ch20181207 Archives - Page 2 of 5

ch20181207

December 06, 2018

Our natural instincts serve us well, up to a point. They’re self-protective and that’s healthy too, up to a point. Let me explain. Recently I was at a football game with a number of friends. We arrived at the match in two cars and parked in the stadium’s underground parking lot. Our tickets were in

Benedict XVI’s fine line on Catholic dialogue with Jews

December 06, 2018

Benedict XVI has found himself battered from all sides after responding to criticism from a German theology professor. The dispute originated with the publication of an essay by the Pope Emeritus giving a theological appraisal of a Vatican document on achievements in Catholic-Jewish relations since the Second Vatican Council. It seems that some readers of

Houston, we have a problem

December 06, 2018

On November 28, District Attorney Brett Ligon of Montgomery County, Texas, led the raid on the chancery of Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Houston-Galveston, the president of the US bishops’ conference, alongside Texas Rangers, the Conroe Police Department and an unnamed federal agency. The search warrant in Houston was issued to obtain evidence against Fr Manuel

Prize crossword 0571

December 06, 2018

Cryptic across 7 Extract of reporter’s acclaimed banter is re-used, giving one the hump, twice! (8,5) 8 Scandinavian monarch, the sixth to lead (6) 9 Cluster of flowers on stem from seed US doctor supplied (6) 10 Like to go boating to row (6) 11 Aristocratic sleuth’s reported odd activity (6) 12 High country wherein

Where now for Catholic Voices?

December 06, 2018

In December 2009, two friends sat in a pub and sighed about the difficulty of defending the Church. Austen Ivereigh and Jack Valero had just watched a public debate in which Stephen Fry and Christopher Hitchens (full disclosure: he was my uncle) had won resounding applause by attacking the Church. From that night sprang Catholic

The Brothers who would not be moved

December 06, 2018

With the beatification of the seven Trappist monks of Tibhirine (and 11 other male and female Religious killed during the civil war that raged in Algeria throughout the 1990s) due to take place on Saturday, December 8, I recently rewatched Of Gods and Men, the 2010 film about their tragic story. When I first watched

? Heretic of the week

December 06, 2018

Pelagius (360-418) was a British monk of Celto-Roman origin. Fluent in Greek and Latin, and well-schooled in theology, he combined his great learning with the strict asceticism that for centuries characterised Celtic monasteries in the British Isles and on the Continent. But it was perhaps this very asceticism that gave birth to the pride that

The ‘growing anxiety’ of Scottish pro-lifers

December 06, 2018

“When I was growing up,” says James Bundy, “I saw Scotland as a tolerant country where the vast majority of people feel comfortable to share their views.” But Bundy, the chairman of the Scottish Conservatives’ youth wing, says that today he’s not so sure. In November, he tweeted a petition entitled “Tell the UN abortion