A week ago, we learned that conservative broadcaster and Christian leader Charlie Kirk had been shot. I have no doubt we will all remember where we were that day. I remember bluntly but as politely as I could, shutting down any speculation in group chats about Charlie being dead, and requesting people pray for his well-being. I dropped what I was doing and led an online rosary session from a cafe in Austin, Texas, to pray for Charlie’s health and for strength for his family. What a tense few hours they were.

But the biggest surprise about that day, for me, was not that Charlie had been shot. He stuck his head above the parapet, and those of us who do that for the truth understand that this may one day be an unfortunate outcome. For me, the biggest shock was that he was not healed. I fully expected a miracle, without a shadow of a doubt. What I did not know at the time was that God would indeed perform a miracle through Charlie, but it was not more time on earth. Charlie was called home, and the Lord used that to inspire millions of people back to the faith. Charlie led people to Christ through his life and death.

The reason I have waited a couple of weeks to write about this is that I have been quite lost for words. I feel like we have all been on an emotional roller coaster. I knew Charlie, I admired Charlie, and he was my friend. My English sensibilities make it difficult to talk about such things - this is one of those cultural differences we have with our American cousins. We English are more reserved about these things. But it is important that we celebrate these friendships, and Charlie left behind a legacy that we can all learn from. He set a good example of how to practice what we preach. I did try to find some of the photographs we took together, remembering them very vividly, but it occurred to me that they may have been on Charlie’s phone. I will never forget when I moved to the United States, Charlie looked up over his salad (I am not sure it is well-known how pro-MAHA Charlie was - he only ate protein, healthy fats and fruit), and he said to me, “It’s so great that you’re here now. You’re going to be so big in America.” I smiled politely and tried to hide my apprehension, but he must have sensed me wince, or he knew how such a statement would make me feel, because he followed up with, “for all the right reasons. Your platform will expand your mission for Christ.” That Christ-centred approach was typical of Charlie. In our circles of conservative commentators, there are many people who are ambitious for fame and fortune, but he was not one of them. He knew the temptations to sin and wanted only to grow his platform to spread the truth. That is a worldview we shared. I had been on Charlie’s show a number of times, and he invited me to speak more regularly at his events, such as AMFest. This was another sign of his broad view of the Church. As an Anglican deacon and later an Old Catholic priest, I was often the most catholic speaker at these events, particularly the Turning Point Faith events. Among a sea of skinny jeans, there would be me in my black suit and clerical collar. But we share a common belief in the power of the Gospel, and that is all that matters. Through our baptism, we are all brethren in Christ.

Upon Charlie’s return to the US from a recent visit to Britain, where he was hosted by our mutual friend Dr James Orr, Charlie texted me to affirm what I had been saying for so long. That the United Kingdom is suffering from a pincer attack, “The combination of Islam and Marxism.” You’ll notice he started talking more openly about the evils of Islam, its incompatibility with Christian values, and its infestation in the West. God bless him for that, because it is not a fashionable talking point. But when one is focused on the truth, one does not mind being called an Islamophobe. There is nothing irrational about a fear of Islam conquering Christendom, country by country.

I would like to take a moment to thank Charlie once again for his efforts in raising awareness of Lucy Connolly’s case, too. An important one for Free Speech, and one that the British Establishment would rather have gone unheard. “I am glad I am leaving and going back to America,” he would text.

The land of the free, the home of the brave. Unfortunately, freedom does not mean safety. And Charlie’s work put him directly in the line of fire. Some people cannot stand to hear a difference of opinion. Some people are so lost that if we do not conform to their reality, they feel the need to delete us from it. These people do not need affirming in their sin; they need leading away from it. That is part of what Charlie did with his college ministry - and it was a ministry. He debated with people, but he also preached the Gospel to them, which is something we all must do more of.

He listened to people. And yet, they shot him for it.

I did not sleep for a couple of nights after that. And going by the responses to my tweets, I do not think many did. The spiritual rift was almost tangible. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

9/11 is always an awful day, but it was especially so this year. It serves as a reminder that evil is a real presence. We must never forget that. Charlie Kirk was a white conservative Christian, a husband and a father—everything the enemy hates. The enemy has spent a long time attacking people like Charlie, but a fortnight ago, Satan overplayed his hand. The demons may be celebrating, for now. But they are about to be on the defensive. Watch and see. Christendom is awake. It does not matter which tool of the enemy was used to kill Charlie, be it Islam, wokeism, liberal Judaism; they are all about to be defeated. Charlie spoke often about that pincer movement between Islam and woke, and he recently started to speak out about the impact of liberal Jews on our society. All three heads of the dragon are evil. These wicked ideologies are on the way out. They have no place in a Christian society. Christ died for us, and in doing so, He conquered death, so we have nothing to fear. The enemy does. Death is not the end for Christians; it is merely the beginning. We will fight lies with truth. The enemy no longer gets to monopolise the public conversation. The enemy no longer gets to warp reality. The truth is objective, universal, and the enemy is about to find out that Christ is King.

September 10 2025 was a turning point. They killed the moderate right. What comes next will not be pretty. Maranatha!

If you are struggling with shock, anger, or sadness as a result of Charlie’s assassination, go to church. Spend some time in prayer with the Lord. If you are not usually the church-going type, that does not matter. Be present, be silent, listen for His voice. He is with you in your suffering.

We do not cower. We do not back down. We double down. We do not resort to their wicked ways. We conquer evil. We promote the good. “Do not make peace with evil, destroy it.”

And the demons really were celebrating. I will not give them the benefit of sharing their videos here, but I am sure many of you have seen them. The contorted faces of the possessed, celebrating the death of a father to two small children, simply because they did not share his worldview. But the darkness they spread is becoming irrelevant as the light shines upon it, “the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

And the darkness really is spreading. Charlie was killed only a few days after the Minneapolis school shooting, where innocent children were gunned down by a man who drew his own reflection as a demon looking back at him. And this, likewise, was only days before poor Iryna Zarutska was stabbed on public transport, the 23-year-old blonde Ukrainian refugee killed for being white, by a violent black man captured by racial grievance politics.

There is so much evil in the world right now that people who are not usually in touch with the spiritual are seeing it. And God can turn that to good, as He does with all things. Because the more the enemy exposes himself, the more people start to question if there is an alternative. If they experience evil firsthand, people start to look for goodness as an escape. God is there, waiting. Let us pray that people turn to Him.

But we must do more than pray. We must also put in the work. The enemy has been busy whispering in people’s ears like the serpent that he is. Every time someone attacks a conservative or a Christian, calling us racist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, Nazis or fascists, they are dehumanising us. Every time they do that, they are wishing us dead. This ideology is clearly either evil, not just a mental illness.

Every legacy media outlet that has allowed pundits to call us those names for holding conservative/Christian views is complicit in the death of Charlie Kirk. We have to override their toxic dialogue now. They cannot be allowed to continue to sow their harmful, murderous ideology unchecked.

Everyone who is celebrating Charlie’s death deserves to lose their job. He was a father and husband. It is wicked. It was great to see people tracking them down and reporting them for indecent behaviour. I absolutely stand by the position that we should cancel the lot of them! And they can call it “woke right” if they like. I do not care. They created “cancel culture”; now they must reap the consequences. The difference is, they cancel us for speaking the truth, whereas we want to stop them from killing and celebrating killing. The two are not the same. It has been highlighted that when their idol, George Floyd, was killed, they set the streets ablaze and rioted, spreading violence and terror. When our hero, Charlie Kirk, was killed, we set up prayer vigils. We are not the same.

We need to protect ourselves and our loved ones from their darkness. I propose we find ways to only hire people who share your values. British/American values, Christian values. Do not hire people who subscribe to evil ideologies, who want you dead.

Remember, compassion does not equal affirmation, and ideologies are not people. We are called to hate the sin but love the sinner. If we truly love our neighbour, we will guide them away from transgenderism, Islam, racial victimhood complexes, and toward the loving truth of Jesus Christ.

Charlie’s death has struck a chord in many people’s hearts. Everyone can see themselves in him, because he was one of us. And the way he was killed, on his mission, with some of his last words being those of the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, I truly believe he died the death of a martyr. There is certainly a case to be made. I do not believe the Catholic Church has ever formally canonised anyone outside of the Catholic or Orthodox Churches, but she has recognised and venerated martyrs.

And we are already seeing the good fruits of his martyrdom. I met a young couple at a memorial in Michigan who are joining the Catholic Church (OCIA). I also met a young chap called Ryan, who went to church for the first time as a result. Charlie’s martyrdom is having an impact on Gen Z.

“As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Genesis 50:20

“We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

And then there is the memorial service. I was sorry not to be able to make it, but I was saying Mass with my parish. You can view the Mass we offered for Charlie on my YouTube.

