Posts By Date - Catholic Herald

November 30, 2023

The music is good, but a new musical about the Gunpowder Plot lacks direction

November 30, 2023

Too wordy and worthy? The music is good, but a new musical about the Gunpowder Plot lacks direction, says Ferdie Rous. In Treason, we have another musical about a struggle for freedom. After Les Mis nearly 40 years on and the global phenomenon that is Hamilton, it’s fair to say that making a song and

Fantasy: Realms of Imagination at the British Library

November 30, 2023

Fantasy, as the exhibition at the British Library in London points out, is both a means of escape and a way of viewing our own world through new eyes. Fantasy: Realms of Imagination spans from the oldest religious mythologies such as the Epic of Gilgamesh up to the works of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman,

A Christmas Alleluia!

November 30, 2023

At this time of year, we should celebrate God’s gift of His life and the gift of our salvation, writes John Studzinski. “Alleluia!” Around the world, regardless of location, contextual culture and language, that word is proclaimed every day, except in Lent, before the Gospel at every Holy Mass. Exhorting us to praise the Lord,

Diary: Christmastime in Styria, by Petronella Wyatt

November 30, 2023

Every December, I visit the lakeside hamlets of the Salzkammergut in Styria. They celebrate Christmas in that part of Austria with a spirit that Anthony Hope would have recognised. A giant Advent candle is floated on the waters of Lake Wolfgang, the largest lake in the area; its progress back and forth interrupted only by

Bethlehem baubles and good news in the Holy Land

November 30, 2023

There are not likely to be many glad tidings from Bethlehem this Christmas, save in the eternal sense. Still, the work of Bethlehem Baubles holds out some hope as it draws together Jews, Christians and Muslims in a project that its founder, Ros Pollock, sees as part of fostering a deeper sense of connection and

Music can contribute to the joys and thoughtful memories of the Christmas season

November 30, 2023

Of all the holy days of the liturgical calendar, none involves the senses more than Christmas. The sensory experiences of Christmas invoke feelings of kinship, generosity, camaraderie and nostalgia. The scents, sights, and sounds of Christmas don’t merely fill our homes, but infuse our hearts as well. The fragrances of spruce, fir and pine waft

An apocalyptic band sees the world through the incarnation of Christ

November 30, 2023

An apocalyptic band sees the world through the incarnation of Christ. It was around this time of year three years ago that I encountered the music of the US-based band, Dirt Poor Robins. We had all just been plunged into lockdown again and too many people I knew unquestioningly acquiesced to what seemed to be

From Texas to the tribunal, the perplexities of papal power

November 30, 2023

John L Allen Jr explains the absolute power of the Pope, but also that two current controversial situations are very different in nature. Although not generally known for the limpidity of its prose, the Code of Canon Law does deliver at least one sentence of crystalline clarity in canon 331, regarding the Roman Pontiff: “By

Pope attends nine appointments in one day despite ill health

November 30, 2023

ROME – Pope Francis kept a busy schedule Thursday, with nine separate appointments, despite receiving ongoing antibiotic treatment for a flu causing lung inflammation. In a statement Wednesday night, the Vatican said that the pope’s condition is “stable” and that “he does not have a fever, but the pulmonary inflammation associated with difficulty breathing persists.

Pope meets with Celtic, Scotland’s traditionally Catholic football team

November 30, 2023

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – Pope Francis met on Wednesday with members of the Scottish soccer team Celtic, a day after they played the Rome soccer team Lazio in the UEFA Champions League. The meeting took place despite the Pope’s ongoing lung inflammation that has forced him to curtail his schedule and skip an international trip.

Da Vinci Genius: ‘a dynamic interactive show, perfectly suited to do justice to Leonardo’s eclectic oeuvre’

November 30, 2023

AMSTERDAM – Following the success of such immersive art shows as David Hockney’s Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) at London’s Lightroom, and the Van Gogh show – now touring UK – a new blockbuster interactive show about the life of Leonardo da Vinci has just opened in Amsterdam’s Design District. With a brilliant