Tag Archives: Religion

THE PRESENT OPPORTUNITY part 4

Posted on 20/10/2025 by Scott Anderson

THE SETTING The Mass was photographed in the church of the Holy Trinity, Dorchester, Dorset.  This small Gothic Revival Church, built in the 19th century to the designs of Benjamin Ferry, was originally a parish church of the Church of … Continue reading →

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Original sin

Posted on 07/05/2025 by Scott Anderson

The Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner MP, spoke recently at the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. She asserted her belief in the fundamental goodness of human beings. This was a brave thing to do at the site of … Continue reading →

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The Evangelicals

Posted on 11/12/2024 by Scott Anderson

I was brought up – prepared for Confirmation and confirmed – in an Evangelical parish of the Church of England. Catholics, even those who know the C of E well, are often puzzled that within the National Church there can … Continue reading →

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The meaning of greatness

Posted on 12/11/2024 by Scott Anderson

We British talk of our country as ‘Great Britain’ without really thinking. Perhaps during this month of November we might do well to reflect on this idea of ‘greatness’ and in particular, what it is that makes a nation or … Continue reading →

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Is the Pope a Catholic?

Posted on 08/11/2024 by Scott Anderson

People who ask why I became a Catholic usually assume it is because I don’t approve of women priests. Certainly the decision by a majority in the General Synod of the Church of England to permit the ordination of women … Continue reading →

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Death – the enemy we need to face up to

Posted on 24/10/2024 by Scott Anderson

In my last year as a parish priest in France I was twice asked to preside over funerals where the cremation of the body had already taken place. No funeral directors attended, and the family arrived with the urn or … Continue reading →

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Holy Week restored by Pope Pius XII

Posted on 19/03/2024 by Scott Anderson

The introduction to Holy Week in my 1962 Roman Missal (Suumorum Pontificum edition, published 2012 by Baronius Press) gives a splendid account and justification for the sweeping reforms to the celebration of the Holy Week rites, authorised by Pope Pius … Continue reading →

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Baseball – and the Religious Life

Posted on 18/03/2024 by Scott Anderson

In the age we live in the combination of two words ‘Orphanage’ and ‘Catholic’ is enough to conjure up a dark vision of cruelty and abuse. So it was refreshing to read Bill Bryson’s account of one such orphanage in … Continue reading →

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The Ordinariate – eight years on from that article …

Posted on 02/03/2024 by Scott Anderson

While clearing out in preparation for my move back to the UK later this year, I came across an article in the Catholic Herald, written in August 2016 by Damian Thompson entitled ‘The Ordinariate Mk II.’ It seems to me … Continue reading →

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Fifty years on from the closure of Kelham

Posted on 22/02/2024 by Scott Anderson

I am indebted to Anne Malins who e-mailed me the article from the Church Times by Bishop Christopher Morgan on Kelham – which closed as a Theological College of the Church of England fifty years ago. I have sometimes claimed … Continue reading →

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