PHOTO: ALAMY, ERIC JAMES
English Heritage is introducing an ‘hour of contemplation’ in the monastic buildings and ruins in its care, such as Rievaulx Abbey 30
COLUMNS
Melanie McDonagh’s Notebook ‘The unwillingness to trace the fruit to the tree and to the root irritated me mightily’ / 5 Carmody Grey ‘We can say those who deny climate science are “irrational” but this accomplishes nothing’ / 14
CONTENTS 2 OCTOBER 2021 // VOL 275 NO. 9421
FEATURES
4 / Francis cries foul
Catholic media network EWTN dominates all others in size. It is also a platform for bitter attacks on Pope Francis / BY CHRISTOPHER LAMB
6 / The Tablet Interview: Joanna Scanlan One of the leading lights of British drama tells of her convent days, where her interest in performance blossomed / BY PETER STANFORD
8 / ‘With a sorrowful heart …’ A leading Catholic intellectual argues that only profound reform can save the institutional Church from the scandal of abusive priests / BY TOMÁŠ HALÍK
12 / Learning to love Northern Ireland A posting to Northern Ireland is either an assignment to be endured, or the beginning of a lifelong fascination with the place and its people / BY JULIA LANGDON
REGULARS
Word from the Cloisters 15 Puzzles 15 Letters 16 The Living Spirit 17 Across the Universe 31 Glimpses of Eden 31
NEWS
24 / The Church in the World / News briefing 25 / Archdiocese decision leaves Catholics bewildered
27 / View from Rome 28 / News from Britain and Ireland / News briefing 29 / Nichols engages diocese in Pope’s ‘listening process’
COVER IMAGE: ST FRANCIS IN THE WORLD BY ANDREA MCLEAN. COURTESY THE ARTIST, PHOTO BY GORDON TAYLOR
ARTS / PAGE 18
Painting Andrea McLean and Lydia Corbett LAURA GASCOIGNE Theatre Is God Is MARK LAWSON Music The Midsummer Marriage ALEXANDRA COGHLAN Television The Last Mountain LUCY LETHBRIDGE
BOOKS / PAGE 21
Richard Holloway Listen: How to Find the Words for Tender Conversations KATHRYN MANNIX Joseph Masheck The Cambridge Companion to American Catholicism MARGARET M. MCGUINNESS AND THOMAS F. RZEZNIK Morag MacInnes Beautiful World, Where Are You SALLY ROONEY
2 OCTOBER 2021 | THE TABLET | 3
