The Catholic Herald
Encyclopedia
The Catholic Herald is a London
-based Roman Catholic newspaper
, published in broadsheet
format and retailing at £1.50
(€
1.80 in the Republic of Ireland
).
The Herald reports a total readership of c.21,000 copies distributed to Roman Catholic parish
es, wholesale outlets and postal subscribers. This includes 1,000 issues distributed in the Republic of Ireland. The newspaper's Editor-in-Chief is Damian Thompson
.
-born Charles Diamond
, who owned and edited the paper until his death in 1934. Diamond was an outspoken and controversial figure, described by one of his successors as "the kind of a man who made a good many enemies". On January 8, 1920 he was arrest
ed and charged with publication of an article that allegedly encouraged assassination in Ireland.
Diamond died on February 19, 1934. After his death the paper was bought by Ernest Vernor Miles, a recent convert to Roman Catholicism and head of the New Catholic Herald Ltd. Miles appointed Count Michael de la Bédoyère
as editor. De la Bédoyère's news editor was writer Douglas Hyde
(not to be mistaken for the Irish politician), also a convert who arrived from the Communist Daily Worker.
While Diamond's newspaper was a London-based Irish political paper, the new version was explicitly British and aimed at growing numbers of English converts who did not necessarily have roots in Ireland. In fact, in the months leading up to his death, Diamond had planned the re-launch, helped by Father Bede Jarrett, OP, who advised Diamond to modify the paper. Father Jarrett died three months before Diamond.
De la Bédoyère was an enthusiastic campaigner for many of the changes that came about with Vatican II, the year he retired from the newspaper, especially the Mass said in the vernacular. De la Bedoyere was also an enthusiastic supporter of ecumenism
and used his editorship to warn of the dangers of Soviet Russia after it became an ally in World War II
. He almost went to prison for criticising what he saw as Churchill's
appeasement of the "godless" Soviet Union. Sir Desmond Morton, Winston Churchill
's personal assistant, admitted that the Prime Minister had wanted to close down The Catholic Herald.
In 1958, the Herald went to press with the news that Pope Pius XII
had died, having actually to gone to press while the Pontiff was still alive. By the following morning, he had died, so the Herald carried the story while none of the nationals did.
and Lord Black of Crossharbour, the latter a prominent convert. In recent years The Catholic Herald has become known as one of the most conservative British Catholic news organs.
’s April 2008 trip to the United States. The site was revamped in February 2008.
was asked "What's your response to the reactions of the religious right to your work? The Catholic Herald called your books the stuff of nightmares and worthy of the bonfire." He replied: "My response to that was to ask the publishers to print it in the next book, which they did! I think it's comical, it's just laughable."
Though widely reported, the Herald had not called for the book to be burned. Catholic writer Leonie Caldecott was defending J. K. Rowling
and joked that there were better things for fundamentalists to burn (it was around Guy Fawkes Night
).
round-up at the end of "The Big Report" episode of the cult satirical news show The Day Today
. Chris Morris
shows a spoof copy of the paper with a Gothic masthead and the headline: “Eating Turkey at Christmas Is Like Nailing An Egg To The Cross".
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based Roman Catholic newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, published in broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
format and retailing at £1.50
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
(€
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
1.80 in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
).
The Herald reports a total readership of c.21,000 copies distributed to Roman Catholic parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
es, wholesale outlets and postal subscribers. This includes 1,000 issues distributed in the Republic of Ireland. The newspaper's Editor-in-Chief is Damian Thompson
Damian Thompson
Damian Thompson is a British journalist, author and blogger.Thompson was educated at Presentation College, Reading, and read history at Mansfield College, Oxford University. He received his Ph.D in the sociology of religion from the London School of Economics for a thesis on the management of...
.
History
The Catholic Herald was established in 1888 by DerryDerry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
-born Charles Diamond
Charles Diamond
Charles Diamond was an Irish newspaper entrepreneur and Labour Party politician.Born in Derry, Ireland, Diamond later emigrated to England, settling in Newcastle-upon-Tyne by 1878...
, who owned and edited the paper until his death in 1934. Diamond was an outspoken and controversial figure, described by one of his successors as "the kind of a man who made a good many enemies". On January 8, 1920 he was arrest
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
ed and charged with publication of an article that allegedly encouraged assassination in Ireland.
