PHOTO: CNS/VATICAN MEDIA
The Pope has been forced to use a wheelchair after crippling knee pain left him unable to walk 26
COLUMN
Christopher Howse’s Notebook ‘Should Catholics read Kipling? The question would have sounded silly a generation ago’ / 9
REGULARS Word from the Cloisters 14 Puzzles 14 Letters 15 The Living Spirit 16 Ethical Kitchen 30 Glimpses of Eden 30
CONTENTS 14 MAY 2022 // VOL 276 NO. 9452
FEATURES
4 / In the footsteps of a saint Charles de Foucauld’s message that the Gospel is best ‘shown’ rather than ‘told’
has inspired an increasing number of followers / BY KATHLEEN MCKEE
6 / Court in the crossfire The legitimacy of the Supreme Court is under threat as the perception grows that the justices are ‘politicians in robes’ / BY MICHAEL MCGOUGH
7 / A nation divided
The Catholic Church will have a vital role if the struggle over abortion moves to the state level after the Supreme Court’s ruling / BY MICHAEL SEAN WINTERS
8 / The Tablet Interview: Rachel Billington At the age of 80, the novelist, journalist and screenwriter explains why her fiction writing has come to a stop for now / BY PETER STANFORD
10 / Macron’s tough choices The winner of the French presidential election has to decide whether to reform or unite his country. He cannot do both / BY PATRICK MARNHAM
12 / Breach of trust
The clouds over Westminster are darkening – for the economy, the credibility of the government and the future of the party leaders / BY JULIA LANGDON
NEWS
23 / The Church in the World / News briefing
24 / Pope under fire for criticism of Nato
26 / View from Rome 27 / News from Britain and Ireland / News briefing 28 / Laity make voices heard on direction of Church
COVER: MONSTER CHETWYND’S ST CUTHBERT DIORAMA. PHOTO: DAVID WOOD FOR SUNDERLAND CULTURE
BOOKS / PAGE 17
Michael Walsh The Jesuits: A History MARKUS FRIEDRICH Catherine Pepinster The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor – the Truth and the Turmoil TINA BROWN Julian George Memories of Starobielsk: Essays Between Art and History JÓZEF CZAPSKI Alexander Lucie-Smith The Young Pretender MICHAEL ARDITTI
ARTS / PAGE 20 Exhibition Glass Exchange LAURA GASCOIGNE Theatre Middle; Marys Seacole MARK LAWSON Cinema The Quiet Girl ISABELLE GREY Television The Essex Serpent LUCY LETHBRIDGE
For more features, news, analysis and comment, visit www.thetablet.co.uk
14 MAY 2022 | THE TABLET | 3
