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Articles by Ferdie Rous
Halloween and the other great events of October 31st – Ferdie Rous - The Oldie
Yes, it's Halloween. But plenty of other things happened on October 31st. Most crucially, 1,550 years ago, Romulus Augustulus became the last ever Western Roman Emperor 1. 475 - Romulus Augustulus proclaimed the last Western Roman Emperor 2. 1517 – Martin Luther presents his 95 Theses 3. 1864 – Nevada becomes 36th state 4. 1941 – the construction of Mount Rushmore is completed 5. 1956 – Hungarian rebels establish a revolutionary headquarters and reestablish banned political parties 6.
Moral relativism on TV: 'Fallout' forgoes the moral binary of good and evil
The post-nuclear wastes of California in which the Fallout series takes place offer a glimpse into a steampunk Dark Age in a state of flux. As the American Commonwealth falls away amid the dropping bombs, new factions vie with one another in a bid to establish their truths as the New Order. The vault-dwellers, descendants of the pre-war rich, who could afford access to the fallout shelters known as vaults in the old world, reside underground in ordered communities run by the Vault-Tec Corporation.
What is millennial burnout? By Ferdie Rous
Millennials are absolutely exhausted – so exhausted that they’ve made up their own name for the condition: ‘millennial burnout’. The term was coined in January 2019 in a Buzzfeed article by Anne Helen Petersen: ‘How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation’. The expression has gathered steam, prompting people to share their experiences and identify their own burnouts – such as Stanford [University] burnout.
'Computer Says No': Mr Bates vs the Post Office - Catholic Herald
Artificial intelligence is nosing its way into every aspect of our lives, perhaps nowhere more significantly than in the workplace. As with the internet and social media before it, every industry from automobiles to wellness are falling over themselves to make the most of the available tools, especially since ChatGPT and Open AI came onto the scene at the end of 2022.
Paris: A tale of two cities
Ferdie Rous makes the journey to the spiritual home of France, and finds the tensions of the modern French state. In June this year France was rocked by the death of Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old boy shot by police in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre. For weeks, Paris and other urban centres witnessed the worst riots for nearly 20 years; 3,000 people were arrested and 2,500 buildings damaged. Attempting to quell the violence, 40,000 police officers were met with hails of rocks and fireworks.
Dividing opinion: The Sound of Freedom is well-meaning but problematic
An uncomfortable watch, Sound of Freedom is based on the life of paedophile hunter and former CIA and Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard and details the realities of child sex trafficking in and around the US. Since its release, the film has become a flashpoint for cultural quarrels. Sound of Freedom opens with Roberto, a Honduran father to Miguel and Rocio, being approached by a former beauty queen, who tells him his children may have what it takes to make it in the entertainment industry.
Tolkien's lessons of hope for humanity, fifty years after his death
JRR Tolkien died 50 years ago, on 2 September 1973. If you ask a fan of his work what they most struggle with in his epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, they will um and ah but more often than not they will reluctantly nod at the songs. Across all the books (but featuring only in the Hobbit films) Tolkien’s characters will occasionally break out into long ponderous song, each of which often goes on for a page or more.
Acclaimed director William Friedkin dies, but The Exorcist lives on
With news of the death of William Friedkin, director of The Exorcist, in Los Angeles on Monday, Ferdie Rous looks at why this cult classic still burns bright in the public imagination over half a century after it was first released Love it or hate it, everyone has a view on The Exorcist – whether they’ve read the book, seen the film or if they run for cover at the very mention of it.
Let’s face the facts on fat
"The Oldie is an incredible magazine - perhaps the best magazine in the world right now" Graydon Carter, founder of Air Mail and former Editor of Vanity Fair Blog Magazine Podcasts Greatest Hits About Us Literary Lunches The Directory Courses & Tours Shop Blog | By Ferdie Rous | Feb 21, 2023 The University of East Anglia released a report explaining that body positivity and the normalisation of plus size are damaging the UK’s fight to end obesity.
