The coronation of a British monarch is a ceremony that at several points bears a marked resemblance to the consecration of a bishop and which, in its essence and most of its origins, is essentially Catholic.
United Kingdom
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: The British monarchy’s fraught (and sometimes bloody) history with Catholicism
A new study exploring the relationship between religion and the English monarchy by Catherine Pepinster explores the impact Elizabeth II and the monarchs that preceded her have had on the Church of England as well as on other faith traditions in their realm.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The Royal Family and their Irish neighbors: How Ireland will be represented at Charles III’s coronation
Sidestepping reservations individual party members must have about being associated with the pomp and ceremony of a very anti-republican spectacle, Sinn Féin hopes to demonstrate diplomatic gravitas and a mature capacity to lead all Ireland.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
British Catholics will attend a coronation for the first time since the Reformation
At his coronation, King Charles will reaffirm his Protestant identity, and while he has included other faiths in the ceremony, Catholics in Britain wish for more inclusion, especially given the country’s past conflicts with them.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Charles III, George III and the problematic American presidency
At one time, the British king and U.S. president had similar roles in their nations. But the British system evolved while the United States still has a president that is too powerful and too difficult to remove.
Posted inFaith, News
Pope Francis gives relics of the True Cross to King Charles III for his coronation
At King Charles III’s coronation, the Cross of Wales will have two small relics of the True Cross incorporated within it, showing the connection between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: The Cambridge critics who revolutionized the way you read
With his new book ‘The Critical Revolutionaries,’ Terry Eagleton focuses on the scholars who revolutionized literary study and foreshadowed the New Criticism movement that became widespread in mid-century American universities.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Catholics now outnumber Protestants in Northern Ireland. Is Irish unification on the horizon?
Just below those top-line figures on religious affiliation, significant changes in national identity also become clear—29 percent of the Northern Irish population now see themselves exclusively as Irish. This is just three points behind the 32 percent who consider themselves British.
Posted inArts & Culture, Vantage Point
A portrait of Evelyn Waugh, Christian wayfarer
From 1993: The second volume of a biography of Evelyn Waugh occasioned John W. Donohue, S.J., to offer a survey of the great English Catholic writer’s life.
Posted inNews Analysis, Politics & Society
Irish Republicans praising the queen was once unthinkable. Elizabeth II changed that.
The tributes and gestures from the leaders of Irish political parties long established in the European mainstream came as no surprise. What came as something of a shock—especially to some of their supporters—were statements issued by the leaders of Sinn Féin, the party most associated with the Irish Republican Army.