The Catholic Herald

Advent's two great Marian feasts can help us celebrate Christmas properly

As Mary is, so all Christians should aspire to be

Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith

What's inside this week's magazine?

Take a look inside this week's Catholic Herald

Staff Reporter

Was Benedict's abdication really God's will?

Last Testament has much to delight Benedict's admirers, but on one crucial point it leaves me uneasy

Fr Raymond de Souza

The Church must not give up its hard-won freedoms to appease China

The Church has faced state interference with bishop appointments long before China - now is not the moment to bow to political pressure

Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith

Is there any room for conscience?

at prime minister’s questions last week, theresa may was asked about christians’ freedom to profess their faith. the pm’s reply was impeccab...

Dan Hitchens

Was Benedict’s abdication really God’s will?

was benedict xvi right to abdicate? while there is no doubt as to the validity of his resignation, was it god’s will? more than three years ...

Fr Raymond de Souza

How Dorothy L Sayers brought theology alive

those familiar with the formidable dorothy l sayers’s lord peter wimsey, the suave, multi-talented amateur sleuth of book and tv fame, might...

Garry O'Connor

Nativity Play: A collective intake of breath at Wintershall

this year’s wintershall nativity play, at wintershall near guildford, is likely to be even more successful than its predecessors. the compel...

Alexander Jolliffe

Television: David Walliams should hire Jacob Rees-Mogg

walliams and friend (bbc one, fridays, 9.30pm) was so unfunny that one person dubbed it walliams and viewer. you know a comedy show has fail...

Tim Stanley

Theatre: The rich barber who wants to live like Jesus

sheppey , somerset maugham’s sardonic comedy, a modern morality play rooted in the 1929 slump and addressing the suffering of the poor, is s...

Robert Tanitch

Music: Why great singers can’t keep a secret

in the world of song recitals there’s a national hierarchy: this favours franco-german repertoire and leaves the english some way down the p...

Michael White

Briefly noted

looking good: a visual guide to the nun’s habit by veronica bennett and ryan todd (graphicdesign, £17.50) . this delightful and truly origin...

Staff writers

Word This Week

third sunday of advent is 35:1-6; jas 5:7-10; mt 11:2-11 (year a) ‘rejoice in the lord always. again, i say rejoice! indeed, the lord is nea...

Bishop David McGough

Mass Readings

ordinary form divine office week iii sunday, december 11: third sunday of advent is 35:1-6a, 10; ps 146; jas 5:7-10; mt 11:2-11 monday, dece...

The Catholic Herald

Our inadequate self-expression

art, too, has its martyrs and perhaps our greatest pain is that of inadequate self-expression. that’s an insight from iris murdoch and it ho...

Fr Ronald Rolheiser

Vatican approves association for female employees

About 50 women who work at the Vatican have joined the association already

Catholic News Service

Pope Francis: everything in Amoris Laetitia was supported by the synod

The Pope said that in a synodal Church there was 'a movement from high to low'

Staff Reporter

Pope: 'Amid the darkness, hold fast to light of hope'

At his general audience, Pope Francis gave the first in a series of talks about hope

Cindy Wooden

The inspirational Christian who defied Russia's communists

Poet and author Irina Ratushinskaya was imprisoned in a labour camp for four years

Francis Phillips

The inside story of how 226 Assyrian Christians were freed from ISIS

Bishop organised the raising of millions of dollars to pay ransom to the Islamic extremists

Associated Press

subscribe to the catholic herald today

Our best content is exclusively available to our subscribers. Subscribe today and gain instant access to expert analysis, in-depth articles, and thought-provoking insights—anytime, anywhere. Don’t miss out on the conversations that matter most.

Culture