron Sponsor. Click here for more information about contributing to the Herald Patron's Fund