Religious violence now spreading in UK
Religious violence has erupted in the British Midlands, and appears to be spreading. Communalist violence first erupted in the city of Leicester – about 100 miles north of London – between British Asian youths of Indian-Hindu and Pakistani-Muslim descent. For weeks, hundreds – if not thousands – of young men in masks and balaclavas have been taking to the streets, after trouble flared in August following Pakistan’s defeat to India in a cricket match.
Will the Catholic Church inevitably turn from the West?
If demography and culture are destiny, then the Vatican – and wider Christian community – have a serious problem, in the Western world at least. The German Synodal Path may be an attempt at liberal pushback against what many German Catholics see as an alienating conservativism by the Vatican, but it faces an uphill struggle to win over lapsed Catholics in a culture and society which has largely turned against the faith. Germany is not alone.
A sanctuary for Holy Souls
An hour’s drive from the medieval fortress of Alençon, framed against the rolling wooded hills of Normandy, lies the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Montligeon. Consecrated in 1911, it is the only basilica on earth dedicated to the Holy Souls. Though it sits in the markedly medieval landscape of Normandy, Montligeon fits seamlessly into the patchwork of shrines – of Lourdes and nearby Lisieux – that grew out of the Catholic revival in the late 19th century.
In Conversation with Sylvie Bermann, former French ambassador
And it was this mythology of Britain’s 20th century that allowed the UK to say tatty- bye to the EU. The “clearly xenophobic” Nigel Farage and the populists, she asserts, were fearful of “the migration of peoples of colour” and linking the EU to the migration debate, while “it had nothing to do with it”. The confusion about the EU’s role was “deliberately maintained” by populists like Farage, she says. And Vote Leave? Before she can answer, her cat struts into view on our Zoom call.
Pope Francis asks Catholics to pray in November for people suffering depression
Vatican City, Nov 3, 2021 / 09:00 am Pope Francis has asked Catholics around the world to pray in November for people suffering from depression or burnout, that they might find the support they need. He made the appeal in his November prayer intention, shared with an accompanying video on Nov. 3. “We pray that people who suffer from depression or burnout will find support and a light that opens them up to life,” reads the prayer intention, promoted by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.
Cambridge, ‘whiteness’ and the politicisation of Classics
(Photo by ABDULLAH DOMA/AFP via Getty Images) In Cambridge University’s latest push to right the wrongs of history, its Museum of Classical Archaeology will add some signage to explain the ‘whiteness’ of its collection of Greek and Roman statues. The Classics faculty, of which the museum is part, has taken this great and noble mission upon itself in response to an open letter signed by dozens of students, alumni and academics — including the chair of the Classics faculty itself.
An author explains
This, I am afraid, is a pompous apology for a novel which will soon in any case be swept away on the tide that bears most contemporary writing to oblivion.
Better the devil you know
Love it or hate it, everyone has a view on The Exorcist – whether they’ve read the book, seen the film or if they run for cover at the very mention of it. William Peter Blatty’s tale of 12-year-old Regan MacNeil’s possession by a demon and her exorcism by a Jesuit priest (Father Damien Karras), struggling with his own loss of faith, still burns bright in the public imagination 50 years after it was published.
Stories from a gentler time
The line between information and entertainment has more than blurred in recent years – it simply doesn’t exist. The Journey of a Lifetime series, filmed in the early 1960s does both rather innovatively. The two-season, 39-episode series – not seen for decades and now out as a DVD box-set – follows newlywed couple Anne and John Browning as they tour the biblical sites of the Holy Land.
Power, Corruption and Lies: Peter Oborne's "The Assault on Truth"
Peter Oborne has long been in the business of exposing political lies. In 2005, he wrote The Rise of Political Lying, which traced the worrying tendency toward deceit which began in the Major years and became a par for the course under New Labour. In his latest book, The Assault on Truth, Oborne turns his eye to Boris Johnson (and to a lesser degree Donald Trump). Despite his condemnation of Johnson’s new “nightmare epistemological universe”, Oborne admits to a certain admiration for the man.
