Pope Francis

Patrick Kavanagh: Poet in the twilight

‘every old man i see / in october-coloured weather / seems to say to me: ‘i was once your father’.” wake forest university press – as part o...
Nick Ripatrazone

Religion and the Rise of Sport in England, by Hugh McLeod

religion and the rise of sport in england hugh mcleod oxford university press, £30, 304 pages a visitor from 200 years ago, landing in engla...
Dr Mark Chapman

What does Pope Francis really think about homosexuality and sin?

there was a flurry of correspondence between the tireless lgbtq+ activist fr james martin and pope francis on saturday 27   january.&nb...
Gavin Ashenden

Holiness is the antidote to evil in the Church

there may be few greater hindrances to believing in god and loving his church than the offence caused by clerical sexual abuse.   the l...
Gavin Ashenden

Pope Francis condemns ‘ideological’ and ‘elitist’ German Synodal Way

in an interview published yesterday, pope francis condemned the german synodal way as elitist, unhelpful and running the risk of bringing id...
Olenka Hamilton

The West must mobilise to help Armenian Christians blockaded in Azerbaijan

pope francis has expressed concern about the potential for a humanitarian catastrophe in the caucasus. some 120,000 armenian christians, res...
Mark Jenkins

Pope curses 'delinquent' priests who withhold absolution

priests should grant absolution in the confessional even when the penitent has no intention to repent, the pope has said in a speech which h...
Simon Caldwell

The ordeal of Cardinal Pell: an interview

this article originally appeared in the december 2021 issue of the catholic herald.  within a few minutes of meeting cardinal pell...
William Cash

In St Peter's Square: Notebook from Rome

the dome of st peter’s was shrouded in mist for the funeral of pope benedict, with the cupola and the cross disappearing behind the figures ...
Melanie McDonagh

On the eve of Pope Benedict's funeral: Notebook from Rome

photo: vatican media the crowds are quieter this time. by comparison with the enormous throng of people – most of them poles – who came to s...
Melanie McDonagh