Freedom!

Tomorrow is the memorial of one of my favourite saints, Saint Thomas More, who died at the hands of King Henry VIII (that villain). The story of his life was (more or less) made into the wonderful movie, A Man for All Seasons, starring Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas More. The script is just brilliant, and eminently quotable. The “but […]

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Rerum Novarum at 122

On this day in 1891, the great Pope Leo XIII issued his landmark encyclical Rerum Novarum, on the rights and duties of capital and labour. It is worth reviewing this landmark of modern Catholic social teaching. The following duties… concern rich men and employers: Workers are not to be treated as slaves; justice demands that the dignity of human personality […]

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Becket

Today is the Feast of Saint Thomas Becket. Even before my conversion, I always admired Saint Thomas. It might have something to do with his name—as a child the only other famous Thomases I knew were Jefferson and Edison, and I didn’t much care for Edison. I’d like to think it had more to do with talking Truth to power. […]

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Saint Thomas Becket

Chaucer’s pilgrims were on their way to the Canterbury shrine of Saint Thomas Becket, bishop and martyr. The kingly descendant of the saint’s kingly murderer later destroyed that shrine and scattered his bones. Now there is only one small flame to mark the place where the saint’s relics once lay. Here is the eyewitness account of the saint’s martyrdom, by […]

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