Posts By Date - Catholic Herald

March 29, 2023

Ambulance takes Pope Francis to hospital amid fears of ‘heart problems’

March 29, 2023

Pope Francis has been admitted to hospital amid speculation that he suddenly complained of “heart problems”. Matteo Bruni of the Vatican Press Office issued a one-line statement to say that the 86-year-old Argentine Pontiff went to the Gemelli Hospital in Rome “for some previously scheduled check-ups”. Italian media reported, however, that the Holy Father was

After Impressionism: encountering my inner Philistine at London’s National Gallery

March 29, 2023

Le singe est dans l’arbre. The state visit to France was cancelled in the wake of protests at the very idea – quelle horreur – that the French might have to work just a little bit longer to take advantage of some of the most generous pensions in the world. The King – who is

The empty tomb of the risen Lord?

March 29, 2023

There are two distinct sets of stories in the Gospels about the Resurrection of Jesus. The one set, about which I wrote last year, concern the appearance of the risen Christ to the women, the apostles and others; these are what come first, as we see from the Gospel readings of the Easter Vigil and

Abuse expert leaves Vatican commission for protection of minors, citing concerns

March 29, 2023

Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, an internationally-renowned expert in protecting children and vulnerable adults from clerical sex abuse, has resigned from his position on the Vatican’s safeguarding commission. The move was announced by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors on Wednesday. The 56-year-old Zollner, a founding member of the commission, said in a statement March 29

Bishop Erik Varden and Kim Samuel on community and belonging in the post-COVID world

March 29, 2023

I cannot now remember the number of times that I have sat in the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, wearing an academic gown of either red or black according to the occasion. This time, however, it was Kim Samuel who was in red; the Trappist Bishop Erik Varden wore a thick black scapular over a white

Jailed Nicaraguan bishop appears in video staged by regime

March 29, 2023

The Nicaraguan regime has responded to calls for proof that a jailed bishop is still alive by releasing photographs and a film of him being visited by his family in prison. The images and short video of Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa came a week after human rights defender Bianca Jagger demanded that Nicaraguan despot

An American revisits London as a Catholic

March 29, 2023

Andrew Petiprin finds vibrant life in his old pre-Catholic haunts

Irish PM must be commended for saying forced secularisation of Catholic schools is wrong

March 29, 2023

In a recent parliamentary questions session in Ireland, Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadkar provided a surprisingly frank and sensible response to questions from members of parliament (TDs) who are demanding that the government force the divestment (or reconfiguration) of schools that have been established and run by Catholic entities for decades and, in some cases,

Natural Family Planning: it’s time the Church shared its best kept secret

March 29, 2023

The Pill made headlines last week when researchers from the University of Oxford concluded that the use of progesterone-only contraceptive pills is associated with a small increase in the risk of breast cancer. The debate about the potential health risks associated with the Pill is far from over, but for Catholics, whatever the risks, the