Or, if you would prefer, you can watch the Sermon alone:

Prior to the memorial in Phoenix, I had the worst restless night since the shooting. I prayed the memorial went well today, without incident. I was concerned that most of the country’s conservative and Christian leaders were meeting under one roof. The world could have been made a much darker place with a single explosion. But afterwards, I was on a complete high. After watching a 5.5-hour stream with my parishioners and the local Turning Point chapter, I was buzzing like I had just left church. God was present in that place. He was edified, glorified, and boldly proclaimed to the world. God cannot be stopped. Christian nationalism is here. Leftism/liberalism/wokeism, whatever you will call it, is finished. An entire country has been rejuvenated and evangelised at the same time. All for the greater glory of God.

Every single speaker spoke of Christ. Everyone mentioned Christianity. Most speakers, politicians at that, proclaimed the Gospel. I have never seen anything like it in my life. As Vice President JD Vance remarked, he is usually shy about talking about his faith in public, but no longer. Something has shifted.

For anyone watching, you could visibly see Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s whole demeanour change in the last 70 seconds of his speech when he spoke of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. I truly believe it was the presence of the Holy Spirit; this moment was inspired.

Prayers for revival have been answered. God is good. Let us hope this revival continues to grow, as people return to the faith or attend church for the first time. And let us pray it becomes contagious. Europe could do with a revival, too. Christ is being returned to Christendom.

But the most outstanding moment has to be Erika Kirk’s speech. Wow. Firstly, she set out a great example of femininity, of womanhood, highlighting the importance of being a good mother and wife, of preparing a home, of loving, supporting and being obedient to her husband. All very counter-cultural in today’s world. As her speech went on, I was watching almost hand-in-mouth as her face turned from anger to sadness, and it seemed she was about to say something monumental. I asked the room, “She’s going to offer forgiveness, isn’t she?” in disbelief. And lo and behold, she did. Mrs Kirk forgave her husband’s killer, there and then. Forgiveness at this time, in the midst of grief, is so powerful. Erika is exemplifying a Christ-like attitude. God bless her for that.

President Trump offered a different stance, however, and rightly so. It is a good thing for the wife to forgive, and it is also a good thing for the magistrate to seek firm justice. In a just world, the killer would hang.

Elon Musk and President Trump were seen shaking hands, following their now-infamous split. Charlie is still bringing people together, even in death.

That stadium seated thousands upon thousands of people from all around the world. All of whom witnessed Christ that day. Let us pray that many hearts are softened toward him, Musk included.

Now, let us put the groundwork in. We all have a duty to pick up that bloody microphone and continue Charlie’s mission. I have two prior-arranged speaking engagements with Turning Point chapters, one in Michigan and one in Alabama, and I am looking forward to them. We cannot be scared away. The Bible tells us, “Be not afraid,” 365 times —one mention for every day of the year.

I have already visited a couple of universities since Charlie’s death. University of Austin, in Texas, and Grand Valley State University, in Grand Rapids, both of which were full of young conservatives and Christians in mourning, but also full of a righteous energy, ready to put on the full armour of God and take up the baton.

I hosted a prayer vigil at a local college campus, inviting the local community to pray Evensong/Vespers and sing hymns together. As the clock struck 7pm, the heavens opened and we were absolutely drenched with rain, like pathetic fallacy. But we were not deterred. After moving indoors, I noticed the warmth matched that I felt in London after the passing to glory of Her Majesty the Queen. People are being brought together out of sadness for the loss of a person they felt they knew, someone they identified with in some way. Through these moments, we recognise the ability to see Christ in each other.

America is in revival. We are all Christian nationalists now. We are all Charlie Kirk.

The message is simple. Go to church. Pray. Get married, have children, teach them the faith. This is genuinely how we win.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Goodbye for now, friend.

Starting out on TalkRadio as a segment on Cristo Foufas’ Saturday morning show, my Common Sense Crusade began as an attempt to bring a moment of clarity to an ever-increasingly mad world. One of the most memorable moments was when Black Lives Matter activist Ken Hinds tried to tell me that as a mixed-race man, I must support Meghan Markle, because she is “one of [my] own.” Suffice it to say, that did not go down well!

I was later given the opportunity to launch my Common Sense Crusade on television, with GB News - the station I would eventually get fired from for being too Christian (more on that next year, when the courts allow).

Believe it or not, there was a time Archbishops would come on my show to discuss Christendom. These days, the current Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, Steve Woods, prefers to put out statements libellously implying that I am an anti-Semite. But back then, the former Archbishop Foley Beach was a good man whom I had a lot of time for. You can watch our interview following the launch of a new diocese in Australia on my YouTube channel.

I was the first to call out the World Economic Forum (WEF) on air. When I watch that monologue back, I can see the tensions at play. I had to be extremely careful with my wording to get this past the liberal producers and overly cautious lawyers. But it was an important conversation to be had when there is a bunch of mostly unelected elites dictating global policy.

One of my first - if not the first - monologues was about the Pakistani Moslem rape gangs. An awful atrocity that it was vital to cover, but again, I had to fight tooth and nail to get the conversation on air. Those days were more challenging than viewers would assume. The home of ‘free speech’ was more of a controlled opposition all along, but more on that next year. One day, I will talk about the anti-Christian attitudes from upper management and how they tried everything they could to remove elements of Christianity from my Christian TV show. At present, I am not legally allowed. That day will come.

The sad thing is, I am still monologuing about the Pakistani Moslem rape gangs. They are still going on. Young British girls are still being groomed and raped by Pakistani Moslem men who see them as less-than-human, and our Establishment continues to cover it up. From the local councillors, to the social services, the police forces and members of the Houses of Parliament. Shame on every single one of them. A demographic that makes up 4% of the population is responsible for 65% of the child sexual abuse, and no one wants to do anything about it; they would rather prioritise ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion’. Disgusting.

When I left Britain, Carl Benjamin kindly gave me a slot to broadcast my show on his platform, the Lotus Eaters, and the Crusade continued from there.

Comparing those two ‘Grooming Gang’ videos really shows how long I have been at this. I may have started out young, vibrant and optimistic, but I am becoming jaded in my relatively old age. The afro and beard are not the only changes. This battle takes a toll on you, especially when you cannot see positive change coming from it.

And so it is time to take a break. As Britain gets darker, I cannot spend all my time talking about that darkness, even to expose it. It is my calling to spread the light - the Good News. If/when I return to Britain, I will pick up the Crusade, and hopefully, the conversation will have moved on by then. There were practical difficulties, too, being in the United States streaming through the Lotus Eaters HQ in Swindon - timezone constraints, etc. And even though the production team at GB News were mostly liberal, it does help having a team - doing it on your own is impractical. You need people to bounce ideas around with.

My show with Laurence Fox will continue. We are back for a third series. Fox & Father has taken less of a political angle this season, for the same reasons. There are only so many things one can say about the evils of Sir Keir Starmer and Sadiq Khan before a) you start to repeat yourself and b) it starts to get to you. And so, we are talking about more interesting themes than political topics, this time around. You can catch Fox & Father on my YouTube channel at 7pm UK time on Sundays.

You can also join us for Evensong at 8.30pm UK / 3pm ET every Sunday, and a number of clerical Crusaders and I pray online for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. And on Wednesdays, we livestream an Evensong service from St Paul’s Church in Grand Rapids at 6pm ET. These Evensong services are Evening Prayer in accordance with the Book of Common Prayer. Evensong is a treasure of the Church - this service is non-sacramental, so Christians of all traditions/denominations can join.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom on the Crusade. Some of my best bits were the one-to-one interviews, when the viewers and I got to see the real person behind the caricature. My interview with Tommy Robinson stands out to me as one of the best episodes. I had grown up assuming Tommy was a racist because that is what the mainstream media had always reported him to be. But after the constant lies around Brexit, Covid, the Ukraine and the likes, I figured if I don’t trust the media on anything else, why would I trust them on this? I sat down with Tommy for a couple of hours and found him to be a genuinely nice chap who just passionately cares about our country. Give it a watch for yourself and let me know what you think in the comments.

I even managed to get the political parties of the Right together to see if there was any chance they might work together. UKIP, SDP, and Reclaim agreed to talk for the sake of their members and the country. Reform refused to engage.

Back in the television days, the highlights for me were always the Easter and Christmas specials. Every week, we were on air discussing current events, trying to bring a Christian perspective to the madness around us. Shining a light in an ever-darkening world. But for Easter and Christmas, we were able to explicitly talk about Christ (which is surprisingly difficult on 21st-century TV). The meaning of Christmas and Easter specials made it all worthwhile.

Easter 2023:

Christmas 2022:

Easter 2022:

Christmas 2021:

Some of the great guests we had on over the years, include: His Imperial and Royal Highness the Archduke of Austria, Patsy Kensit, Monsignor Nazir-Ali, Jonathan Pageau, Paul Kingsnorth, Professor Robert George, Baroness Claire Fox, Bishop Robert Barron, Jon Milbank, Rod Dreher, Sir Desmond Swayne, Tommy Robinson, Dr Taylor Marshall and many more. Jordan Peterson had agreed to come, but we could never make it work with his gatekeepers. We also had Simon Njala lined up to appear - the Ugandan Journalist who famously asked “why are you gay” - but that didn’t work out, either. Those would have been great shows, no doubt.

