Kevin Spinale, S.J., the moderator of the Catholic Book Club, led discussions of two very different books this spring and summer. The first, ‘Catholic Modern,’ by James Chappel, is a heady look at how the church remade itself at a time of social and political upheaval. The second, ‘Say Nothing,’ by Patrick Radden Keefe, is a gripping account of some of the key players in the period in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles.
Europe
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Spanish village gears up to receive dictator Franco’s remains
The Spanish dictator’s preserved body will be flown Thursday by helicopter to the Franco family’s private chapel in the Mingorrubio cemetery.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: The unknown story of Czech priest, Tomáš Halík
This book, the story of a Czech priest working under communist oppression, constitutes a profound reflection on the 1989 collapse of communism and the liberation of the Czech people.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Why Catholic bishops in Europe are concerned about the rise of ‘nature burials’
“These options are in no way Christian: to anonymously scatter ashes in nature, air or water; to install an urn in a private home or apartment; to bury remains in a private garden; or to divide ashes into multiple ‘remembrance objects,’” the bishops wrote, also criticizing the trend to convert loved ones’ ashes into jewelry.
Posted inFaith, News
German bishops to follow ‘synodal way’ despite Vatican warning
“The synodal way is a ‘sui generis’ process, and not a synod or a particular council, and there’ll be no separate German process, without Rome, on questions touching the universal church.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Vatican employees suspended as finance investigation continues
The Vatican gendarmerie has sent an order to all personnel within the Vatican City State and the Swiss Guards that control the security and all access to the Vatican, saying the five have been “suspended from service as a precautionary measure.”
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Vatican police raid Secretariat of State and finance watchdog offices
“A senior Vatican source said he believed the operation, which the statement said had been authorized by Vatican prosecutors, had to do with real estate transactions.”
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
A U.K. Supreme Court ruling forces Boris Johnson to defend Brexit before Parliament
The highest court in the land ruled unanimously and unambiguously that Prime Minister Boris Johnson acted unlawfully in attempting to suspend Parliament only weeks before Brexit, the withdrawal of Great Britain from the European Union, is set to take effect.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Saint Teresa of Avila’s agony and ecstasy
The Life of Saint Teresa of Ávila is termed an “autohagiography,” a self-justification of saintliness, by Carlos Eire, a professor of history and religious studies at Yale University.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Notre-Dame Cathedral restoration begins amid disagreements
Msgr. Patrick Chauvet, the rector and archpriest of Notre-Dame, would like to restore the cathedral exactly as it had been before the fire. That would mean recreating the great wooden attic, nicknamed “the forest,” that was consumed in the blaze.