De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

  In this new episode of Catholic Unscripted we speak with Fr Christopher Basden, a priest whose life spans some of the most dramatic changes in the modern Middle East. Born in Cairo, educated in Beirut and raised in Iran, Fr Basden experienced first-hand a region that once had thriving Christian communities across Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and the Holy Land. Today many of those ancient communities are disappearing. In this powerful conversation Fr Basden reflects on: • What life was like in the Middle East before the great upheavals • Why Christianity is rapidly declining in the region  • The political and religious forces shaping today's conflicts  • Why turning modern wars into “holy wars” is so dangerous Whatever your perspective on Middle Eastern politics, this interview offers a rare and deeply personal view of the region from someone who has lived its history. Watch the full interview HERE

In this episode of Catholic Unscripted, Katherine Bennett and Mark Lambert are joined by author and scholar Dr. Carrie Gress to discuss the intellectual and spiritual roots of modern feminism and the contemporary crisis surrounding womanhood.  For more information about Dr Carrie Gress and to read her work, follow the links below: A recent article on how critics of Dr Carrie Gress' work completely miss the point on Mary Wollstonecraft https://thefederalist.com/2026/03/04/critics-of-my-anti-feminism-book-completely-miss-the-plot-on-mary-wollstonecraft/ The End of Woman Something Wicked    The Theology of Home Substack    Drawing first on her influential book The End of Woman , Dr. Gress traces the ideological development of feminism from the Enlightenment through the Romantics, the French Revolution, sexual revolution and into today’s gender ideology.  The conversation explores how ideas about autonomy, power, and sexuality gradually detached from Christia...

  From the earliest days of Christianity teaching was unmistakably clear. We have the Fifth Commandment and later the most primitive Christian teaching, The Didache states: “You shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill that which is born.” This is not a later doctrinal development but part of the Church’s foundational moral witness. Which makes our present moment all the more revealing: we now have leaders of Christian Churches who do not oppose abortion in principle, but merely argue that certain forms of it “go too far.” That may pretend to be nuance but it is not. It is clearly a huge rupture. You cannot claim the moral authority of the Church while abandoning the principles that gave that authority meaning. And this failure is not abstract. Law teaches. When legislation expands abortion, it teaches that some lives are negotiable; when Church leaders fail to oppose it clearly, they reinforce that lesson. What we are witnessing is the pedagogy of the law in action, a feedbac...

Katherine and I travelled to Brixton to join the 40 days for Life Vigil. We spoke to some of those taking part about why it is an important witness. Please do like and share!

  Something significant is happening in Rome — and most people have not noticed it yet. Pope Leo XIV has begun quietly reshaping the machinery of Vatican governance. The appointment of Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia as nuncio to the United States, the replacement of Fr Daniel Pellizzon in the papal household, and the reported appointment of Swiss Guard Lieutenant Anton Kappler as assistant of the chamber are not isolated personnel changes. Together they signal something much larger. After years of turbulence under the pontificate of Pope Francis, Leo XIV appears to be restoring institutional order at the centre of the Church. The papal household is being reorganised. The diplomatic corps is being recalibrated. The networks that surrounded the previous pontificate are gradually giving way to a more disciplined and traditional structure of governance. In my latest article for Catholic Unscripted I examine what these appointments mean, why they matter for the Church in the Un...

  I really feel there is a disconnect over the SSPX ordinations where many Catholics have reduced it to a conflict between Tradition and Modernism. They then feel hurt and confused when people like Fr Gerald Murray for example criticise the SSPX. The facts are the SSPX position denies the promises of Christ and misrepresents the Vatican position. In this essay I go through the argument with examples. Read the full essay here .

We are joined by Fr Charles Murr for a candid and wide-ranging conversation about corruption that goes deep and goes back years. In 'The Godmother - A feminine tour de force' Fr Charles Murr recounts the time he spent with Madre Pascilina, secretary and friend of Pope Pius XII, sharing many of the stories of their precious time together.

A provocative column in The Spectator recently claimed that “the Catholic Church has always been remarkably relaxed about sin.” At first glance, it sounds like a clever barb — but what happens when you take a step back and actually look at what Catholic teaching says about sin, conscience, and the dignity of the human person? In our latest featured article from Catholic Unscripted , “Remarkably Relaxed About Sin? Assisted Suicide and the Catholic Church,”  Dr Anthony McCarthy pushes back against this claim and explores why the Church takes sin very seriously — especially in the context of today’s debate over assisted suicide. This piece unpacks what it really means to take sin seriously — not as a moralistic pastime, but as a commitment to the salvation of souls and the dignity of every human life. It reminds us that Catholic moral teaching isn’t about paperwork or guilt-tripping. It’s about the profound conviction that wrongdoing harms the soul and that redemption through rep...