Catholic Church

The fires of Saint John

the custom of lighting bonfires on june 23, the eve of the feast of the nativity of st john the baptist, is one of the most widespread of al...

A Passion Project

i don’t recall too many conversations in my life beginning with the words: “when i was on the cross last night…”. but there was one the othe...

Entertaining emperors

the emperors of byzantium kevin lygo thames & hudson, £25, 336 pages it hardly needs saying that any english writer who tackles the hist...

On pilgrimage with Eamon Duffy

where would you go?  to skellig michael. i went there in 1989 after my mother died and i had become rather agitated about my irish iden...

The Catholic Herald

Catholic places of worship Cornwall

cornwall is liberally endowed with villages recording the euphonious names of early celtic saints – st endellion, st enodoc (“blessed be st ...

Conservative but not clericalist

any body that can muster 500 priests and deacons is a force to be reckoned with, and the confraternity of catholic clergy, which does just t...

Gertrude Clarke

New South Wales becomes final Australian state to legalise euthanasia

new south wales has become the sixth and final australian state to legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide. its legislation forces health c...

Catholics join ecumenical celebration of the Millennium of Bury St Edmunds Abbey

the weekend of 14th and 15th may witnessed a historic return of benedictine monks to the site of the abbey of st edmund, bury st edmunds, wh...

The arrest of Cardinal Zen: A new low for China's 'brutal' Communist regime

arresting a 90 year-old cardinal marks a new low for a chinese communist party regime that had already sunk to shocking levels of inhumanity...

Cardinal Zen arrested by China for alleged 'collusion with foreign forces'

cardinal joseph zen has been arrested by the authorities in hong kong, according to local media reports. the 90-year-old former catholic bis...