Posts By Date - Catholic Herald

November 02, 2023

Tolkien’s fantasy is deeply rooted in the Gospels

November 02, 2023

The willingness to sacrifice all for love. Of all the Catholic authors of the last century, JRR Tolkien is the best read – and astonishingly draws his readers, without any warning, into a Catholic mind. He does this with such sensitivity and subtlety that there is some scope for the Church, as part of its

Interrogating Paul Fitzgerald, President of the University of San Francisco

November 02, 2023

The Catholic Herald puts Paul Fitzgerald, President of the University of San Francisco, under interrogation. What was your career break? I joined the Society of Jesus back in 1982. God has been opening doors and beckoning me to step forward ever since. What’s your favourite Bible verse? In Luke 19, Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus leads to

Interrogating Fr Kenneth Sicard, President of Providence College

November 02, 2023

The Catholic Herald puts Fr Kenneth Sicard, President of Providence College in Rhode Island, under interrogation. What was your career break? When my predecessor, Fr Brian Shanley, stepped down, I was elected as president. Note that I had been his Executive Vice President for 15 years, so the transition was natural. What’s your favourite Bible verse? From

Hugh Dormer: ‘Catholicism made him what he became’

November 02, 2023

Alfred Searls on Hugh Dormer: formed at Ampleforth and killed in the Second World War. Eighty years ago, a young officer in the Irish Guards was about to undergo an extraordinary test of faith as he parachuted, one moonlit night, into the heart of darkness that was Nazi-occupied Europe, on a secret mission to sabotage

Interrogating Seamus Carey, President of Iona University

November 02, 2023

The Catholic Herald puts Seamus Carey, President of Iona University in New York, under interrogation. What’s your favourite Bible verse? The Beatitudes. Which church has the most meaning to you? St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York, which was started by Archbishop John Hughes, an Irish immigrant. What holy music do you keep returning to? Pastorale by

Interrogating Jonathan Sanford, President of the University of Dallas

November 02, 2023

The Catholic Herald puts Jonathan J Sanford, President of the University of Dallas in Texas, under interrogation. What’s your favourite Bible verse? John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is, as St. Justin Martyr calls him, the true philosopher. Revealing to

On Pilgrimage With: John Cornwell

November 02, 2023

John Cornwell, author and academic. Where would you go? From Palazzola, the summer villa of the Venerable English College, high on the flanks of Lake Albano, south of Rome, to Naples, walking, more or less, along the Via Appia. We should arrive at the Duomo on 19 September in time for the miracle of the

Interrogating Stephen Minnis, President of Benedictine College

November 02, 2023

The Catholic Herald puts Stephen Minnis, President of Benedictine College in Kansas, under interrogation. What’s your favourite Bible verse? John 2:5: The wedding at Cana: “Do whatever He tells you.” Which church has the most meaning to you? The Santissima Annunziata in Florence, where I asked Our Lady for help for the college and she helped

A bloom of Painted Ladies

November 02, 2023

Nick Ripatrazone appreciates a new God-filled collection of poetry by a writer who is both catholic and Catholic. I first encountered a poem from Butterfly Nebula, the new collection by Laura Reece Hogan, in Scientific American. Founded in 1845, the august publication is not known for its religious content. Yet Hogan, a lay Carmelite who

Colour for the masses at the Ashmolean Museum

November 02, 2023

Ben Stephens is impressed by the Ashmolean’s exhibition on Victorian fashion. About a third of the way through the Ashmolean Museum’s latest exhibition, Colour Revolution: Victorian Art, Fashion & Design, there’s a wall with the legend: “Colour for the Masses”. Great, I thought – this is where the Church gets a look-in. And it does,

Pope Francis prays for peace at the graves of Allied soldiers from the Second World War

November 02, 2023

ROME – Pope Francis marked the Catholic feast of All Souls Day by celebrating Mass at a Roman war cemetery, calling for an end to war and the loss of innocent lives claimed in violent conflicts. Speaking at the Rome War Cemetery for his Nov. 2 All Souls Day Mass, Francis also stressed the importance

New York Cardinal: Outpouring of hatred after Hamas attack ‘shocks the conscience’

November 02, 2023

NEW YORK – With acts of religious hatred on the rise in the United States since the Hamas attacks on Israel in early October, New York’s cardinal, who also leads a bishops’ panel on religious liberty, has said that such instances “shock the conscience.” “In recent days here in America, where for hundreds of years