Police officers injured as “Kill the Bill” protest in Bristol ends in violence
Screenshot of image tweeted by user @ben_crocket at 9:10pm GMT on 21 March 2021. Twenty police officers were injured as protests in Bristol objecting to a proposed bill that would expand UK police powers to restrict non-violent protest descended into violence. Hundreds had gathered on Bristol’s College Green on Sunday afternoon to protest the legislation that would see noise and time restrictions imposed on protests, before a smaller number marched on Bridewell Police Station on Nelson street.
The purpose of institutions
Better a pope than a king? A president over a prime minister? Who has the right to tell us how to lead our lives and who do they speak for? What is legitimacy? That last question lies at the heart of the British monarchy’s recent exposure to the warped logic of cancel culture. It arises thanks to the explosive charge made by Meghan to Oprah Winfrey; that a member of the royal family expressed ‘concern’ about the colour of her unborn, mixed-race baby when she was pregnant.
The Pandemic Came, Christians Went Bonkers
The Church could have seized an opportunity of great calamity to preach salvation to the ever-darkening world of the 21st century. Instead, Christians went bonkers. It’s a hoax! It’s Soros! I’m not wearing the damn mask! Covid’s not as bad as the flu! We’re living in fear! They’re inflating the death toll! And on and on. A Bad Time It was a bad time, and a very, very bad time for many. The coronavirus upset everything. It began for me March 13th of last year.
Pope Francis: Prayers for "martyred" Syria on 10th anniversary of civil war
Pope Francis marked the 10th anniversary of the start of Syria’s gruesome civil war, urging the world in his Sunday Angelus address on March 14th not to forget the suffering of the country’s “martyred” people. March 15th is widely used as a date to mark the beginning of the war, which erupted in 2011 when demonstrations against the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in cities across the country. April saw Assad deploy the army to suppress the protests. Soldiers fired on protestors.
CDF Rejects Blessings for Same-sex Unions
Cover image by Jim McIntosh /Flickr via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0 The Vatican’s doctrinal office issued a statement on Monday saying the Catholic Church has no power to bless homosexual unions.
Cardinal Bo: Myanmar violence must cease
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon in Myanmar (Burma) has issued a new appeal for peace in his deeply troubled nation, where the military has seized power and has been conducting a campaign of frequently violent repression that has reportedly left more than a hundred people dead.
Hundreds protest policing of Sarah Everard vigil
Hundreds gathered in Parliament Square in London on Sunday for a further vigil in honour of Sarah Everard – the marketing executive murdered on 3rd March, allegedly by serving police officer Wayne Couzens – after clashes broke out between protesters and police at a vigil in Clapham on Saturday. Feminist protest group Sisters Uncut organised the event, following heavy-handed policing of a vigil honouring Sarah Everard in Clapham on Saturday, which resulted in four arrests.
The tribute to Sarah Everard was more protest than vigil
Thousands of people gathered in south London on Saturday evening for a vigil in honour of Sarah Everard, the 33-year-old marketing executive whose kidnapping and murder has ignited national debate about violence against women. Tensions ran high at the vigil. The man accused of Everard’s murder, Wayne Couzens, was a Metropolitan police officer.
The saints searching for sustenance
Over the course of a long friendship that began at school, my old pal Jacob Rees-Mogg, member of parliament and Roman Catholic – though not necessarily in that order – has subtly urged me to do three things. His urging does not come as a campaign of persuasion, merely as hints dropped into conversations over some 35 years. The first is to support Brexit, the second to move to Somerset and the third to become a Catholic.
People should be free to worship publicly as lockdown eases, say Irish bishops - Catholic Herald
Bishops have urged the Irish government to ease restrictions on public worship as the country’s severest restrictions plan to be eased. Though some of Ireland’s Level 5 lockdown restrictions are expected to be lifted on 5th April, religious services will not be permitted until the country enters Level 2.