Diamond died on February 19, 1934. After his death the paper was bought by Ernest Vernor Miles, a recent convert to Roman Catholicism and head of the New Catholic Herald Ltd. Miles appointed Count Michael de la Bédoyère
Michael de la Bédoyère
Count Michael Anthony Maurice de la Bédoyère was an author, editor and journalist.-Life:He was educated at Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, and took a first in Modern Greats at Campion Hall, Oxford University. His initial plans to become a Jesuit priest were abandoned. In 1930-1931 he lectured at...
as editor. De la Bédoyère's news editor was writer Douglas Hyde
Douglas Hyde (author)
Douglas Arnold Hyde was a Communist who was the news editor of the Daily Worker until 1948, when he converted to Catholicism and resigned....
(not to be mistaken for the Irish politician), also a convert who arrived from the Communist Daily Worker.
While Diamond's newspaper was a London-based Irish political paper, the new version was explicitly British and aimed at growing numbers of English converts who did not necessarily have roots in Ireland. In fact, in the months leading up to his death, Diamond had planned the re-launch, helped by Father Bede Jarrett, OP, who advised Diamond to modify the paper. Father Jarrett died three months before Diamond.
De la Bédoyère was an enthusiastic campaigner for many of the changes that came about with Vatican II, the year he retired from the newspaper, especially the Mass said in the vernacular. De la Bedoyere was also an enthusiastic supporter of ecumenism
Ecumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
and used his editorship to warn of the dangers of Soviet Russia after it became an ally in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He almost went to prison for criticising what he saw as Churchill's
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
appeasement of the "godless" Soviet Union. Sir Desmond Morton, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
's personal assistant, admitted that the Prime Minister had wanted to close down The Catholic Herald.
In 1958, the Herald went to press with the news that Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
had died, having actually to gone to press while the Pontiff was still alive. By the following morning, he had died, so the Herald carried the story while none of the nationals did.
Editors
Its editors have included:- Charles DiamondCharles DiamondCharles Diamond was an Irish newspaper entrepreneur and Labour Party politician.Born in Derry, Ireland, Diamond later emigrated to England, settling in Newcastle-upon-Tyne by 1878...
(1888-1934) - Ernest Vernor Miles (1934)
- Michael de la BédoyèreMichael de la BédoyèreCount Michael Anthony Maurice de la Bédoyère was an author, editor and journalist.-Life:He was educated at Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, and took a first in Modern Greats at Campion Hall, Oxford University. His initial plans to become a Jesuit priest were abandoned. In 1930-1931 he lectured at...
(1934-1962) - Desmond Fisher (1962-1966)
- Desmond Albrow (1966-1967)
- Gerald Noel (1971-1974, 1982-1983)
- Stuart Reid (1975)
- Richard Dowden (1976-1979)
- Terence Sheehy (1983-1988)
- Peter StanfordPeter StanfordPeter James Stanford is an English writer, editor, journalist, and presenter. An alumnus of St Anselm's College, Birkenhead, he was the editor of The Catholic Herald, and a regular contributor to the New Statesman....
(1988-1992) - Cristina OdoneCristina OdoneCristina Patricia Odone is a journalist, editor, and writer living in the United Kingdom. She has written for several newspapers, and was formerly the editor of The Catholic Herald, and deputy editor of the New Statesman.- Career :...
(1992-1996) - Deborah Jones (1996-1998)
- William Oddie (1998-2004)
- Luke Coppen (2004- )
Recent history
The Catholic Herald is now owned by Sir Rocco ForteRocco Forte
Sir Rocco Forte is a British hotelier born in Bournemouth.After Downside School he went on to read modern languages at Pembroke College, Oxford, where he won a blue for fencing...
and Lord Black of Crossharbour, the latter a prominent convert. In recent years The Catholic Herald has become known as one of the most conservative British Catholic news organs.
Website
The online version of the newspaper includes articles from the print edition of The Catholic Herald, as well as web-only content, such as the coverage of Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
’s April 2008 trip to the United States. The site was revamped in February 2008.
Philip Pullman
In a November 2002 interview Philip PullmanPhilip Pullman
Philip Pullman CBE, FRSL is an English writer from Norwich. He is the best-selling author of several books, most notably his trilogy of fantasy novels, His Dark Materials, and his fictionalised biography of Jesus, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ...
was asked "What's your response to the reactions of the religious right to your work? The Catholic Herald called your books the stuff of nightmares and worthy of the bonfire." He replied: "My response to that was to ask the publishers to print it in the next book, which they did! I think it's comical, it's just laughable."
