Papal Conclave
“The Conclave is very much a struggle for the institutional heart of the Church”
Tweet No white smoke yet White smoke from the papal conclave. The successor to Benedict XVI will need the support of two thirds of the 115 cardinals present – the Guardian is live-blogging events. And, as the BBC Europe editor Gavin Hewitt reminds us, the choice is not the one some might wish it to be. [...] more »
Pope Benedict XVI: “with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome”
Tweet For anyone seriously concerned with his “legacy”, the surprise announcement by Pope Benedict XVI, of his intention to renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome “as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours”, deserves a more considered approach. For example, following on from his initial response, at the Telegraph Blogs Damian Thompson reproduces the [...] more »
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Books
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Is Fianna Fail the new Woolworths of Irish politics?
Tweet It’s not published until 3rd March, but one book I recommend you place an advance order for from Slugger’s Bookstore is James Harkin’s Niche. Belfast émigré Harkin examines a number of stories from business, culture and politics and comes to a single insight: everywhere the broad middle is collapsing. He offers Woolworths as an iconic [...] read our review »
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Books: Listening to Van Morrison…
Tweet Great little review of Listening to Van Morrison by Griel Marcus… It’s a short book, not a biography or a career survey, but an attempt to follow those moments in Morrison’s music, as he’s made it from his first records with Them, from Belfast in 1965 to the present day, when something happens that [...] read our review »
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Unionists, Loyalists, and Conflict Transformation. A book about how things are changing.
Tweet Unionists, Loyalists, and Conflict Transformation in Northern Ireland is a new academic tome by lecturer and researcher Lee Smithey. In the book the Pennsylvania academic outlines his findings based on 67 interviews over eighteen months with grassroots activists in unionist and loyalist communities and organisations. This is largely a book about men, even though [...] read our review »
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