Books

Righting Wrongs - Three decades on the front lines battling abusive governments, by Kenneth Roth, Penguin Random House. "People, of course, want human rights, at least for themselves." So begins Kenneth Roth's informative survey of his thirty years at Human Rights Watch (HRW). He saw his NGO's role as increasing "the price of oppression to shift a regime's cost-benefit calculation so that abuse n... Read More

Radical Hospitality: Benedict's Way of Love by Lonni Collins Pratt with Fr Daniel Homan OSB. Publisher: Paraclete Press During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2020, Pope Francis told the faithful who were gathered in the Paul VI Hall in Rome and watching or listening via various media outlets that "spontaneous hospitality and thoughtful gestures communicate something of God's love". Alo... Read More

Why Didn't I Know? Britain's Legacy in Palestine Paperback. by Monica Spooner. Publisher: Troubador ISBN: 9781836280750 In 2008 two ordinary people were invited to Jordan - and decided to visit Israel/Palestine as well. Their trip had anything but ordinary consequences. Knowing very little about the history and politics of Israel and Palestine, Monica and Roger found themselves face to face with ... Read More

Archbishop John Wilson gave a keynote talk on St Oscar Romero and the Rosary at the launch of his latest book: The Romeo Rosary' in the Amigo Hall, Southwark, on Thursday. In his reflection the Archbishop spoke about how praying the rosary can be life changing - even for those who do not know where to start. In the book, the Archbishop has penned new 'Romero Mysteries', which he said can help us u... Read More

Br Guy Consolmagno, the director of the Vatican Observatory, has published a new book entitled A Jesuit's Guide to the Stars. The book charts the long history of Jesuit engagement with astronomy. As Consolmagno notes in his introduction, this is a story which has its origin in the very earliest days of the Society of Jesus. The founder of the Jesuit order, St Ignatius of Loyola, says in his autob... Read More

This book explores the experience and understanding of Roman Catholic sisters of their vocation to the apostolic form of religious life as they age. Based on interviews with twelve religious women from five English foundations, it draws on the practice of Lectio Divina to explore how these women describe their call to service and activity, at a time in life when these might be curtailed by physica... Read More

Archbishop John Wilson has written a new book entitled 'The Romero Rosary'. With introductory chapters about St Oscar Romero and the Rosary, this beautiful and creative new book contains reflections on the traditional mysteries of the Rosary (Joy, Light, Sorrow & Glory) and the New Romero Mysteries (Charity, Compassion, Mercy, Justice and Peace) - all illumined for reflection and prayer by th... Read More

Clandestine priests smuggled into England hunted by spies from the royal court and martyred are prominent within English Catholic memory of the 16th and early 17th century. Priest-holes, the pejorative term 'Jesuitical', and the exclusion of Catholics from succession to the throne, remain a minor remnant of that time. In the 20th century, Nazi Rule, Communism, and the military dictatorships of Lat... Read More

Pope Francis' widely-anticipated autobiography 'Hope' has been released today, in more than 80 countries, in several languages, in print and audiobook format. This first memoir published by a sitting pontiff, written by the Pope in collaboration with Italian writer Carlo Musso, took six years to complete. Originally it was intended to be published after the Pope's passing, but the announcement of... Read More

Alexei Navalny, who campaigned against corruption in Russia, was murdered a year ago in an Arctic prison camp. In all that has been written about his bravery, little is said about his Christian faith. Yet, as his posthumously published book makes clear, he was profoundly inspired by Christ's sacrifice, and he found great comfort in Christ's example as his prison conditions became more and more int... Read More

Bridging ancient wisdom and modern thought, Wild Goose Publications proudly announces the release of What Remains to Be Said - Aphorisms: New & Selected, by Yahia Lababidi, the internationally acclaimed poet, philosopher and aphorist Arab-American of Palestinian background. ( ISBN: 9781804323649 ) This collection showcases Lababidi's deep, reflective insights on life, love, art and spiritua... Read More

Father Terry Martin, parish priest at St Mary of the Angels RC church in Worthing, will be holding a book launch next month, to mark the publication of his new book 'Animals in Heaven?' The launch and signing ceremony will take place at the church on Saturday 16th November at 10.45am, and will include a short musical recital, and a brief introduction to the book, followed by vegan refreshments, ch... Read More

The Racket by Matt Kennard, published by Bloomsbury Press. Leila Sansour is a Catholic Palestinian-British filmmaker and TV producer. She is the founder and Chief Executive of Open Bethlehem, an initiative dedicated to promoting and preserving the life and heritage of Bethlehem. Additionally, she works as a regular freelance producer for ITN News. She writes in Middle East Eye: Matt Kennard's The... Read More

In the late 1980s, whilst completing a post-grad journalism course in London, I came across a remarkable reference set published by the venerable Zed Books, publisher of independent academic analyses of global human rights and political issues. The two-volume publication was an effective guide to apartheid, the world's most minutely legislated racist oligarchy. The publishers had taken the aparthe... Read More