Brendel’s writing, unlike his nobly self-effacing recordings, hints at a slightly scary personality
By Damian Thompson
Wuerl resigned in 2018 after a ‘lapse of memory’ about his predecessor’s sexual activities
By Damian Thompson
Meet the Integralists
By Damian Thompson
As he gets older, Barenboim has become more and more keen on recording Beethoven sonatas in front of audiences
By Damian Thompson
It’s the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven. In this episode of Holy Smoke, Damian Thompson is joined by his fellow composer Sir James MacMillan to discuss a side of Beethoven that the postmodern artistic establishment prefers to ignore: his unwavering faith in God and the surprisingly strict morality that arose from […]
By Damian Thompson
It would take hours to list the evasions, half-truths and omissions in the report
By Damian Thompson
Ever since Francis started lobbing missiles at doctrinal conservatives, the latter have been asking ‘is the Pope Catholic?’
By Damian Thompson
Nicholas Walker’s new six-CD cycle of the complete piano works of the eccentric Russian composer are a revelation
By Damian Thompson
Sooner rather than later, we may learn more about what that Vatican money was used for during the Pell trial
By Damian Thompson
The country is undergoing a Great Unraveling
By Damian Thompson
We’ve never seen the text of the Vatican-Beijing pact
By Damian Thompson
Is being a Black Baptist more important than Black Lives Matter?
By Damian Thompson
Vatican officials are anxious to get their hands on an advance copy of The Next Pope, a survey of 19 leading contenders to succeed Pope Francis scheduled for publication next month. The author, Edward Pentin, discusses these papabile cardinals in today’s episode of Holy Smoke. The full list is still under wraps, but inevitably we […]
By Damian Thompson
The protesters are expressing the ‘godless creed’ of identity politics
By Damian Thompson
