Posts By Date - Catholic Herald

July 10, 2023

Instrumentum Laboris or Instrumentum Deceptionis?

July 10, 2023

The Catholic Church is indeed in serious need of renewal. But when has the Church not been? The task for each generation is one of discernment. Discernment is both a facet of common sense, but like so many aspects of the life of faith, it has a spiritual or supernatural dimension too. St Paul reminds

Feast and Fast recipes: Cold ratatouille, pork meatloaf, potato salad, lemon and almond cake

July 10, 2023

Cornelia van der Poll serves a summer spread of pork meatloaf, cold ratatouille, potato salad and lemon and almond cake, ideal for a picnic. The best outdoor meals evoke a sense of spontaneity. Even if the cook has been planning and preparing meticulously behind the scenes, fine weather and fresh air call for effortlessly simple

Buildings Modern and Ancient

July 10, 2023

About Architecture: An Essential Guide in 55 Buildings Hugh Pearman Yale University Press, £30, 256 pages Hugh Pearman is an architectural writer, and has written a number of books on modern architecture. He was architect and design critic of the Sunday Times from 1986 to 2016, and edited the journal of the Royal Institute of

Something for everyone: Searching for religion in the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition

July 10, 2023

The annual Summer Exhibition at London’s Royal Academy of Arts previewed in oppressive metropolitan heat that made the air-conditioned upstairs rooms in which the show is traditionally housed all the more appealing. As ever, there seemed to be something for all tastes and budgets, with the usual hint of incredulity hanging in the air as

Comedy and the Christian Faith: Appreciating Jesus’s humour gives us a new perspective

July 10, 2023

One day long ago, in the 1970s, I remember listening to the fusty old Lord Chancellor, Lord Hailsham, on Radio 4. Years later I read a novel by Italy’s premier semiotician, Umberto Eco. The combination of both gave birth to a need to write a book on Christianity and comedy. Lord Hailsham, urbane, dry and

The consistory of a pope in a hurry

July 10, 2023

ROME – A consistory, the event in which a pope creates new cardinals, is always a carefully choreographed bit of theatre, with production values rivaling any Broadway musical. In that spirit, if the September 30 consistory announced today by Pope Francis were to be set to music, there would be a clear choice for its

Bishop Alvarez sent back to jail in Nicaragua

July 10, 2023

Nicaraguan authorities have returned a Catholic bishop to jail after he refused to go into exile in Italy. Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa was sent back the Jorge Navarro de Tipitapa National Penitentiary System, a notorious prison known as “La Modelo”, after negotiations with government officials broke down. The hard-left dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega