Loyalist paramilitaries played a central role in organizing the unrest in Belfast, but it was a surprise on both sides of the northern Irish border when they were joined by self-proclaimed “Irish patriots” from the Republic of Ireland.
United Kingdom
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
The British Fulton Sheen: What Catholics should know about C. C. Martindale, S.J.
C. C. Martindale, S.J., played an important role in the life of the Catholic Church in Great Britain in the 20th century—and brought more than a few seekers along with him.
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
U.K. Catholics denounce anti-migrant violence following deadly attack on Taylor Swift-themed dance class
Rioting was sparked by a knife attack at a dance studio in Southport on July 29. Three children were killed and other children and adults injured and seriously wounded.
Posted inArts & Culture, Dispatches
Reclaiming faith’s place in culture: A celebration of sacred art joins Edinburgh’s festival season
The Edinburgh Festival of the Sacred Arts seeks to reclaim a place for Christian faith in human culture and put faith back into the festival season.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Conservatives are racing toward a catastrophic defeat in U.K.’s July 4 election
Some polls are going as far to predict that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak might lose his own seat on July 4. He would be the first Conservative prime minister to suffer such a humiliation.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Analysis: Britain’s bizarre, costly and cruel plan to deport migrants to Rwanda
Condemned by the Jesuit Refugee Service UK as a “cruel plan” that “violates human dignity,” the policy authorizes deporting people who come to the United Kingdom in search of safety to Rwanda.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
In Scotland, faith leaders push for fair pay for caregivers to the elderly
Catholic leaders in Scotland recently joined their Presbyterian Church of Scotland counterparts in advocacy for fair pay for workers in this increasingly essential sector of health care givers for the elderly.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Catholics and Protestants both oppose law to curb prosecutions for Northern Ireland ‘Troubles’ killings
Despite deep political fractures surrounding the issue, the British Parliament passed a bill which would halt most prosecutions for killings by militant groups and British soldiers during the Troubles.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
UK woman jailed for two years for aborting her baby almost a month before due date
A U.K. woman was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment for having an abortion when she was 32-34 weeks pregnant, whose jailing was supported by an English Catholic bishop.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Remembering Martin Amis: literary bad boy—and an unexpected moralist
Martin Amis leaves behind a remarkable corpus of fiction, essays and memoir—even if he could be eminently dislikable.