I guess I can take the label of Catholic Anglophile. I moved to England in 1979 to study theology, became an Anglican priest, then converted to the Catholic faith. What do I think of today’s royal wedding? Well, part of me can’t help noticing that red-haired prince Harry married a divorced woman in St George’s Chapel, Windsor where King Henry VIII–another red haired royal with errm. “controversial marriage habits” is buried. Not far away in Frogmore Royal Cemetery within the... Read more

Social media is a wonder because it throws into your face aspects of life you might never otherwise consider, and last night was no exception. I stumbled across this Gala at the Met extravaganza in which numerous people who are evidently famous in some way wore outlandish outfits to a gala in New York City having to do with a display at the art museum of liturgical garb and other fashion items with an ecclesiastical theme. You can view some... Read more

This clip from the Daily Caller shows White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders teaching the nation a Bible verse. The verse is Romans 12:19-21 Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” On the contrary, if your enemy is hungry feed him, if he is thirsty give him a drink, for in doing so you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not... Read more

The second episode of my twenty part podcast series on the History of the Catholic Church is now available here on my main blog-website. Each episode gives an overview of the highs and lows of one century in the 2,000 year history of Catholicism I invite you to join the conversation! Read more

Now that little Alfie Evans has joined the angels, it is worth looking again at what really happened in this event. We saw something extraordinary emerge. It was called “Alfie’s Army” At the hospital crowds gathered to rage against the authorities. Around the world small groups gathered to pray and protest. Social media was set alight as ordinary people found their voice and vented their frustration, anger and fear. In the confusion of war many mistakes are made. The actual... Read more

I’ve started a twenty part podcast series on the history of the Catholic Church. You can follow it over at my main blog-website Standing on My Head. Go here. You can also follow it at BreadBox Media. Just scroll down to my title page and click through to PodBean to subscribe. You can also subscribe through my iTunes podcast channel here. I think it’s important to study history because of the old saw that “those who do not learn from... Read more

I was talking philosophy with my college student son the other day and I asked, “So do you know what fatalism is?” “Something about death?” It reminded me of the time I asked my other son if he knew what Nihilism was and said, “Something to do with Egypt?” I explained that fatalism was not so much about death as about fate. The fatalist believes that he is controlled by fate–some greater force over which he has no control. There... Read more

In 2015 when the Holy Shroud of Turin was last on public display I happened to be on that side of the Atlantic and made the effort to travel to Italy to venerate the shroud. I have written about it here, and here I have explained how the shroud is the scientific evidence that atheists are always asking for. Here I offer ten questions that non-believers should ask about the shroud. Of all the mysteries about the Shroud of Turin,... Read more

The three crosses on the hill of Golgotha carry deep symbolic meaning, but you have to dig down into the beliefs of first century Judaism to discover the full meaning. Brant Pitre’s The Jewish Roots of Holy Week has been brilliant for bringing out some of these details. First we ask why the cross has been referred to as “the tree”. There are a couple of reasons. A gallows is usually referred to as a “tree”. For example the gallows at Tyburn... Read more

I am sure some philosopher much brainier than me has worked this all out, but it occurs to me that before Good Friday the world was different. Yes, we use religious language and say, “Mankind was locked in sin” and “Jesus died to save us from our sins” but for many people these religious phrases are meaningless. However, it occurred to me recently how there is a fresh angle on this. I think, before Good Friday, the world was locked... Read more