The Catholic Herald Podcast: Merely Catholic with Gavin Ashenden

Merely Catholic
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The Catholic Herald Podcast: Merely Catholic with Gavin Ashenden

On the Catholic Herald's weekly podcast, Gavin Ashenden and guests will reflect on what's happening in the Christian world; and shed some light on the most important cultural, spiritual and moral issues of the day.

  1. 2 DAYS AGO

    Anglicanism post-Welby, with Ann Widdecombe

    Ann Widdecombe, the former Conservative Party minister, joins Dr Gavin Ashenden in this 90th episode of Merely Catholic, the podcast series for the Catholic Herald, to discuss the resignation of Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury and the future of the Church of England. Miss Widdecombe, who, like Dr Ashenden was a member of the Church of England before converting to the Catholic faith, charts the leadership difficulties and challenges which have split Anglicans in the last 30 years and discuss the prospects of reconciliation. She and Dr Ashenden consider the strong possibility that the next leader of the Church of England and the Worldwide Anglican Communion will, for the first time in history, be a woman.

    46 min

  2. NOV 8

    Re-enchanted Christianity, with Rod Dreher

    In this 89th episode of Merely Catholic, the podcast series for the Catholic Herald, Rod Dreher talks to Dr Gavin Ashenden about his new book, Living in Wonder: Finding Mystery and Meaning in a Secular Age. With increasing numbers of young people in the West seeking spirituality in esoteric religions or the Occult, Mr Dreher argues that the Church must act urgently to rediscover and better express the mysterious beauty of the Catholic faith that has animated and inspired the lives of so many saints. An American author who now lives in Budapest, Hungary, Mr Dreher is perhaps best known for The Benedict Option, his 2017 book about how Christians might prepare themselves for a new dark age. It was one of three New York Times best-sellers, with Live Not By Lives and The Little Way of Ruthie Leming.

    55 min

  3. OCT 22

    Our right to be protected from suicide, with Professor David Albert Jones

    Professor David Albert Jones, the director of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, Oxford, joins Dr Gavin Ashenden for this 88th episode of Merely Catholic, the podcast series for the Catholic Herald. They discuss the rush to assisted suicide ahead of a crucial vote to legalise the practice in the House of Commons on November 29 and the horrible realities of what a change of the law will mean. Professor Jones is the winner of the Paul Ramsey Award for Excellence in Bioethics, and in 2017 he co-edited Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Lessons from Belgium with Chris Gastmans and Calum MacKellar.

    1 hr

  4. SEP 20

    The irresistible power of truth, with Andrew Jacoby

    Dr Gavin Ashenden is joined for this 87th episode of Merely Catholic, the podcast series for the Catholic Herald, by Andrew Jacoby, an American businessman and entrepreneur. Mr Jacoby, who converted to the Catholic faith from the Judaism of his youth and the “hedonistic lifestyle” of his later years when he travelled the world as a musician, explains how he was ultimately drawn to the Church by “the truth”. He tells of his dalliance with “New Age” and Eastern esotericism, which took him down “down some dark paths” until he rediscovered the stories of the Bible and found that his perspective on life had been altered profoundly.

    1h 7m

  5. SEP 2

    The case for sound liturgy, with Dom Alcuin Reid

    Dom Alcuin Reid, the distinguished Australian Benedictine who founded the Monastère Saint-Benoît in Fréjus-Toulon, France, joins Dr Gavin Ashenden for this 86th episode of Merely Catholic, the podcast series for the Catholic Herald. Dom Alcuin is an internationally-recognised expert on the liturgy, having published and lectured on the subject extensively. Among his works are The Organic Development of the Liturgy, which included a preface by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described. He and Dr Ashenden discuss the liturgical revolutions that have taken place in the last half century, the “overt persecution of that which is good and of God”, and how the “ideology and politics of a passing generation” may be in their dying throes.

    53 min

  6. AUG 22

    The idea of a university, with Dr Derry Connolly

    Dr Gavin Ashenden is joined on Merely Catholic this week by Dr Derry Connolly, the founding president of John Paul the Great Catholic University, California. Dr Connolly charts his journey from his youth in rural County Cork, Ireland, and a career in engineering and technology in Los Angeles to the moment when “God put it in my heart” to establish a “radically different” Catholic university in San Diego to harness the power of beauty to transform contemporary culture, and how he was able to realise his vision in spite of setting out with no funds. In this 85th episode of the podcast series for The Catholic Herald, Dr Connolly also discusses with Dr Ashenden what a Catholic university is, and how John Paul the Great might form Catholics for Hollywood.  To find out more about John Paul the Great Catholic University visit: https://jpcatholic.edu/landingpages/catholicherald/

    55 min

  7. JUL 30

    The splendour of the truth, with Bishop Joseph Strickland

    The Rt Rev. Joseph Strickland, the former Bishop of Tyler, Texas, who was “relieved” of his duties by Pope Francis last year, joins Dr Gavin Ashenden for this 84th episode of Merely Catholic, the podcast series for the Catholic Herald They discuss his removal from office and the post-modern assault on truth in the Church and in the world, and other subjects including the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the Francis papacy and the Rupnik scandal. In the podcast, Bishop Strickland also explains why Christians have a fundamental duty to be heed and be obedient to the truth, warning the faithful that “false messages fall to dust”.

    50 min

  8. JUL 22

    Why CS Lewis matters to Catholics, with Fr Michael Ward

    Our guest for this 83rd episode of Merely Catholic, the podcast series for the Catholic Herald, is Fr Michael Ward, the English literary critic and theologian and an internationally recognised expert on the writings of CS Lewis. Perhaps best known for his 2010 book Planet Narnia, Fr Ward is an associate member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford, and Professor of Apologetics at Houston Christian University. He played the role of a vicar in The Most Reluctant Convert, the CS Lewis biopic. He has also reviewed films and plays for the Catholic Herald and other media. He talks to Dr Gavin Ashenden about why Lewis continues to appeal to millions of Catholics and to discuss where Lewis’s theology would fit in today’s ecclesial landscape.

    1h 7m
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On the Catholic Herald's weekly podcast, Gavin Ashenden and guests will reflect on what's happening in the Christian world; and shed some light on the most important cultural, spiritual and moral issues of the day.

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