Catholic Church

Omnium Gatherum

after epiphany, the church teases forth into liturgical celebrations different manifestations of the lord’s divinity, including his baptism ...

Fr John Zuhlsdorf

A fascinating book undermined by sleaze

written in history: letters that changed the world by simon sebag-montefiore, weidenfeld and nicolson, 272pp, £14.99/$20 a title such as thi...

When did stained glass lose its soul?

how to look at stained glass by jane brocket ib tauris, 256pp, £12.99/$20 almost as soon as i began reading jane brocket’s how to look at st...

Where was the best singing over Christmas?

christmas is a time when people want to hear a decent choir, and it’s the time when decent choirs sweep by the coachload into london for the...

How a shy poet became a Victorian muse

today we know christina rossetti for two well-loved carols, in the bleak midwinter and love came down at christmas. in her lifetime (1830-18...

David V Barrett

Letters & emails

the danger of changing christ’s words sir – regarding the controversy around the translation of the our father with the phrase “lead us not ...

The Catholic Herald

The secret music composed by medieval nuns

it’s an almost unbelievable statistic, but according to professor laurie stras, an academic at huddersfield university and noted authority o...

The Church must stop promoting people just to get them out of the way

last week, i argued that the specifics of the accusations made by archbishop carlo maria viganò were less important than the reform of cleri...

Fr Raymond de Souza

Hollywood's fascination with exorcism

in 2016, fr francesco bamonte, president of the international association of exorcists, said that “the way in which evil, demonic possession...

Driving out the Devil: what’s behind the exorcism boom?

as of the past few decades, it is clear that catholic clergy are witnessing a mushrooming demand for exorcisms. an astonishing number of peo...

Kate Kingsbury and Andrew Chesnut