One cannot be an Anglican and use the Roman Missal – it is one or the other
Authors
Novel writing and religion tend not to go together well
Friday, 18 November 2011
Believers ought not to be self-obsessed, but novels are about self-obsession
Italy is now ‘in the abyss’ – and the Vatican will not escape this disaster
Friday, 11 November 2011
Italy is facing its worst crisis since the Second World War
At last, Berlusconi is to resign. But it’s a mystery he lasted so long
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Italians saw in Berlusconi what they saw in Mussolini – an anti-establishment figure who defied the law
Closing the embassy to the Holy See – the one cut the Irish government enjoyed
Monday, 7 November 2011
Closing the embassy makes no economic logic – rather it is down to a ‘cooling of relations’
How great tragedy inspires great art
Friday, 4 November 2011
Alice Thomas Ellis’s life was overshadowed by tragedy, and so makes great reading in this, the month of death









We must wish the Turks well in their struggle for Islamic democracy
Turkey is a great friend of Britain, but still has its problems. If Prime Minister Erdogan can overcome these he will go down as the greatest Turk since Suleiman the Magnificent