Thank you for being a part of the Crusade. We could not have done it without you, on the wireless, on television, or online. Hopefully, when Britain has had enough of the mass invasion, there will be an actual Crusade, and we will once again push the evil ideology that is Islam out of Europe. Until then, keep on Crusading in the best way you can, with common sense. Deus vult.

You can find our back catalogue of Common Sense Crusade episodes over on the Lotus Eaters website.

If you would like to own a piece of the Crusade, you can grab one of our Limited Edition Common Sense Crusade Churchwarden Pipes. United Kingdom orders are available on the Lotus Eaters store. International orders are available from The Catholic Pipe Company.

By accident of birth, I happen to have been born half-English, in England. The vast majority of Christians in England are Anglican. Anglo, after all, means English - from the Angles.

For over 600 years, the Church in England was Catholic and in full communion with Rome. In 1534, King Henry VIII broke communion with Rome when the pope refused his annulment for political reasons*. For another 300 years, the Church of England was the only Church in England. Only in 1850 was the Roman Catholic hierarchy restored in England by Pope Pius IX. And even then, Roman Catholics were still prohibited from public processions until 1926. And so, for people born in England for nearly a millennium, the Church of England has been the default expression of the catholic faith. Anglicanism was not something new, but the continuation of Christianity in England.

Reformed Christians could argue that England’s separation from the rest of the Church was a good thing; Catholics would argue that it was a bad thing. Regardless, it is the way it has been until the last hundred years or so.

Henry VIII did not ‘invent’ Anglicanism. Nor did he found a new Church. There is only one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and all Anglicans affirm that fundamental tenet of the faith, which is professed as part of the liturgy.

Do not forget, Henry VIII was an ardent Catholic. He was awarded the title ‘Fidei Defensor’ by Pope Leo X for his theological book, Assertio Septem Sacramentorum (Defence of the Seven Sacraments), in which Henry VIII defended the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony and Papal Supremacy against the Protestant errors coming from the likes of Martin Luther.

Upon breaking from Rome, the King acted as Supreme Governor of the Church of England and published articles of faith. I have written before about the initial 6 Articles and 10 Ten Articles of faith, which were catholic in nature. The 39 Articles were published a couple of decades later, once Protestants had more firmly embedded themselves in the Establishment. The 39 Articles should therefore be understood in the context that it was a compromise. Anglo-Catholics would interpret them through St John Henry Newman’s Tract 90. Either way, the Articles make for a great historic document, but they are not binding and certainly not doctrine. In 1972, the then Archbishop of the Church of England, ++Geoffrey Fisher, himself an evangelical, reaffirmed, “We have no doctrine of our own. We only possess the Catholic doctrine of the Catholic Church enshrined in the Catholic Creeds, and these creeds we hold without addition or diminution.”

Dr James White is right to point out that people often use Anglicanism as a brief stopover on the way to Rome or the East. Reformed contemporaries of mine see this as a bug. I believe this to be a feature.

I do not understand Anglican superiority. Anglicanism is not the best expression of the catholic faith; it is merely the English tradition of the catholic faith. It is beautiful and ancient, it is unique, but it is not superior to Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy. That said, the English managed to hold onto many treasures of the Church that have been forgotten by much of the rest of the Western Church. You will still find rood screens in some old English churches, and Anglican Catholic churches will still have altar rails for congregants to receive Communion kneeling, on the tongue; you will not find ‘Extraordinary Eucharist Ministers’, guitars, projector screens or parishioners praying the Pater Noster with hands out in the orans position. For the most part, anyway. You will find all of those things and worse in the more evangelical arm of the Anglican Church, which is more protestant in nature. But the Anglo-Catholics, thanks to Laudianism, the Caroline Divines, and the Oxford Movement, managed to maintain much of the ancient goodness of the Anglo expression of catholicism, including influences from the Sarum Use*. Evensong is one of the greatest liturgical expressions of Evening Prayer (Vespers); it is a truly marvellous act of thanksgiving, likewise with Mattins. The Daily Office, in accordance with the Book of Common Prayer, with Anglican Chant (or even Plainchant) is a thing to behold. Divine Worship: Daily Office really embraces this tradition and leans into that extraordinary Early Modern English language that adds a touch of extra reverence to the worship.

All that to say, Anglo-Catholicism is not a different religion. It is certainly not new. It is merely an adherence to the ancient and beautiful English expression of the catholic faith. And so, if people find Anglicanism on their way to Rome, that should not be something to sneer at. That should be something to celebrate. In a world of ugliness and darkness, if people find a glimmer of hope and beauty in our old tradition, and that leads them to the fullness of the faith, then all praise and glory be to God.

As Western Christians, we have always looked to Rome for spiritual direction, as that is the Chair of Saint Peter, the Patriarch of the West. Anglicans are not anti-Catholic or anti-Pope. Anglicans recognise the primacy of the Bishop of Rome and respect the papacy, even if they disagree with modern interpretations of Papal Infallibility (i.e. Vatican I).

Anglicanism in the West is a mess. The Church of England has a trans Archdeacon, the Church in Wales has a female ‘married’ lesbian Archbishop, the Anglican Church in North America has women priests and deacons, and the Episcopal Church has openly homosexual bishops. Having been separated from the Church hierarchy has brought about unique problems that cannot be found in the majority of the Church. The Magesterium provides great security in its authority. No matter how socially liberal some boomer post-62 Novus Ordo Roman Catholics may be, they cannot change Church teaching in the same way their contemporaries in the Anglican Communion do.

It should be our hope that the Church of England re-enters full Communion with Rome, ditching its liberalism in place of orthodox Catholicism. Making England Catholic again may actually be the only way to save our once great nation from the pincer movement of the joint attack between Islam and Marxism that is currently destroying it.

All Christians should pray for greater unity. Christ has one Church. We can disagree on what it means to be in the Church or outside of the Church, but I find it strange to besmirch fellow kingdom travellers who find a home in Rome. Likewise, for Eastern Christians who find a home in Constantinople. Crossing the Bosphorus or the Tiber is a fine thing for a Christian who started their journey as a Protestant, for we are a faith of Word and Sacrament, and if they pass through Anglicanism on the way, that says great things about our tradition.

Let us not hold people back or be overly protective of our little corner of the Church. Let us offer people a step up. And pray and work towards greater Christian unity.

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. (John 17:21-23)

The Nazis killed somewhere between 5-11 million people.

Ghengis Khan and his Mongols killed around 20-40 million people.

Chairman Mao killed between 40-70 million people.

Communist regimes between 1910 and 1980 killed maybe 60-100 million people.

Add up all the wars throughout human history, and they amount to an estimated 1.5 billion deaths. That is inclusive of combatants, civilian casualties and those who died of the results of war (i.e. famine).

All of these figures are nothing in comparison to abortion, which, since legalisation in the 1970s, has amounted to the monstrous 2.5-3.5 billion deaths. Every single one of them marks the end of an innocent life.

Women have killed 3x more people through abortion than men have ever killed in wars, genocides, purges, etc., combined.

That is not to say it is a women’s issue. Abortion is a societal problem that affects us all, men and women alike. And both men and women need to be more responsible in terms of sexual relationships. Men need to take responsibility for their actions and understand that one of the natural consequences of the marital act is that a couple may be blessed by God with children. Men need to be there for the women they have engaged in conjugal acts with. Sex is not just for pleasure - that would be the sin of fornication. God, in His great wisdom, tried to guide us in this matter. If only we would listen to Him.

It should also be pointed out that men sometimes apply pressure and/or coerce women to get abortions. This is an evil act.

But the statistical truth is that ultimately, in the vast majority of cases, abortion is predominantly used as a contraceptive by women. Research in this area shows that 74% of women who seek abortion say, "having a baby would dramatically change my life," and 73% of them say they "can't afford a baby now." The fact of the matter is, women need to stop killing their babies.

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Again, I am not pitting men against women in this, just trying to acknowledge an uncomfortable fact. So, yes, men need to step up more. But often men do not get a say, and it is women who have the power to end this great genocide of our age.

Men, accept your responsibility, be fathers to the babies you create. Women, accept your responsibility, be mothers to the babies you create.

This is undoubtedly the worst genocide in human history, and it is still very much ongoing. There are roughly 73 million abortions every year. There is no word to describe this evil. We are living through an infanticide the likes of which mankind has never seen before. The ancient Aztecs had nothing on liberal women of the 20th and 21st centuries.

And before someone pipes up in the comments to try and make the exception the rule: Less than 1% of abortions are due to rape, and less than 0.5% of abortions are due to incest - both evil crimes that must also be put to an end. Regardless, the baby should never be punished for the sins of the father. But even taking those extreme circumstances into consideration and removing them from the data, that still leaves another 72 million abortions per year.

Over 72,000,000 babies are killed before they get a chance to live. Every Christian, and indeed every decent person, should be fighting for the abolition of abortion outright, everywhere. Thank God for His promise to Noah, because Lord knows we deserve a flood. It is our responsibility to be fruitful, to go forth and multiply, for the greater glory of God. What we are doing is the exact opposite.

