Posts By Date - Catholic Herald

August 01, 2023

The Church did not fail Sinéad O’Connor, modern Ireland did

August 01, 2023

In its 2022 report on human rights in Afghanistan, Amnesty International summarises the situation which would not be unfamiliar to most people on the street: The Taliban conducted extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests, torture and unlawful detention of perceived opponents with impunity, creating an atmosphere of fear… Public executions and floggings were used as punishment for

Ireland is still an intimate, close-knit society, despite the changes over the last few years

August 01, 2023

‘Mind you – I’ve said nothing’, says Mary Kenny. In 1953, the satirical writer and novelist Honor Tracy published a book about Ireland called “Mind You – I’ve Said Nothing!” It caused uproar: the Englishwoman had insulted just about every sacred value in Irish life, notably the Catholic Church, Irish nationalism, the Irish language and

Clinging to the Faith in Ireland

August 01, 2023

The closure of the Franciscan Friary in Athlone is symptomatic of the wider loss of religion in Ireland, says Ronan Doheny. In recent years, Ireland has seen religious orders close community houses across the country due to lack of vocations. These closures are normally accompanied with brief news articles with local people expressing sadness, but

US Catholic Schools performed better in the pandemic than state schools

August 01, 2023

Despite their high success rate, Catholic schools in the US are struggling for funding – and for survival – says Jamie MacGuire. According to a recent US Assessment of Educational Progress study, during the Covid pandemic public (ie state) school students lost a shocking 10 per cent points in maths and 6 per cent in

Is Pope Francis stacking the deck for the next conclave?

August 01, 2023

Are we reading too much into Pope Francis’s upcoming consistory, which could influence the choice of his successor, asks John H Allen Jr. ROME – When Pope Francis creates 21 new cardinals on 30 September, including 18 under the age of 80 and thus eligible to vote for his successor, the focus obviously will be

Diary: by Fr Anthony Robbie

August 01, 2023

Summer may be warming the children of the north at this time of year, but it is a very different story here by Bondi Beach in New South Wales, where a chilly winter has the local Catholics in its gloomy grip. Thousands still head to the beach even in the winter, but not to the

Letter from the Editor: Concerns over Synod and Conclave

August 01, 2023

The next two years are going to be as important for the Church as the years of Vatican II in the 1960s, during which time the Catholic Herald cemented our then 75-year-old reputation as a world leader in independent Catholic news and commentary. This was largely thanks to our brilliant and fearless Irish-born editor, Desmond

Summer spiritual reading

August 01, 2023

This is the month when many of our readers go on holiday – and it seems likely that, given the blistering temperatures predicted in Europe this month, at least some of it will be spent indoors. Even those who spend their summer at home can look forward to more time to read. We suggest that

New-look Princes of the Church

August 01, 2023

In a flurry of pontifical activity, the Pope has named 21 new cardinals – one of them Archbishop Fernández, the new head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith – including 18 who could be eligible to vote in a conclave to elect his successor. It has been estimated that with this new

The Pope’s new doctrinal enforcer

August 01, 2023

Pope Francis’s appointment of Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández as the new head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is one of the most important ways in which he seeks to project his outlook within the Church. The Holy Father has released an interesting letter to explain his approach to this Dicastery –

The Catholic Herald’s Leading UK Catholics 2023

August 01, 2023

Every year, the Catholic Herald draws up a list of prominent Catholics in the UK – and every year, the criteria for entry are slightly different. Those on the list are the Catholics who are making a difference to society and the Catholic community, either through their actions – such as Michael Spencer donating £6.25

Gender dysphoria is real. Being ‘trans’ is not

August 01, 2023

Barbie is one of the most perceptive depictions of female puberty that I have ever encountered. As a child in the girl power culture of the 1990s, I knew that the time had come for girls to rule the world. I even had a notebook bearing the legend, “Girls rule, boys drool!” We could be anything