Category: Reviews

This little book of spirituality is inspired by the writings of St John Cassian (circa 360 – 435 AD), the ascetic monk who introduced the concepts of Egyptian monasticism into the wider western Church, through his residence in Gaul. By her choice of title, the author alludes to that passage of the parable of tower…

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In a strange piece on cruxnow.com, Rosie Scammell interprets a Financial Times interview to say that “The Vatican’s financial chief, Cardinal George Pell, has taken the unusual step of criticising Pope Francis’ groundbreaking environmental encyclical, arguing the Catholic Church has ‘no particular expertise in science’.” This take, since echoed by Damian Thompson at blogs.spectator.co.uk and…

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We can trace the genesis of superheroes from Superman himself through the scatter of lesser descendants who’ve taken their names from all walks of evolution – Spiderman, Batman and so on. The latest addition to the canon is Ant-Man, played by Paul Rudd (pictured). His main trick is being able to shrink himself to the size of an…

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The silly season is here and film-makers are doing their best to drag you in from the sun. Here are some of the more high profile releases now showing in your local cinema: Faith of Our Fathers (PG) In 1969 in Vietnam, a man with a great faith went into battle with a religious sceptic…

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Perhaps predictably, the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision to legalise same-sex marriage throughout the US has dominated online Catholic discourse in recent weeks.  Firstthings.com has published a fascinating online symposium on the decision and its implications, and Ross Douthat argues on nytimes.com that the judgment is profoundly ironic, with the court having embraced…

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