In the last twenty years, the global birth rates have dropped from 2.7 to 2.4. In the West, they fell below the replacement rate of 2. The population is still increasing at the moment, but only due to past births and increased life expectancy - a matter of momentum. If current trends continue, we will see the start of a decline from 2050-60, the likes of which we have not seen since the Black Death in 1350.

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Feminism is demonstrably the most evil ideology in human history. It is going to take us a lot of prayer and good works to reverse this trend. Let us start by ending abortion. There is never a good reason to end a baby’s life. Let us better support women so they no longer feel this is a viable option, and let us encourage men and women to get married before engaging in the marital act. A return to Christian values, away from worldly promiscuity, would go a long way toward repairing this grave error.

Dear Jesus, bless our social and cultural climate. Grant that our society may be purified of everything contrary to chastity, and that we may have the strength to resist the pressures of prevailing ideologies. “In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have conquered the world” (Jn. 16:33) “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37) Amen.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales reported this week that in 2023, Mass attendance grew from 503,008 in 2022 to 554,913 in 2023. Before we get too excited, that is still a marked decrease from pre-Covid levels of 701,902 in 2019. Christianity in Britain is still at record lows, but it is hopeful to see an increase instead of yet another decrease.

Cross-reference this with recent polling results from the Bible Society and we see even more positive news in that the percentage of 18-to-24-year-olds attending church once a month has quadrupled in 6 years. They are now the most churchgoing demographic in the country after over 65s. [Hat tip to Fr Hegan for highlighting this.]

While the numbers still expose that Christianity is no longer the predominant faith amongst the majority of Britons, there has been an increase of nearly half since 2018. Let us pray this trend continues.

It was also interesting to see that amongst the age bracket of young adults aged between 18 and 34 in 2024, Church of England attendance makes up only 20 per cent, while Catholics are in the majority with 41 per cent. Generation Z are not only returning to the faith, but they are avoiding the morally corrupt Church of England and latching onto the fullness of the faith in the unchanging Truth through the teachings of the Church. God’s hand must be at work in this.

In the broader picture, across all age brackets, Church of England attendance has fallen another ten per cent since 2018, and Catholicism has gained that same ten percentage points.

There may be a number of reasons for this. Generally, there seems to be a seeking of orthodoxy and a rejection of woke liberal churchianity, and amongst young people in particular, there seems to be a seeking of tradition. If the end result is more visible unity in the Body of Christ, this should be seen as a good thing.

Could this mean Britain is on track to becoming Catholic again? Could Catholicism become the predominant faith in Britain for the first time since Queen Mary I? Is Henry VIII’s work in creating one of the most significant schisms in the history of the Chuch about to be corrected?

It is also safe to say that the Church of England is no longer seen by many as a Christian institution. That is not to say there aren’t still plenty of good and faithful Christians stuck within the dying entity, but that its core mission is clearly no longer the discipline of the nation.

Readers of this site and followers of my work will be more than familiar with the many ways the Church of England has gone woke in recent years, from finding “Our Father” problematic to supporting same-sex ‘marriage’ in the Church, promoting the first “Trans” Archdeacon, and an unnecessarily confusing stance on Abortion, and proclamations that the Church is institutionally racist, etc.

As a result of this drifting away from Church doctrine, the rest of the Anglican Communion recently called the Church of England to repentance. Church leaders representing the vast majority of Anglicans - 85 million around the world - met in Rwanda in 2023 at GAFCON IV. The Primates first repented of their own sins and then rebuked the Archbishop of Canterbury and called the leadership of the Church of England to repentance.

I had a conversation with the then Archbishop Foley Beach on my Common Sense Crusade, in which he demonstrated charity yet a firm stance on the Catholic faith through Anglican patrimony.

God is moving throughout His earthly kingdom. It seems there is hope for Britain yet. Keep praying for a revival. It is the only way to turn things around. There is no political, democratic or diplomatic solution. People keep looking for a saviour, but our Saviour has already been. Returning to Christ is the only way to make Britain great again.

Closure

To this day, I have still not been graced with a phone call or Zoom conversation with Archbishop Mark Haverland, who removed my license and released a lengthy press statement within 45 minutes of receiving a complaint from the woke mob. However, the Archbishop has released more public statements. I made my refutation on X, and as I said at the time, I will be leaving the matter there. Since then, Haverland has leaked personal communications not just between him and me, but also including third parties. I cannot refute those conveniently clipped and out-of-context communiques without implementing innocent third parties, and Haverland knows this. Regardless, I do not want to engage in a constant tit-for-tat or he-said-he-said. Frankly, I find the Archbishop’s approach unedifying for the Church and quite scandalous. I have tried to bite my tongue and not engage in an internet argument with my superiors, preferring to have a proper conversation, but when that is not mutual it is incredibly difficult. People will make of the Archbishop’s stream of statements and leaks what they will. I have found much of it to be half-truths and mistruths in the form of a character assassination, I would hope our shepherds were above that. Haverland’s canon lawyer Wassan has been going further by publishing outright lies, some of which are surely libelous. Wassan has been obsessively posting literally hundreds of comments about me over the past fortnight. Her dislike of me is palpable. For the denomination’s canon lawyer to be taking privileged information and using it to paint a false narrative is highly unprofessional. But that is to be expected in these small cliques. I have no idea how I rattled her particular cage, but I hope she finds peace now that I am gone.

It has been asked whether I will be appealing Haverland’s decision. I did inquire into the Anglican Catholic Church’s appeals process. Haverland made it clear that the person responsible for hearing my appeal would be his friend Bishop Mead. I have only interacted very briefly with Bp Mead, but I do not trust that this would be a fair and impartial appeal due to the fact that he has already publicly admonished me in the press, giving a disparaging statement agreeing with Archbishop Haverland’s stance. It is safe to say Bp Mead has made his prejudice known. The only other thing I know about Bp Mead is that when I joined the ACC, one of his contemporaries warned me about him. Apparently, Bp Mead was annoyed that I got ordained by the Old Catholics instead of the Anglican Catholic Church in the UK. To be quite frank, it was not clear that the ACC existed in the UK. It seems they have a chapel and perhaps a couple of house churches in the South East, but they are not very present in Anglo-Catholic circles. This should come as no surprise to anyone in the least bit aware of Anglican ecclesiastical polity. There are lots of snobbish men with pointy hats fighting over fiefdoms. If these bishops spent more time disciplining the nation, and less time contesting over already fertile ground, perhaps Christendom would be in a better state today.

Suffice it to say, trust has been broken. I do not trust Haverland or Mead; they do not trust me. Even if I was to file an appeal and it was somehow successful. Say, for example, I ate humble pie and apologised for my silly joke and agreed to give up my public ministry as Haverland seems to want - I would not trust my Archbishop to have my back if anything ever happened in the future. I am still yet to be contacted by a single safeguarding officer or person responsible for mental well-being in the denomination. Despite receiving thousands of messages of abuse, having the media at my door with cameras, and receiving death threats, there has been zero pastoral support from the higher-ups, nothing but handwashing from the so-called pastor to the pastors. More importantly, there has been very little attention made to ensure my parishioners have regular access to the Sacraments. It has become crystal clear to me that the ACC does not care about me or my parishioners. Our church is a net contributor to the diocese, and as far as I can gather, gets very little out of being a member of the jurisdiction.

A number of godly laymen, priests, and bishops from the ACC have contacted me informally and unofficially, and I appreciate each and every one of them. They know who they are. In fact, one particular bishop asked me to appeal and said I should request that the College of Bishops hear my appeal instead of Bp Mead. This bishop thought I would get a fairer hearing that way. I put this request in to Abp Haverland, but he made it clear that it would be Bp Mead hearing my appeal, although he said Bp Mead could ask the College of Bishops to review his decision if he liked.

Going forward

With trust broken down to an irreparable level, I will not be pursuing future ministry in the ACC. Bear in mind that my license was revoked without so much as a conversation, with no formal warnings, reprimands, and no prior disciplinary action.

The parish that I have been called to remains on my mind, in my heart, and in my prayers. My parishioners are still making their deliberations as to their next move, and working through the processes. Please keep them in your prayers. They are a faithful congregation, and my only regret in all of this is bringing drama to their doorstep. This situation may have exposed the cold uncharitable leadership of the ACC, but the parish does not deserve to go through all this rigamarole. The lesson for me has been to be more fatherly in my public ministry, that is certainly something I can work on, with the right support. When I am speaking at the podium, I need to always have in the back of my mind, “how will this affect my people back home.” Granted, many of them have told me personally that they support my public ministry and, in fact, that I should not apologise for the joke I made at the end of my pro-life speech, but still, I repent of creating a stressful situation for us all. They are a strong bunch, but they should not have to be. It is one of the problems of the delicate balance between public and parish ministry. I have always and will always put my parish first - this is something people on the outside may not always appreciate. There have been many an exciting event - including foreign trips, or invitations to Mar-a-Lago - that I have turned down because the Mass comes first. Everything revolves around the Mass, the source and summit of the Christian faith.

