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Fr Newman’s fourth letter on ad orientem celebration of the Mass Read more

After recent posts lamenting the decline of England a British reader has sweetly asked what I love about England. Here it is in no particular order: Walking the South Downs Way with a black labrador. The Long Man of Wilmington. Visiting castles. Fawlty Towers. The North Cornwall Coastal path. Sausages. Mustard. Sticky Toffee Pudding. Custard. Flemish paintings in the National Gallery. Staying in farmhouse Bed and Breakfasts and eating lunch in country pubs. Little St Mary’s, Cambridge. A pint of... Read more

More evidence that Britain is descending into a drunken stupor. This article reports that Britain is top of the list for child and teen drunks and that Brits now drink more even than the Russians. Sad, sad news. I love England, and hate to see this. Read more

There has been some comment in the combox about a Catholic priest named Fr Francis Mary Stone. I was unfamiliar with this story and did a quick check. He is the host of an EWTN program, and has stepped down to ‘discern his vocation’ after ‘getting involved with a widow.’ Our Scottish friend asks, “…just because Fr Francis falls in love, is he any less a priest?” What precisely does James mean by such a question? Is the man any... Read more

Are Americans really dumber than other people? One of the favorite snobbish British laughs is about how dumb Americans are about geography. “They don’t have passports! They don’t even know whether Moscow is in Russia or Italy! How dumb can they be?” This is certainly true. I picked up a hitchhiker in Virginia once who, when she learned I lived in England, said, “Do y’all drive over here from England?” Another American girl asked me if we “spoke fluent English... Read more

Pope John Paul gets to the pearly gates and St Peter says, “Well, it’s good to see you, but you know you were a bit hard on the women down there. They wanted to be priests and so forth, but you kept them down. So your penance is to walk around down there for a time with this woman. An old feminist nun comes out. She’s ugly as sin. She’s got a voice like a screech owl. She’s wearing a... Read more

…my Protestant mother once asked. To give her credit, she always asks because she really wants to know–not because she’s picking a fight. In fact, I wish cradle Catholics had a bit of her curiosity. When I see the tacky vestments in most Catholic Church cupboards I can’t figure it out. You mustn’t misunderstand, I promise you I am not one of those prissy priests who finger lace, purse their lips and roll their eyes with delight. I am not... Read more

Here’s more on that recent survey of religion in America: “The Roman Catholic Church has lost more members than any faith tradition because of affiliation swapping, the survey found. While nearly one in three Americans were raised Catholic, fewer than one in four say they’re Catholic today. That means roughly 10 percent of all Americans are ex-Catholics. The share of the population that identifies as Catholic, however, has remained fairly stable in recent decades thanks to an influx of immigrant... Read more

Carl Olson reports on American religious statistics here. Catholics, JWs and Mormons are up. Episcopalians, Liberal Baptists and Presbyterians down. Catholics are the largest single Christian group in USA. Read more