Though widely reported, the Herald had not called for the book to be burned. Catholic writer Leonie Caldecott was defending J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling
Joanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE , better known as J. K. Rowling, is the British author of the Harry Potter fantasy series...
and joked that there were better things for fundamentalists to burn (it was around Guy Fawkes Night
Guy Fawkes Night
Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Firework Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in England. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding...
).
Trivia
The Catholic Herald features in a newspaperNewspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
round-up at the end of "The Big Report" episode of the cult satirical news show The Day Today
The Day Today
The Day Today is a surreal British parody of television current affairs programmes, broadcast in 1994, and created by the comedians Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris. It is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992...
. Chris Morris
Chris Morris (satirist)
Christopher Morris is an English satirist, writer, director and actor. A former radio DJ, he is best known for anchoring the spoof news and current affairs television programmes The Day Today and Brass Eye, as well as his frequent engagement with controversial subject matter.In 2010 Morris...
shows a spoof copy of the paper with a Gothic masthead and the headline: “Eating Turkey at Christmas Is Like Nailing An Egg To The Cross".
Contemporary contributors
- Quentin de la Bédoyère
- Robin Harris
- Stephen HoughStephen HoughStephen Andrew Gill Hough is a British-born classical pianist, composer and writer. He became an Australian citizen in 2005 and thus has dual nationality .-Biography:...
- Mary KennyMary KennyMary Kenny is an Irish author, broadcaster, playwright and journalist. She was a founder member of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement, though she has modified her radical past, but not rejected feminist principles....
- Stuart Reid
- Fr Ronald RolheiserRonald RolheiserRonald Rolheiser, O.M.I., is president of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. He received his doctorate at the University of Louvain, and is a member of the Catholic Theological Society of America, the Canadian Theological Society, and the Religious Studies Association of Alberta...
- Matt ThorneMatt ThorneMatt Thorne is an English writer born in 1974 who has published seven novels. Thorne grew up in Bristol, England, and was educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University. Thorne's first book, Tourist, was published in 1998. The book is an attack on the negative effects of tourism on...
- Petroc TrelawnyPetroc TrelawnyPetroc Trelawny is a British classical music radio and television broadcaster, who joined BBC Radio 3 in 1998 where he regularly presents Music Matters, In Tune and Live in Concert....
- Fr Tim Gardner, O.P.
- Milo Yiannopoulos
Past contributors
- Roger AltonRoger AltonRoger Alton is a British journalist. Currently executive editor of The Times he was formerly editor of The Independent and The Observer....
- Eamonn AndrewsEamonn AndrewsEamonn Andrews, CBE , was an Irish television presenter based in the United Kingdom.-Life and career:...
wrote a weekly column - Claus von BülowClaus von BülowClaus von Bülow is a British socialite of German and Danish ancestry. He was accused of the attempted murder of his wife Sunny von Bülow by administering an insulin overdose in 1980 but his conviction in the first trial was reversed and he was found not guilty in both his retrials.-Biography:Born...
, drama critic - Christopher Howse
- Paul JohnsonPaul Johnson-Sports:*Paul Johnson , head football coach at Georgia Tech*Paul Johnson [1896-1973], Major League outfielder*Paul Johnson , English cricketer*Paul Johnson , English footballer...
- Lord LongfordFrank Pakenham, 7th Earl of LongfordFrancis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford KG, PC , known as the Lord Pakenham from 1945 to 1961, was a British politician, author, and social reformer...
- Malcolm MuggeridgeMalcolm MuggeridgeThomas Malcolm Muggeridge was an English journalist, author, media personality, and satirist. During World War II, he was a soldier and a spy...
once wrote a column, "Why I am not a Catholic" (he later became a Catholic and a columnist for the Herald) - Martin NewlandMartin NewlandMartin Newland is a British journalist and editor of The National, a national newspaper in Abu Dhabi. Previous to that, he was editor of The Daily Telegraph, a British broadsheet newspaper, from 2003–2005, replacing Charles Moore...
- Jonathan Petre
- Norman St John Stevas
- Auberon WaughAuberon WaughAuberon Alexander Waugh was a British author and journalist, son of the novelist Evelyn Waugh. He was known to his family and friends as Bron Waugh.-Life and career:...