One Pope too many?

One Pope too many?

Thanks to Francis’ magnanimity and Benedict’s sanctity, the situation is manageable – but the symbolism of two men in the Vatican wearing white and calling themselves Pope – albeit one as Emeritus – was an invitation to make mischief. And, as Austen Ivereigh points out in our cover article this week, mischief is precisely what the courtiers around Benedict have been making; in our leader we urge that the next successor of St Peter to retire should renounce all symbols of office and use the title “Bishop Emeritus of Rome”.

In the fourth of our widely-discussed six-part series in which priests talk to Blanche Girouard about their hopes and fears, Peter Newsam reflects on the challenge of being sole priest in charge of two parishes and three churches while being married with two children. The Letters pages – first port of call for several readers – lead with a selection from the small avalanche of correspondence provoked by previous profiles of ordinary parish clergy; there are some lively responses to Stephen Bullivant’s analysis in last week’s issue of Vatican II’s failure to arrest falling Mass attendance; and Sara Parvis, Phil Kingston and several others also write.

The next synod in Rome focuses on the faraway region of the Amazon basin, but, as one of the key organisers tells Peter Stanford, the outcome will affect us all; Catherine Pepinster hears that problems are mounting for the Christians trickling back to their old homes in war-ravaged Iraq; Charles C. Camosy suggests a bridge across the widening divide in the US between the “pro-life” and the “pro-choice” side; Richard Leonard identifies the root cause of the alarming increase in mental illness in young people; and Christopher Howse, always a writer to seize on the really big issues of the day, reveals why we should not be admiring “wisteria” but “wistaria”.

In News from Britain and Ireland, Liz Dodd reports that the British Academy is warning that courses in religious studies might soon disappear from universities. Professor Candida Moss tells Liz that part of the problem is making theology sound relevant when it is perceived as “just a conversation between older white men”; in a feature article, the president of the Catholic Theological Association, Ashley Beck, argues that good theology is needed now more than ever.

In Books, Christopher Bray finds Paul Mason – “a humanist with a Marxist bent” – unfocused and David Brooks – a moral prophet with a messy private life – unconvincing. In Arts, Laura Gascoigne writes from the grounds of Houghton Hall, Norfolk, where some magnificent Henry Moore sculptures are basking in the sunshine over the summer; Mark Lawson predicts a West End transfer for the Young Vic’s fine revival of Death of a Salesman; D. J. Taylor – a biographer of Thackeray, though he is too modest to say so – gives the racy new radio adaptation of Vanity Fair the benefit of the doubt; and Lucy Lethbridge is moved by a Netflix documentary about a small group of Puerto Ricans stranded in New York.

In View from Rome, Christopher Lamb reports a conversation with the Englishman who is trying to launch a “gladiator school for culture warriors” in a former Carthusian monastery an hour’s drive out of the city; the scheme – backed by Steve Bannon and Cardinal Raymond Burke – is being strangled by red tape and local opposition. And in a rain-soaked market in Carcassonne, Rose Prince fills her basket with fresh seasonal vegetables; her recipe this week is globe artichokes with sauce gribiche.

Enjoy!

Brendan Walsh
Editor of The Tablet