The parish knows this. My parishioners - their pastoral needs and the Sacraments - always take priority. But people outside of the parish see only my public work and often make assumptions. One of the benefits of having a public profile is that I gain more support than I get abuse; but every Joe and Jane Blogs has an opinion on how my ministry should look, from their perspective. Some people think I should focus more on the public ministry, Americans tend to think I should focus there, Britons tend to think I should return to the UK. Some people think I should give up the public ministry and focus entirely on my parish ministry. Protestants think I should be preaching more Low Church theology, Catholics think I should cross the Tiber, and OrthoBros think I should become Orthodox. As humans, we tend to project our own feelings onto others, and I should take it as a compliment that people want to shape me into their own image. But I want to be loyal to God first. We should all want to be shaped in Christ’s image. I try to pray through these decisions and discern His calling on my life. My platform has been gifted to me for His purposes, not my own. And He calls me to the priestly vocation, affirmed by the Church. The two things need not be mutually exclusive, as much as we might like them to be at times. The balance is not something I always get right, but with the right support, there is no reason it cannot be done. I was also called to Michigan, of that I am certain. I could have stayed and fought longer in the UK, but I think perhaps I played my part for the time being, and hope to one day return; I could have gone somewhere really conservative like Florida, Texas, or Alabama, all of which are places I love, and where I have plenty of friends. But God called me to West Michigan, where I have had to start pretty much from scratch. I am not fully sure why, other than to minister to the wonderful people in my parish. I have received the warmest of welcomes, that is for sure. I love the place, even with the sub-zero temperatures and all the lake-effect snow!

Relentless attacks

I believe God is setting something up for us in Grand Rapids. He has a plan, we know that, and I think it is going to be marvelous. And I think that is why the enemy is relentless in his attacks. He does not want us to succeed.

This week, after being doxxed, abused, hounded by the press, sacked, and smeared by the Archbishop, I have had another battle to fight. My US visa was revoked.

For context, I am not on a religious visa - I am on a media visa tied to my public ministry. It seems someone was waiting for me to leave the country. I arrived in Israel to an email saying my US visa had been revoked, giving no reason and saying that I should visit the US Embassy in London.

Now, the question is who at the US Embassy in London revoked my visa and why? It is difficult to speak with anyone directly, and it is even more difficult to get a direct answer out of anyone.

Considering that my home is now in Michigan, and all my worldly belongings are currently in a shipping container on their way there, I felt quite isolated. What made matters worse was that my ESTA was revoked, too. I assume this is an automatic response to someone’s visa being revoked. But it meant that I could not go home; I could not get back into the country.

My next consideration was, is it safe to return to London? President Trump made it clear that if the hostages were not returned by Saturday, all hell would break loose in the Middle East. As good as it was to get a picture of the situation on the ground in Israel, I did not particularly want to be caught up in the middle of a foreign war. But the question people were asking me is, if someone - perhaps a Leftist UK politician - leant on someone at the US Embassy to revoke my visa, what would stop them from leaning on the police to arrest me the moment I entered the country? They could charge me with some trumped-up charges about “hate speech”, or a “hate crime” and run roughshod over my human rights, just as they are doing with Tommy Robinson.

As an aside, it is criminal what they are doing to Tommy. He is a political prisoner. In prison for “contempt of court” given 18 months, sent to a max security wing, then to solitary confinement, now they are banning him from buying food in the commissary and preventing him from speaking to his loved ones over the phone or having visitors. For what? Releasing a documentary the Establishment did not want aired. Shame on them!

And so I had to decide, is it safer to stay in the war-torn Middle East or head back to London and possibly get arrested? It must be said, London is not looking too different from the Middle East, these days. One could get killed by an intolerant Mohammedan in either place. For my thoughts on Israel and the situation in the Middle East, check out my latest episode of Fox & Father and Common Sense Crusade.

I reached out to a few contacts for support, to get a better picture of what was going on. We discovered a few interesting tidbits. The Visa Coordination Unit is responsible for revoking vias. However, there exists another unit called the Revocation and Coordination Division. “Their remit is to be alert to any negative information about visa holders that was not known at the time of the application. They can both dig in any visa holder’s past and monitor the present. If something they don’t like comes to their attention, they simply revoke the visa and the right to visit the US altogether without any explanation. Judging by how many institutions refocused from homeland security to conservative witch-hunt, it wouldn’t be surprising if this office followed suit. Most people don’t know this office exists.” How many other conservatives does this happen to? Losing access to your home/belongings/life without a moment’s notice? Those without contacts and/or a platform? We might never know unless this department is looked into by DOGE.

In the end, I decided to return to London so that I could at least be around friends and family whilst I tried to appeal for the restoration of my visa. Who knew how long it would take? Could be months for all I knew, especially considering the US Embassy in London is still full of Biden’s people. President Trump has not selected a replacement, yet. To be fair to him, he has had other priorities.

Thankfully, I got my visa restored. God is good, and He still has plans for me in the US. I heard from a number of people who were handling my case throughout the week, and was given two different reasons for the revocation:

1) Someone high up in the ACC reported that I was no longer working there and therefore did not need my visa any longer.

2) One of the visa agents noticed in the media that I had been fired and assumed I no longer needed my visa.

We may never know the real reason. Or perhaps it was a combination of the two. Going by the vitriolic output from the Archbishop and his attack dog canon lawyer, I would not put it past them to try to disrupt my life after having disrupted my ministry. But I could also see how an agent may be monitoring online activity and not knowing what it means to lose one’s license to administer the Sacraments might have been confused, although, in that case, a conversation might have helped, and this is something the agents I spoke to were confused about. Or maybe it was a leftist/Democrat bureaucrat looking to take some scalps, who knows?

Blessings

When we are persecuted for the sake of the truth, we are blessed because of it. The Lord told us that we would be hated for following Him, but to remember that it is He who was hated before us.

Every worldly and demonic attack ensures we are storing up treasure in heaven. Thank God for my recent persecutions. Although, I would not mind a break from it all for a while, in your great and charitable mercy, Lord.

After being canceled by The Church of England, Royal Academy of Dance, The Conservative Party, GB News, Mere Anglicanism, and Anglican Catholic Church, losing my church and potentially my home is jarring. But we soldier on.

The Reverend Brett Murphy is one of the remaining soldiers for Christ in the United Kingdom, and the good man has teamed up with my dear friend Laurence Fox to launch a crowdfund for me. They are asking people who want to support me, to do so there, so that they can help me gain a bit of security.

Weak and liberal bishops apply pressure on priests to remain silent, and they can do so because they know that they can strip not only our ministry but also our housing away from us at a moment’s notice. Priests get paid very little because it is a life of service, but that means we are stuck in a sense of indentured servitude to sometimes corrupt bishops. If I were to have a base of my own, I would be able to continue with my public ministry regardless, safe in the knowledge that even though they may apply pressure, they could not make me homeless again.

Rev’d Brett Murphy knows what this is like. He had a crooked bishop who tried to literally force him out of his church and his home with a police escort, all for being a faithful vicar. Thankfully, his congregation - both online and in person - came to his aid and acquired him an abode. He is now stronger than ever.

I wish some of our shepherds would stop trying to pull down people like me and Rev’d Brett Murphy. Instead of trying to cancel us, perhaps they could lead by example. I would not need to be fired for ending a solid pro-life speech with a silly joke if the bishops were out there on those platforms in the first place. Lead the way, shepherds, please. Take the microphone, speak truth to the world, proclaim the Gospel, defend the innocent, protect the vulnerable and the unborn. There are a few good ones out there doing this very thing, but unfortunately, they remain in the minority. The world is tired of elitist bishops in fancy garments sitting on their thrones watching the world crumble around them. Wokeness and liberalism on one side, Islam on the other, the West is sinking into a paradox of degeneracy and intolerance, and the metropolitan liberal elite types would have us sit silently in our pews, instead of advancing the Kingdom. Shame on them, I say.

As a prime example, this week we heard that 70 Christians were beheaded in the Congo by Mohammedans. The legacy media is not covering the story because it disrupts their narrative about the religion of peace, and there is no love lost for Christianity. But where are the bishops on this? The UK bishops are quick to comment on the government’s Rwanda policy. The US bishops are quick to sue their government for halting USAID money which was being used for people trafficking. We knew where all the bishops stood on Brexit, Covid jabs, and the Ukraine. But when it comes to Christians being persecuted, the silence is deafening. May light perpetually shine upon these martyrs.

Pray for our bishops. Pray for our clergy. And pray for persecuted Christians around the world.

I will continue to speak the truth; I will always fight the good fight for the faith, no matter the consequences.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me, in the comments or in prayer. An old adversary approached me at ARC this week and asked how I was, and I was really struck by the genuine charity and compassion of someone who has diametrically opposing views to mine. They said, it is okay when Elon Musk and co make bold statements, they have a lot to fall back on, and they are un-cancellable. “Are you okay?” this person asked. And I am because of you all.

The cost is different for each of us, and I appreciate not everyone is in a position to stick their head above the parapets. Thank you to Rev’d Brett and Laurence for trying to make me un-cancellable, and thank you to everyone who has supported me via the crowdfund set up by Rev’d Brett and Laurence.

God bless you.

