Tag Archives: Benedict XVI

Christopher Hitchens & the KJV

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Andrew Stuttaford

Via Vanity Fair, here’s a fine account from Christopher Hitchens of the—King James Version—greatest of all the English translations of the Bible. As always with Mr. Hitchens, there’s room for a good anecdote: After she was elected the first female … Continue reading →

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A Culture of Life?

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Andrew Stuttaford

We could debate the International Criminal Court at some other time (I’m no fan, to put it mildly) and, indeed, the rights and wrongs of the Balkan wars, but the last sentence in this extract from a Guardian account of … Continue reading →

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Godwin’s Pope (5)

Posted on November 6, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

Fresh from his remarkably disingenuous claims about atheism and the Nazis, that “subtle historian” Benedict XVI is (it appears from this report on his current visit to Spain) once again offering his own, distinctly unorthodox, take on the past: On … Continue reading →

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Godwin’s Pope (4)

Posted on October 17, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

The New York Times ran a piece yesterday on a new exhibit on Berlin dedicated to the Third Reich. This passage in particular caught my eye: BERLIN — As artifacts go, they are mere trinkets — an old purse, playing … Continue reading →

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Benedict & Bruni

Posted on October 16, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

Le Canard Enchainé is far from being the most reliable news source, but this story is too entertaining not to repeat (via the First Post): The Pope reportedly told French president Nicolas Sarkozy that his wife, Carla Bruni, was ‘not … Continue reading →

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Godwin’s Pope (3)

Posted on October 2, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

One academic’s (the Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College) response to the pope’s claim that the Nazis were atheists (in reality, some were and some were not) can be found here. An extract follows: Christian theologians, Catholic … Continue reading →

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More is Less

Posted on September 19, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

Here’s the Pope (speaking in London’s Westminster Hall last week) on Thomas More: I recall the figure of Saint Thomas More, the great English scholar and statesman, who is admired by believers and non-believers alike for the integrity with which … Continue reading →

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Godwin’s Pope? (2)

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

One of the pleasures (really) of blogging away on an interesting topic is when a reader alerts you to an angle or a source of which you were previously unaware. That brings me to a book called The Holy Reich: … Continue reading →

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Godwin’s Pope?

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

Here’s a curious passage from the first speech that the pope made on arriving in Britain: “Even in our own lifetime, we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from … Continue reading →

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Jean Vianney

Posted on September 11, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

Author and historian John Cornwell may be a Roman Catholic but, as his writings frequently reveal, he is no great friend of the Vatican, something that always has to be remembered when reading his commentaries on that particular institution. Nevertheless … Continue reading →

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