St. Austin Review: Reclaiming Culture

Welcome to the Ink Desk

Enjoy the ponderings of the Star's contributors and add your own thoughts. As this section develops, we hope it may become a medium for an exchange of ideas among those who are working towards the cultural revival.

• June 6th, 2011The Inklings and the Great Novenaby Kevin O'Brien

  Charles Williams, friend of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, and member of the Inklings, has a wonderful book called "Descent of the Dove", all about the Holy Spirit's role in the Church. It consists of nine chapters. I am summarizing and commenting upon each chapter each day of the nine day Great Novena in preparation for Pentecost and the actual "descent of the dove".

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• June 6th, 2011The Catholic Shakespeare: Spreading the Wordby Joseph Pearce

  As I prepare to join an impressive aray of Shakespeare scholars at the Portsmouth Institute in Rhode Island this weekend for a conference on the Catholic Shakespeare, I thought I'd relate an interesting e-mail that I've recently received from a lady in Washington DC recounting her encounter with Michael Kahn, Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company. I was particularly intrigued to see that Kahn had publicly acknowledged the growing evidence for the Bard's Catholicism. Here's the text of the e-mail with names removed to protect the privacy of the individuals mentioned:

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• June 6th, 2011The Holy Father on Holy Matrimonyby Joseph Pearce

  Pope denounces 'disintegration' of Europe families:

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• June 6th, 2011Solzhenitsyn and the Rebuilding of Russiaby Joseph Pearce

  I'm greatly encouraged by the media interest in the newly published revised edition of my biography of Solzhenitysn. I'm in the midst of a veritable host of radio interviews, including three scheduled for today alone, and was heartened to see the following article in The Wanderer:

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• June 4th, 2011My Wish List for the American Bishops: Bring Back Kneelers and Confessionals!by Lorraine V. Murray

  I was thrilled to hear about the British bishops bringing back the fish-on-Friday rule for Catholics, and I wish the American bishops would follow suit.

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• June 2nd, 2011Vanity of Vanitiesby Sophia Mason

  Over the last few months I have been trudging slowly through the Autobiography of St. Theresa of Avila. I use the verb "trudge" advisedly: I found it heavy going. It was only with great effort and perseverance (well, OK, also under orders from my confessor) that I finished it yesterday.

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• May 31st, 2011Scene from Chesterton’s “Manalive”by Kevin O'Brien

  http://www.youtube.com/embed/N5oSH1uzR-U

  This is the entire scene—and a very interesting one, funny and scary at the same time.

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• May 30th, 2011The Archbishop of Canterbury on the Papist Shakespeareby Joseph Pearce

  I was intrigued to see that Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has publicly professed his belief that Shakespeare was a Catholic. He is, however, wrong to presume that such a belief is unbuttressed by documentary evidence. Visitors to this site will not need reminding that a host of scholars have provided evidence for the Bard's papist sympathies and we can only hope that Archbishop Williams will be introduced to this scholarship.

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• May 27th, 2011Cask-Conditioned Ale: Real Ale and Real Cultureby Joseph Pearce

  I've been sent the link to a truly welcome website. It lists all the known pubs, bars and restaurants in the United States and Canada that serve cask-conditioned ale. This is a site that will whet the appetite of any Englishman in exile or any American who knows a good pint of ale when he tastes one.

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• May 26th, 2011The Great Thingby Sophia Mason

  "The great thing," according to St. Philip Neri, "is to become saints."

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• May 25th, 2011Moral Theology 101by Kevin O'Brien

  That nasty issue Lying for a Good Cause has reared its ugly head again, thanks largely to a series of editorials in Gilbert Magazine, Janet Smith's attempts to make an apology for lying from a Thomistic perspective, and Brandon Watson's rebuttal to Smith.

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• May 25th, 2011Photographs of Hilaire Bellocby Joseph Pearce

  I've just received an e-mail from someone requesting information about extant photographs of Hilaire Belloc. Since I have not made a systematic study of the photographic record of Belloc's life, I thought I'd post the e-mail to this site in the hope that some knowledgeable soul might enlighten me, my correspondent and other visitors to this site.

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• May 24th, 2011Pride Precedeth ...by Joseph Pearce

  This past Sunday I had the queer experience of finding myself driving through Long Beach, California, in the wake of the annual "Gay and Lesbian Pride" festival.

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• May 21st, 2011The Evolution Controversy: On the Links that Are Missingby Joseph Pearce

  I feel that an apology is due to those who have joined in the fray over evolution that my posts earlier this month have caused. I refer to those noble and thought-provoking souls who commenting on my posts. I must confess that I seldom have time to respond to such posts in a timely fashion, preferring prudentially to concentrate on my writing and editing duties rather than getting sucked into the bottomless hole of cyber space. I feel, however, that some response to these contributors and comments is necessary, albeit somewhat belatedly.

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• May 20th, 2011Speaking Engagements for Juneby Joseph Pearce

  Wednesday, June 1st: I'm appearing live on Catholic Answers Live, the popular nationally synidicated apologetics program, between 6-7pm (eastern)/3-4pm (pacific).

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• May 20th, 2011Exciting Developments at C.S. Lewis Collegeby Joseph Pearce

  I've been following the progress of the soon to be launched C. S. Lewis College with a great deal of enthusiastic interest. Here's the latest news:

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• May 20th, 2011The 20th Century and the “Catholic Factor”by Joseph Pearce

  Here's an excellent summary of the recent conference at Santa Croce University in Rome. One of the joys of my own attendance at this conference was the time it afforded for conviviality with other participants, including Father John Wauck and Professor Evelyn Birge Vitz, whose comments form the basis of the article that follows:

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• May 20th, 2011Ignatius Insight Interview on Solzhenitsynby Joseph Pearce

  An interview that I gave to the Ignatius Insight website on the great Russian writer, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, has just been posted.

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• May 19th, 2011Elizabethan Catholics: Tallis and Byrdby Dena Hunt

  A friend sent me this link to a BBC documentary on sacred music. Narrator Beale remarks early in the film that there is strangely little biographical information on Tallis. The great English composer was a secret Catholic under Henry, Edward, and Elizabeth Tudor. One can't help but think of Shakespeare, almost certainly a Catholic, about whose private life there is a near black-out of information.

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• May 19th, 2011The Beauty and Majesty of Romeby Joseph Pearce

  Following the post about my recent visit to Rome I thought I'd revisit St. Peter's via the wonders of cyberspace.

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