For those who are unaware of what I am talking about, because you have better things to do than browse social media or read the news from the legacy media: At the end of January, following the Inauguration and March for Life, I gave a talk in Washington D.C. at the National Pro-Life Sumit. You can watch the entire 10-minute speech on YouTube:

At the end of an encouraging pro-life speech, I gave a cheeky nod to Elon Musk, mocking the ludicrous response he received to sending his heart out to the crowd in his excitement at the inauguration. I sent my heart out to the wonderful audience at the pro-life summit. It was well received at the time and immediately afterwards. That is, until the hard-Left caught hold of it and decided to label me a nazi.

The story was covered in USA Today, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, The Independent, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Huffington Post, Daily Mail, Premier Christian News, Washington Times, Pink News, Indy100, MSN, Yahoo, Unilad, Metro, New York Post, The New European, etc. Some surprises like AOL - apparently that’s still a thing - and even the video games media: PC Gamer, GamesIndustry.biz, Gizmodo. As you can imagine, all these liberal outlets were incredibly charitable in their takes, or perhaps not.

As a direct response to the cancel culture bandwagon, the Archbishop of the Anglican Catholic Church, where I serve, removed my licence without so much as a conversation. I will not go into that further, as I believe in being obedient to one’s bishop and would like to give him the benefit of the doubt.

The statement I released on X was as follows:

For the record, in case it needs saying: I am not a Nazi.

I gave a talk at a pro-life event that seemed to go down well, I am pleased to have contributed to what I believe to be the most important of causes. The enemy hates that, of course, and the attacks have been plentiful. That is fine and to be expected.

The joke at the end was a mockery of the hysterical “liberals” who called Elon Musk a Nazi for quite clearly showing the audience his heart was with them. Context is key, but sometimes people ignore context to confirm their own prejudices. People see what they want to see.

My attempt at dry wit, in that typical British way, was not a joke at the expense of WWII, nor an admission of my membership in the Nationalist Socialist Party. That would be an incredibly ignorant and bad faith assumption to make. The responses are very telling, though. The people who understand, cheer - those who have eyes to see. The people who do not want to understand, reach for their pitchforks. They have found a new channel for their hated. They remain in my prayers; may the Lord soften their hearts.

Do not let the liberals distract from the real issue, the matter at hand, that we are allowing and enabling infanticide, and it must stop.

Whether a silly old cleric like me makes a poor joke is irrelevant. Do not be swayed and distracted by the enemy whispering in your ears. Focus on the light.

All human life is sacred. Imago Dei.

I will take the consequences as they come. Those of us in the pro-life camp adorn the full armour of God.

You can consider my joke crass. But I ask you to consider if your responses have been proportionate? 🤔

Point of Information:

I have not been defrocked. My licence was revoked. This means I cannot minister in ~250 ACC churches. I am still a priest.

Bishop Chandler Jones broke the news, but he is not my bishop, and he is not responsible.

Archbishop Mark Haverland revoked my licence. He is yet to have a conversation with me about any of this, but we can read his stance at http://anglicancatholic.org

Please do not send threatening or abusive messages to the bishops (or anyone else for that matter).

Be careful not to become the thing they accuse us of.

Good Christians expose and rebuke wickedness, sin and error; do not be consumed by it.

Media requests

I have had dozens of media requests, which I have politely declined until I have had the opportunity to speak with the Archbishop - who is still refusing to have a conversation. However, I did chat with my friend Laurence Fox about it all the morning after when it was all raw. You can find that conversation on Fox & Father:

I also ran through my personal feelings the morning of the cancellation on my Common Sense Crusade.

The responses

Not wanting to labour the point. I made a silly joke, I will accept the consequences for it. I have been cancelled before; I am a man; I can take it.

However, I would like to take some time to catalogue the responses because they alone make an interesting study. The people who would consider themselves the ‘good guys’ certainly do not demonstrate good behaviour.

One can argue whether I was right or wrong to make the gesture, but I have explicitly denied being a Nazi, and I would suggest no one who is being honest would assume I was. A half-black Christian priest, it is highly unlikely. So, what is the motivation behind the bad faith accusations? Is “Nazi” just a word they use to dehumanise people they dislike? Once they have targeted and dehumanised us, they can say/do whatever they like to us. There was another group of people in recent history who used this methodology…

Here are some of the responses I received last week by email and voicemail. Bear in mind this is disregarding the thousands of messages on social media, these people had to go out of their way to compose an email or call me:

They are the very thing they accuse us of.

Each abusive call, voicemail, email, and comment stores up treasures in heaven for me.🙏

As I said on social media at the time, I am feeling incredibly blessed by this.

Every time I get cancelled, I am reminded who my friends are. Thank you for all your kind messages of support.

Demons may be agitated, but my friends are my rock - so thank you!

Dan Wootton Outspoken

The persecution of Father Calvin Robinson

Dan Wootton Outspoken is pleased to partner with Gundry MD – Dr Gundry has a history of supporting those aged over 50 from making huge mistake for their health. Find out what those mistakes are today by clicking here…

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a year ago · 198 likes · 93 comments · Dan Wootton

Aaron Edwards wrote a particularly fair and balanced piece on 𝕏.

God bless each and every one of you. Friends and haters alike.

Recording the latest Fox & Father, released yesterday, I realised I am tired of talking about my homeland because there is very little good news to talk about. But this is wrong because until a hundred years ago, Great Britain was the greatest nation in the world. And to this day, the British Empire is the greatest force for good in the history of the world. So, it is high time we reminded ourselves of this fact and regained our confidence.

America picked up that mantle when, after defeating globalism and fascism, our Empire imploded. And for their efforts, we should be thankful. But the UK still has a lot to be patriotic about.

Regardless, there is always good news to talk about as a Christian in a Christian nation.

British values are rooted in a foundation of Christian values. Take, for example, our Common Law, based on the Ten Commandments: laws against murder, adultery, theft, and bearing false witness. We no longer have blasphemy laws, but it could be argued certain demographics are trying to bring them back. The first commandment sets out the nature of our State: Thou shalt have no other God but me; well, we are a Christian nation with a monarch who acts as head of state, head of the military, head of the judiciary and head of the legislative, who must be a Christian.

Our moral compass, our sense of right/wrong, comes from the Christian definitions of what is good/bad. Christ summarised the greatest commandments as love God and love your neighbour as yourself.

UK law is centred around the idea of private property (thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet). That is where the majority of our liberties come from.

Our entire premise of freedom comes from the Scriptures. In the Biblical context, freedom is the freedom to worship God with our free will. In the secular world of the twenty-first century, we tend to think of freedom in terms of freedom from the restraints of everyday life – but that is not freedom; that is oppressive. Our rights come with responsibilities.

God gives us freedom in the same way a parent gives their child freedom. It is the constraints that make us free. Boundaries are important. You let your child out by themselves to play in the street, but you tell them not to cross over the road by themselves. Or you let them play with certain toys only when they’ve reached a certain age. Whilst the child might push back against those boundaries occasionally, they know they keep them safe, and they’re a comfort because they know they can operate within those parameters and be relatively risk-free. However, children who don’t have any boundaries end up as adults who are not able to function as well in the real world. Not setting boundaries is a form of neglect; it is not liberating. Real freedom is freedom to, not freedom from. Freedom to explore within boundaries, not freedom from boundaries. No boundaries means a dangerous and lonely existence.

The same goes for nation-states. Boundaries are God-ordained. The Bible tells us that God decreed the nations and tribes for our inheritance. “When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.”

This is why a Government’s number one job is to protect those borders because, without borders, we have no nation. Globalism is the greatest threat to national sovereignty at the moment, with projects like the WEF/WHO/UN pushing for one world government. The Bible strongly advises against such an idea “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”

So our national sovereignty, our freedoms and our liberties via private property are Biblically ordained.

It could be argued the Bible gives us protection against greedy kings and governments, too.

Numbers “Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the LORD’s offering.”

If God asks for no more than 10%, no government or ruler should ask for more than that, either. Taxation over 10% is unjust.

What else did we inherit, as Brits, from Christianity? Freedom from slavery.

Christian abolitionists initiated and organised the abolition movement. It is Christians who perpetrated the end of the transatlantic slave trade. William Wilberforce was motivated by a desire to put Christian principles into action and to serve God in public life. In this diary, Wilberforce wrote, “God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the Slave Trade and Reformation of Morals.”

Paul instructs Philemon to receive Onesimus “no longer as a slave . . . but as a dear brother”—and he appeals to Philemon to “receive him as you would receive me.”

Galatians “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

This is why the British Empire employed the West Africa Squadron to patrol the seas and suppress the transatlantic slave trade. We broke international laws to do so, at great cost to the GDP and in terms of human lives. But the Christian British Empire saw it as their duty to end an abhorrent evil.

And this is what we need to hear more of. There are too many snakes whispering in Eve’s ear, too many demonic presences talking down our good works. We shouldn’t be prideful, of course, we should speak with humility, but we should speak truthfully. Our history – as with the history of all nations – is checkered because people are fallen. We are all the result of original sin. However, this nation has produced more good for the world than any other. The British Empire spread health and wealth around the globe, civilising nations by introducing the English language, the Christian religion, and along with it: charities, hospitals, railways, schools, and parliamentary democracy.

