Reformation Archives - Catholic Herald

Reformation

‘Oxford History of British and Irish Catholicism’ highlights constant Catholic thread through historical upheavals

March 19, 2024

Despite the resulting popular legend, Protestant reform in Great Britain did not consign Catholicism to historical oblivion; for too long, by general consent, the study of Catholicism in Britain operated in a silo. The dominant version of history held that Catholics disappeared at the Reformation – apart from the odd execution for treason – before

Never forget the bloody horrors of the English Reformation

March 03, 2023

Martin Luther was a theologian. If you read the Ninety-Five Theses he reputedly tacked up on the door of Wittenberg’s Schlosskirche in October 1517, it is clear his interest lay in the nature of sin, repentance, absolution, penance and salvation. Whatever else his wider agenda was – or became – his initial arguments were presented

An historical study worth waiting for

August 12, 2022

A Biographical Dictionary of English Architecture, 1540-1640 Mark Girouard Yale, £40, 372 pages Mark Girouard, born a Catholic in 1937, is the unchallenged doyen of English architectural historians, particularly after the recent lamented death of John Harris. His major works include The Victorian Country House (1971), Life in the English Country House (1978) and Robert

Cutting liberalism down to size

June 28, 2022

Liberalism and Its Discontents by Francis Fukuyama Profile Books £16.99, 192 pages The term “liberalism” is a monster that has grown large and confusing tentacles in recent decades. In the US it largely refers to left-of-centre politics, but also inspires libertarianism; in the UK it can refer to capitalist excess and also to progressive individualism

How one book changed perceptions of the Reformation in England

March 30, 2022

In this issue we have an extract from the introduction by Professor Eamon Duffy to a new edition of his groundbreaking work of history, The Stripping of the Altars. It was a book that changed perceptions of the Reformation in England; no subsequent account of the period can fail to be aware of it. Formerly,

Unwelcome alteration

December 26, 2021

On the 30th anniversary of its publication, a book about the Reformation explains how Christianity was robbed of its magic and mystery

St Thomas More died for the Faith, not for religious freedom

June 21, 2018

The US bishops present More as a martyr of conscience. But it was a Catholic conscience before all else

In this moment of crisis, the Church desperately needs good priests

November 06, 2017

The Church needs renewal. Does it have the people who can bring it about?