'From the Vineyard' column by N. O’Phile in THE TABLET, 15 August2024 Bag in a Box wine may not yet have come of age, but it is certainly on its way to maturity. When ten years ago this column surveyed the supermarket scene, there was little to recommend boxed wine beyond convenience. The problem was that…
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Netanyahu’s delusions
From the Editor of The Tablet, 1 August 2024 Where would Israel be without the support of the United States? It would promptly have to look for a peaceful resolution of the long-standing conflict with Arab Palestinians. It could no longer afford its armed forces at their present size, and it would have to find…
Shining a light on war and working for peace
by Joanna Moorhead in THE TABLET, 27 July 2024 John Lavery is one of Ireland’s finest painters - and he played a role in the negotiations over its independence. As an exhibition of his work opens in Edinburgh, Joanna Moorhead considers his life and legacy. Aged three, John Lavery was an orphan in Belfast; by the…
Turner: Art, Industry & Nostalgia, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, until 7 September
by Laura Gascoigne in The Spectator, 13 July 2024 On the back of the British £20 note, J.M.W. Turner appears against the backdrop of his most iconic image. Voted the country’s favourite painting in 2005, ‘The Fighting Temeraire’ (1838) was Turner’s favourite too. It remained in his possession until his death; the 70-year-old artist swore…
JD Vance shows the future of Christianity
The conservative Catholicism of Donald Trump’s running-mate is a countercultural form of dissent James Marriott in THE TIMES, Wednesday July 17 2024 Five years ago, at St Gertrude Priory in Cincinnati, the man who is probably going to be America’s next vice-president was arrayed in a pure white robe and received into the Catholic church.…
Vatican rejects attempts to ‘obscure’ differences between men and women
by Michael Sean Winters in THE TABLET, 9 April 2024 The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued its much-anticipated document Dignitas Infinita: on Human Dignity April 8, noting that it coincides with the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document re-affirms long-standing teaching on various moral concerns and repeats Pope Francis’ opposition to…
Root and Branch
by Sue Williamson Root and Branch is an exciting new forum for reform, working for a safe, just and inclusive Roman Catholic Church. Begun just before Pope Francis initiated the current Synod on Synodality 2021-2024, Root and Branch has organized two very successful lay-led Synods, the latest in October 2023, an online and physical event…
Homily at the Service of Dedication of the Memorial Window
Monsignor Kevin Francis Nichols, Priest and Poet St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne 17 January 2024 Twenty years ago, in his homily at the dedication of the Adam Wakenshaw memorial window in this Cathedral, Kevin Nichols said: ‘We need memorials in glass and stone because of the passage of time and because of human…
Assisted dying – no laughing matter
by Julian C. Hughes in THE TABLET 11 January 2024 A bill to legalise assisted dying in the UK was defeated in parliament 2015. In recent weeks the campaign for a new vote has been gaining momentum. About 30 years ago, when our children were still very young, the topic of euthanasia cropped up over the…
The Battle of the Bubbles
by N.O.Phile, The Tablet's wine writer. He is also a senior Catholic priest. Supermarket sales of champagne used to soar during December, returning to normal only after new year celebrations, but champagne’s cachet is not quite what it was. The shift was signalled in recent changes to the UK’s duty regime. Tax on alcoholic drinks…
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