Which brings me to the topic of forgiveness. A core Christian value. “Forgive, and you will be forgiven”. The British government has apologised for its role in the transatlantic slave trade. The British monarchy has expressed regret and sorrow. After an apology, the Christian thing to do is to forgive. Otherwise, we live in a state of victimhood, bitterness and resentment. We get stuck in the past. The only way to move forward is to follow Christ and to offer forgiveness. Those who campaign for reparations, join BLM riots and ask white people to kiss the boots of black people are not coming from a Christian place. It is our role to set a better example. We are not responsible for the sins of our forebears, whether they were slaves or slave owners. Our business is in becoming slaves to Christ. He is our Master.

Christ is our master. Christ is the truth, the way and the life. He taught us that if we wanted to gain eternal life in him, we are to follow him. He is our best example, the perfect human life. Fully man, yet fully God. It is an important reminder in these times when our culture is at threat and our way of life is quickly becoming forgotten. Masculinity is perceived as ‘toxic’ by the feminist movement, and the liberal progressives have convinced a generation of young men that they must emasculate themselves and feminise themselves in the name of equality or equity, which is a con. Society needs strong men. Strong men are providers and protectors. Fishermen and carpenters. Without them, we are lost. They do say good times produce weak men, and we have been living in relatively good times for too long now. Our young men are addicted to video games and pornography; we must remind them of their duties and obligations to the community. Likewise, we have a generation of young women who believe they must act like men. People are confused about equality. Men and women are equal but different. Generally speaking, men are faster and stronger, and women are more nurturing and caring. This is why children need a mother and a father – a strong male role model and a strong female role model. Fathers, in particular, are needed now more than ever. Young girls need a father figure to know what to look for in a man; Young boys need a father figure to know how to act and how to treat women with respect. Yet fatherlessness is increasing, and as a result of family breakdown, children are twice as likely to end up failing in school, and twice as likely to end up in prison or on the streets. As Christians, it is our duty to remind our society of the importance of family.

“Go forth and multiply,” God tells us. Over and over in the Bible, he repeats this message. It is our duty to populate the nation with good Christian families. To get married and to have children for the greater glory of God.

We’ve touched on quite a few topics here, but to summarise, Britain is a great country; it is the fruit of the greatest Empire on earth. That is because it is the fruit of Christendom. Christian values are universally good. We need to remind ourselves of those values as often as possible and demonstrate them to our fellow Brits. We have to shine as a guiding light in the ever-darkening world around us. In doing so, we will lead people to Christ. He is our salvation, and if we truly love our British brothers and sisters, we will lead them to Him so that they may have eternal life in Him.

This week, you had your new President and Vice President inaugurated in the Capitol. Again, putting party politics aside, because this has nothing to do with who we like or who we do not like – this has entirely to do with living in a Christian nation, living by Christian values, with a Christian moral compass.

So far – the new President has signed an executive order to end state-funded abortion. No more federal dollars will go towards the killing of babies, whether foreign or domestic. For years, the US has been manipulating foreign countries, saying we will give you aid to help yourselves, but first, you must sign up to our progressive ideology. In order to receive this food and medicine, you must agree to allow your citizens to kill their own offspring. This new form of colonialism is coming to an end.

By reinstating the Mexico City Policy and enforcing the Hyde Amendment, the new administration is saying the taxpayer will no longer be paying for infanticide.

Next, the US has affirmed that there is no human right to abortion. The United States has rejoined an international coalition of countries signing a declaration to care for both lives in pregnancy, both the mother and son or daughter. By rejoining the Geneva Consensus Declaration, this country is working towards preventing the emergence of a false ‘human right’ to abortion by customary international law.

After all, our rights come from God, not the state. God gives us a right to life, liberty, and private property. He does not give us the right to kill. In fact, He commands us against it.

Women and babies deserve better. That is finally being recognised.

Next up, in the Executive Order designed to protect women from the harmful extremist gender ideology, the new administration makes it explicit that there are only two genders, male and female, they are biological, and they are the sex we belong to from conception. It is important to stress here, not from birth but from the moment of conception. The US Government now legally recognises personhood from the very beginning, that human beings have rights from the moment they are conceived. And that should extend until our natural death.

Let us hope governments around the world are inspired by America’s actions this week.

This is what we pray for! When we pray for leadership founded in a Christian morality. This is precisely it.

In less than a week, this has already become the most pro-life government in history. We can be thankful that Americans elected Christians to the office of President and Vice President. But most importantly, we should be thankful to God. Thankful that the leaders are looking at His will. Thy will be done. Thankful also that God did not hand America over to its lusts, as He seems to have done with much of Western Europe. This country has a chance, and it will not be made great again through political slogans or great but flawed men – it will be made great again through prayer, praise and thanksgiving to the one true God.

Every Christian should be celebrating these accomplishments. A nation that moves away from death is a nation that moves towards God. Again, despite our personal politics or preferences, all Christians should support the sanctity of life – because we are made in the image of God. All human life is sacred because we are a reflection of our Creator.

And on that note, it is important for us not to gloat. It is in all our best interests that this is happening. A generation of women are being spared from the evils of having abortions pushed upon them. A generation of men and women will hopefully start to move away from the biggest killer of people in the West. But there were people who argued against this, people who voted against this, and we are all able and allowed to make mistakes. The importance is recognising that and learning from it. People who voted for death should repent; People who voted for life should be magnanimous. It affects us all.

So let us continue to pray together for a better future, one rooted in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We are all called to advance the Kingdom, let us do that by celebrating life, promoting life, and encouraging our leaders to legislate for life. Because not through man, but only through God, we will make America Great Again.

During Allhallowtide, particularly on All Hallows or All Saints Day, we seek the intercession of the Saints. We ask them to pray for us to the Lord our God. Essentially, we ask them to put in a good word for us.

As catholics, when we pray to the Saints, we are not worshipping them, we are not making gods of them, and we are certainly not idolising them. We communicate with the heavenly Kingdom. It is an important reminder that we are all in communion with each other as Christians (unless we are not - but that is another thread entirely). Once we are baptised in water and the Spirit, we become members of Christ’s Body, the Church. Whilst we are living, we are members of the Church Militant here on earth. But upon our death, we become members of the Church Penitent, going through a purification process until we become part of the Church Triumphant, all the saints in heaven. Those three parts make up the one holy catholic and apostolic Church—the Church Militant, Penitent and Triumphant. And so, we are not only in communion with each other through our membership in His Church, but we are in communion with those who have gone before us and passed to glory.

That is important because we have a duty to perform and a favour to call. It is our duty to pray for the faithful departed as they pass through purgatory to the pearly gates, so to speak - we help them in that way. And we have a favour in that we can call on the saints in heaven to pray for us, too, to help us in our sanctification process.

All of us in the Church Militant and the Church Penitent need prayers. The Church Triumphant are our friends and mentors to that end.

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to the judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of the just men made perfect.” (Hebrews 12:22-23)

Praying for saintly intercessions is a practice shared by Roman Catholics, Orthodox Catholics and Anglican Catholics.

The Book of Revelation teaches us this, “And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God.”

Does that undermine the idea that Christ is our one mediator? Of course not, because the Sacred Scriptures are inerrant and cannot contradict each other.

Jesus is indeed our mediator between us and God the Father. When we pray to the Saints, we are not replacing Christ or cutting Him out of the loop. We are asking the Saints to pray to the Lord for us as we pray to the Lord.

The overly cliched example is when you ask your friend or neighbour to pray for you, are you asking them to take the place of Jesus? Of course you are not. You are simply requesting more prayers to Jesus. The same can be said of our prayers to the Saints.

Occasionally, Protestants will try to rebuke catholics by saying things like the Old Testament warns against praying to the dead. Indeed, it does, but the New Testament fulfils the Old, and Christ communed with Elijah and Moses on the mountain at the Transfiguration to set a new way. Where the Old Testament warned against necromancy and sorcery, the New Testament teaches us how to properly petition our brethren in Christ through prayer.

When Jesus was resurrected from the dead, He opened the tombs – not just His, but the tombs of the Saints. The Gospels teach us that. In Matthew chapter 27, we read, “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”

And so, we know the Saints are not dead but risen in Christ.

As for purgatory, as well as what has been revealed to us through Sacred Tradition, there are also Biblical references to affirm this teaching. In 2 Maccabees we read of men who “turned to prayer beseeching that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out… He also took up a collection… and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably… Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.” And in Matthew’s Gospel, we read, “And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” The understanding in both cases is that sins can be forgiven after death, at least in some instances. Whilst unrepentant mortal sin eternally separates us from God, venial sin does not. Because of that, we always retain hope for the salvation of the dearly departed; this is why we always pray for the dead.

Other Scriptural references to purgatory can be found in Matthew 5:25-26 and 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, with very clear metaphors:

Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.