Poorer economies are buckling beneath debt obligations to London banks
The increasing financial pressure brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted a flurry of borrowing in countries across the world. As questions arise about he viability of the spending spree in the developed world, poorer countries are buckling beneath the pressure of debt obligations to private lenders. Last year, the countries of the G20, encouraged by the World Bank and the IMF, provided billions of dollars of debt relief to the world’s poorer countries.
Bankruptcy judge rules Buffalo diocese will not pay for retired bishops’ lawyers
Buffalo, N.Y., Mar 9, 2021 / 04:41 pm MT (CNA).- A bankruptcy judge ruled this month that the Diocese of Buffalo has “no obligation” to retain a law firm on behalf of two retired bishops, whom the state attorney general is suing for alleged cover-up of sexual abuse. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Carl Bucki ruled Feb.
Scottish churches open for Easter as SNP government reveals plans to ease lockdown
The Scottish government have announced that believers across Scotland will be permitted to gather at places of worship from 26th March, in time for Easter. The new plan, outlined by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Tuesday, sees a significant easing of lockdown regulations across Scotland. Up to four adults from two households will be allowed to meet outdoors from for recreational purposes and essential exercise as of Friday 12th March. Restrictions on younger people will be further relaxed.
Townes Van Zandt: The Demons that Haunt us All
Image: Singer-Songwriter Townes Van Zandt in Concert at “Kult” Niederstetten, Germany (undated) CC BY-SA March 7 was the birthday of the late, great Townes Van Zandt, one of the most influential songwriters in contemporary Americana music. Van Zandt never had significant commercial success. And what little success he did have was squandered in a haze of drugs and alcohol.
Glasgow Priest's case against Scottish Government's closure of churches to be heard tomorrow
Tomorrow Scotland’s top civil court will hear the case of a Glasgow priest who is challenging the Scottish government’s worship ban. Canon Thomas White has brought together a formidable legal team to challenge the government about the evidence it used to justify its ban on public worship. The priest of St Alphonsus Church in Barras, Glasgow, described Scottish Government’s worship ban as a disproportionate which damages the disadvantaged community he serves.
Pope Francis: Keep praying for ‘our sorely tried brothers and sisters’ in Iraq
Vatican City, Mar 10, 2021 / 05:30 am MT (CNA).- Pope Francis on Wednesday urged Catholics worldwide to keep praying for “our sorely tried brothers and sisters” in Iraq. Speaking at his general audience on March 10, the pope reflected on his historic three-day visit to the Middle Eastern country.
'Silent revolution' in details of UK budget
Rishi Sunak’s second budget was transitional in two ways. It presented a recovery scenario in which unprecedented government support of a Covid-battered economy tails off over the next year. It also represented the start of a revolution in thinking about the state’s role in the economy, so silent than hardly anyone has noticed it. To start with the first. The economy has shrunk by 10% since last March. In that time the government has spent over £300bn ‘supporting jobs, incomes, and businesses’.
Aramaic through the Ages
This essay is Part Two of a three-part series by Sam Sweeney, a writer and translator based in the Middle East, who wrote most recently for the Catholic Herald about the village church of Tel Hormiz and the story it tells, of Syrian Christianity in adversity. Part One may be found here. Part Three will explore the history and development of the Aramaic language more closely, and Part Three will look at the challenges facing the people who speak it in the present and heading into the future.
Covid-19 has compounded prejudice against leprosy sufferers
Leprosy has been a death sentence for most of human history. Before the disease kills the one who suffers, it frequently means exile for sufferers from home and community. So much so, that ‘leper’ long ago became a cruel byword for someone to be avoided. In much of the world, the malady is known these days by a different name: Hansen’s disease, after the Norwegian scientist Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen, who discovered the bacterium that causes the illness.
279 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped last week have been released
Hundreds of schoolgirls kidnapped from a state boarding school in the north west Nigeria state of Zamfara last week have been released, a local official announced. “It gladdens my heart to announce the release of the abducted students of GGSS Jangebe from captivity,” Zamfara state governor Bellow Matawalle tweeted. “Our daughters are safe now.” Though authorities had first declared that 317 girls were abducted, Matawalle announced that the correct figure was 279.
