This is not about grammar, which is not my forte.  Nor is it about glamour. (Hard to believe that he who recently demitted office reverted to wearing red shoes – yuk).  This is a hard-boiled reflection on the papacy – its past, present and future.  As the 115 remaining cardinals in the consistory prepare to…

(A sequel to “Sparring over the Rod”) Two young men in the prime of their lives hung from trees, not far from each other. Their deaths were inter-related, but in total contrast to each other. One of these young men was a 33 year old from Nazareth, called Jesus. The other was Judas Iscariot. Christians…

To a large extent I would agree with Farrukh Dhondhy’s piece, “Leaving Office Early” (HT 15th February), on the unexpected resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Some of his statements bear repetition: “Nothing becomes Benedict’s office as his leaving of it … he has through his resignation demonstrated for our sceptical times that the papacy is…

This title is in Latin, meaning “Where are you going, Mother Church?” I have never studied Latin, so if my grammar is incorrect I hope to be pardoned. “Quo Vadis” is the name of a famous book and movie, based on an encounter between St Peter, the first pope, and the risen Christ. Peter asks…

(A sequel to “The Rapist in Me”) Some things don’t go away, like the Delhi gang rape case, which continues to make news, even a month later.  Initially I felt that the protests were media hype directed more at the Government and the police.  That is when I wrote “The Rapist in Me”, because I…

Does this sound like a lethal expose?  It may or may not be, depending on how “shock proof” you, the reader, are.  So ready yourself for some eclectic shocks! I am a senior citizen, happily married, with two grown-up children.  Though financially burdened I cannot pretend to be under privileged.  I was educated in elite…