Joseph Pearce

G.K. Chesterton and Fulton Sheen were kindred spirits, with the older man serving as the younger man's mentor and inspirational model.

Belloc and Manning deserve to emerge from the shadows of Chesterton and Newman.

Fatherhood is not an easy way — it is the way of the cross.

The final word on the legacy of John Fisher and Thomas More, and the final judgment (under God) on why we should see them as heroes, is given by G. K. Chesterton, a man who proves in his very self that the killing of More and Fisher did not kill learning, laughter or holiness: "There is this true relation between the martyr and the doctrine for which he died; that he died, not only defending the Pope, but defying the sort of man who wants to be Pope." (essay by Joseph Pearce)

The Major Oak, like Robin Hood and Maid Marian, has died. Its death is felt even more deeply because of what it signifies. Its death seems to signify the death of England itself.

In King Charles’s latest attempt to distance himself from Christianity, he seems to have abandoned the title “Defender of the Faith,” which British monarchs have claimed for themselves for the past 500 years.

G.K. Chesterton believed that only a firm and patriotic understanding of citizenship will keep the American experiment in shape and prevent it from melting into anarchy. If America does not insist that its people, and especially its immigrants, are citizens of the state, the state itself will melt into a formless, anarchic mess. (essay by Joseph Pearce)

England’s triumph in the World Cup had nothing to do with the prayers of the Virgin, nor was Our Lady of Guadalupe failing to answer the prayers of those Mexicans who sought her intercession on Mexico’s behalf. If their prayers were answered, it might have been in the form of the gentlest of reproofs to those who had succumbed to superstition in seeking Mary’s “magical” help. (essay by Joseph Pearce)

In “50 Books for Life: A Concise Guide to Catholic Literature,” Roy Peachey demonstrates that he is widely read and is catholic (small “c”) and cosmopolitan (in the best sense of the word) in his reading of literature from beyond the anglophone world. Seldom have I seen a list of books which encompasses so many linguistic traditions.

Along with G.K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc was hugely influential in the growth of the Catholic presence in the wider culture.