Myanmar Crisis Deepens as Catholic Advocates Call for Peaceful Resolution
Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi — ousted 1 February in a military coup and taken into custody — made a virtual court appearance on Monday, during which more charges were laid against her as protesters returned to the streets after deadly violence Sunday. The Reuters news agency reported that the two new charges were for publishing information that could “cause fear or alarm” and for unlicensed or improperly licensed use of telecommunications equipment.
UN Working with DRC to Bring Killers to Justice
The UN is working “hand-in-hand with both the Congolese and Italian authorities as they conduct criminal investigations,” into the attack last month that killed Italy’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the ambassador’s Italian bodyguard, and their Congolese driver, “to ensure that those responsible for this crime are brought to justice.” That is according to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who was speaking to Italy’s La Stampa newspaper.
Catholic Organizations Address "The Elderly and the Future of Europe"
Two Catholic organizations organized a webinar on Monday to study Europe’s “demographic imbalance” — the growing number of elderly people and the dwindling number of children. “The Elderly and the Future of Europe” was the theme of the event, jointly hosted by the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) and the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe (FAFCE).
Allegations of ethnic cleansing in Tigray conflict, says US report
Ethiopian officials and forces allied to the federal government are committing acts of ethnic cleansing in the war-stricken northern region of Tigray, according to internal US report obtained by the New York Times.
18 dead in Myanmar as military crackdown escalates
State violence in Mynmar escalated when police opened fire on hundreds of protesters in the cities across the country, killing 18, according to a UN report. It is the largest number of deaths in a single day since the coup began. The police have increased their use of force in recent weeks, beginning with water cannons, tear gas before using rubber and then live ammunition. On Sunday, the police descended on groups of gathering protesters, rounding them up before marches began.
Two Days of Testimony in Vatican Seminary Abuse Trial
A Vatican court heard testimony on Wednesday and Thursday, from witnesses who said the accuser in a case of alleged abuse and coverup inside the Vatican’s minor seminary is “extremely credible” and that he was also “very vulnerable” at the time the alleged abuse occurred, because of his parents’ separation and general family situation.
Health secretary nominee: 'I have never sued any nuns'
Washington D.C., Feb 24, 2021 / 02:24 pm MT (CNA).- On Wednesday, President Biden’s health secretary nominee explained his support of coercive contraceptive and abortion coverage mandates against Catholic nuns, claiming he had never “sued any nuns.” “I have never sued any nuns.
Pope Francis sends condolences to Italy's Mattarella over slain ambassador, Carabiniere in DRC
Pope Francis on Tuesday evening sent a telegram to the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, extending his condolences at the killing of the Italian Ambassador, Luca Attanasio, along with an officer of Italy’s Carabinieri, Vittorio Iacovacci, and their Congolese driver (whose name has not been released), all slain in an attack Monday while they were travelling in a United Nations convoy.
"Anybody can exploit us," says Christian businessmen in Pakistan
Christian business owners in Pakistan face severe discrimination, according to an entrepreneur speaking at an event last week. “We understand that. Christian businessmen are usually frightened of allegations of blasphemy and extrajudicial killings. Anybody can exploit us,” said Dil Nawaz. Harking back to his time at Punjab university, the managing director of clothing brand Zarshu, said: “Once I objected to the growing pile of rubbish in the canteen.
Turn in Maltese Murder Investigation as Key Figure Makes Plea Deal
One of three men accused of assassinating investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta in 2017 has received a 15-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to all charges in connection with his role in the murder. Vincent Muscat had previously entered a Not Guilty plea, but reportedly accepted a plea bargain arrangement with prosecutors. He is also to pay €42,000 in court fees.
Alleged abuse victim of Brooklyn bishop files civil lawsuit
Trenton, N.J., Feb 23, 2021 / 05:01 pm MT (CNA).- An alleged abuse victim who last year went public with allegations against the Bishop of Brooklyn has now filed a lawsuit in a New Jersey court, claiming that the bishop abused him repeatedly in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
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