For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble—each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Back to the Saints, who are they? In one sense, all of us. Another name for the Church – combining all three parts of it together – is the Communion of Saints. We hear this during the Canon of the Mass. The word ‘Saint’ comes from the Latin ‘Sancti’, meaning holy. Those who have been set apart, made holy, everyone baptised into Christ.

At the same time, the Saints in heaven partake in a greater fulness with Christ than we do, and so when we refer to ourselves, we tend to use small ‘s’ saints, and when we refer to the canonized (martyrs, confessors of the faith) Saints in heaven, we use capital ‘S’ Saints.

During Allhallowtide, we celebrate the saints here among us now and the Saints in heaven praying for us to join them.

One of the beauties of the Church catholic is that we can call upon Saints by name to intercede for us for specific purposes. For example, we refer to Saint Anthony as the patron saint of the lost – and so we can ask for his intercession when we are feeling lost or when we have lost something, for Him to put in a word with the big guy, which – in my humble experience – he has always been willing to do. And with my forgetful brain, I rely on St Anthony a lot.

There are many other Saints we can call on by name, and I recommend getting to know some of them through reading the Martyrology. You may notice I often post Collects in memorial of the Saint of the day on my X account.

It is an old Church tradition to assign a Saint’s name to a newborn child. When parents bring their baby to be baptised in the parish, they are given a saintly name – usually as a middle name, along with their Christian name – so that they have a patronal saint to look out for them, someone to build a relationship with on their journey toward Christ.

That is what it is all about: strengthening our relationship with God the Son and having helpers, friends, and mentors to guide us on our pathway toward Him.

This is why many people rely on the intercession of Our Lady, the highest exalted amongst the Saints (“every generation shall call you blessed”). The Most Blessed Virgin Mary has the closest relationship with Christ of all who have lived or will live, and so we lean on her to help us find Him when we are feeling unworthy. She holds our hand, like the good mother that she is – mother to the whole Body of Christ – and she redirects us to her Son. Listen to Him, she tells us. Mary is not quoted very often in the Scriptures, but the words she is most famous for saying when she interceded for the wedding guests at Cana and insisted her Son perform His first miracle; she told His friends, “Do whatever He tells you”, and her advice is as prevalent today as it was 2,000 years ago.

Thankfully, Christians came out and fulfilled their obligation, their duty, to vote against death. A majority of protestants and Catholics voted for life. Contrast that with a majority of those of other faiths and none who voted for death.

Don’t get me wrong, the other side is not perfect. The President-elect is on record saying he believes abortion is acceptable in rare/extreme circumstances, such as rape or incest. He is right that these are rare and exceptional circumstances. Figures show that around 1.5% of all abortions are due to rape or incest. This is a shameful statistic, demonstrating that the vast majority of abortions are due to convenience, with mothers using abortion as a form of contraception. But he is wrong in that abortion is right even in those circumstances. It is a truth that is not easy to hear, but a Christian must always choose the life of the innocent. Rape is a grave evil, and if anyone must be put to death, it should be the rapist, not the baby. The baby is innocent of this crime and does not deserve the death sentence. There is always another option. Adoption is not perfect either, but there are plenty of potential parents willing to give unplanned babies a loving home.

Millstones are heavy, and hell is hot. Verily, verily, the hour is coming. We want all mothers to end up in His heavenly kingdom, and there is still time to make it so. As a direct result of this election, we have seen vast swathes of liberal women saying they are going to abstain from sex until marriage. Good! This is right and proper. Men have a responsibility to not abuse women and not to take women for granted, and women have a responsibility to honour themselves, too.

Where the President-elect was right is when, in his last term, he selected a Supreme Court who were able to push the decision down to the State level. Now, states are able to ban abortion democratically. The Christian response would be to ban abortion nationally, but that would be unconstitutional. Sometimes, the State and the Church are in conflict, and this is one of those times.

But the President-elect is not a perfect man, and even though his campaign defeated the campaign of the death cult, he will need help to get fully on the side of life. Thankfully, the Vice President-elect is Catholic, and the President-elect surrounds himself with many Christian pastors – I myself was recently invited to pray over him and offer him a blessing - this fills me with hope. If there are enough good Christians around the President, the United States may be governed with a Christian moral compass.

The tagline Make America Great Again is a good one; it is clear what it means. Make America Healthy Again is perhaps going to be one of the most important campaigns of our generation - removing the poison from the American diet. But the real job at hand, the one we have to continue to pray for, the best tagline of all, is to Make America Christian Again.

May Christ be in the hearts of all our leaders. May Christian values be at the foundation of every political decision. May Christian virtues underline every piece of legislation.

Politics is an ugly topic, and there will be those who wish we could keep it private. But that would be negligence. The reason the West is in the state it is in, and much of Europe is becoming godless, is because people have stopped praying through these important matters, and pastors and priests have stopped speaking on them. If we want America to avoid the pitfalls we are seeing all around us, we need more Christian teaching, and we certainly need more prayer.

We especially need more prayer where we know families that have been broken by abortion. It may be an evil act, but that does not mean it is performed by evil people. We are all sinners, and we all get things wrong. The beauty of our God is that he always offers a way out. He always offers redemption. And so if we know people who have committed abortions in the past, it is not our job to judge them but to lead them back to Christ. To let them know that He still loves them.  He sees them, He understands their situation, He recognises their mistake, and all He requests is their repentance and faith in Him. All He wants from any of us is repentance of our sins and faith in Him.

And so we must pray for the mothers who made this life-ending, life-altering decision, pray that they are healed of the trauma it brings, and pray that they re-centre their lives on Christ.

And we must also pray for the souls of the babies, that the Lord welcomes them into His loving embrace.

That is one of the good things we can make an extra effort to do at this time of year.

During Allhallowtide, we commemorated all the faithful departed. We prayed for the souls in purgatory and asked for the intercession of the saints in heaven. Let us continue to do so and keep the souls of the innocent in our minds and hearts.

Abortion was legalised in the UK in my mother’s lifetime. 1967 - one generation ago, from my perspective. In that time, 10 million babies have been killed.

In the United States, I believe it was less than a decade later, in 1973, and since then, there have been an estimated 63 million babies murdered.

This infanticide has to end, and it is our duty as Christians to educate a world that has been blinded by false compassion and deceived by the great deceiver.

As we approach the sacrifice of the Mass tomorrow, let us pray for those millions and millions of souls who were never given the chance to live. And let us think of ways we can lead the world back to Christ to end the greatest evil of our age, the continuing infanticide.

For the good of the babies and the good of the mothers.

Let us pray for the souls of the innocents, that they may see heaven. Let us pray for those who have made poor choices, that they may repent. And let us pray for all those who are considering their options that they may make the right decision and heed the words of our Lord:

“They that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation”

Despite plenty of prayer, fasting, and our best efforts, I am saddened to announce that the Torsa project has not come to fruition.

Thankfully, we helped prevent the Islamists from purchasing the island, but it has since been taken off the market. For now, we will not be able to return it to Christendom.

I am encouraged by how much support this idea got, and the momentum we managed to build. Six thousand people raised over £160,000!

Thank you to each and every person who donated and/or prayed for our project. It is a testament to your faith that we got as far as we did.

I know many of you will be as disappointed as I am, but this is not the end. We must all do our bit to reclaim Christendom, to re-plant the flag for Christ and advance His Kingdom.

When I launched this project, I promised that if we were unable to purchase the island I would refund everyone. That is exactly what I have done. A few days ago I emailed all the donors to give them advanced notice, and I have spent a number of days negotiating with GiveSendGo to return the funds - to which they have agreed. The money was held in escrow with GiveSendGo, never touched my bank account or anyone else’s, and is being returned directly to backers. Once again, thank you for your trust.

Some people have requested that their donations be redirected to another good cause. I am unable to do this on an individual basis, so I will refund everyone and if you would like to re-donate your contribution, please feel free to do so. Your support is much appreciated and all donations will go to good use.

You can contribute to my public ministry at GiveSendGo, PayPal, Patreon or BuymeaCoffee:

GiveSendGo: https://www.givesendgo.com/FrCalvinRobinson

PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=9WRURBHV4B5AS

Patreon: https://patreon.com/CalvinRobinson

BuyMeACoffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/calvinrobinson

I am in the process of building a studio to be able to produce online content. Having moved to the US I no longer have access to the Lotus Eaters studio or Laurence Fox’s studio, so my Common Sense Crusade, Fox & Father and Evening Prayer are being filmed on my phone. I would love to improve the quality for you and create some new shows, including more interviews, exegetical content and Christian apologetics. Please help me to speak the truth publicly and spread the Good News.

When people are arrested for silently praying in their own heads, the mainstream media does not want to cover it. When patients are deemed unworthy of healthcare by the NHS, their passports are confiscated and they are gagged by the judiciary, again the legacy media does not want to inform you. We need to ensure we have platforms at the ready to expose these evils, and create communities to encourage each other in standing firm. With your help, we can build those networks without relying on Big Tech or the Establishment that only wants to censor us.

You are also, of course, invited to join us in worship at St Paul’s Anglican Catholic Church, Grand Rapids, if you are ever in West Michigan.

I would like to give a special thanks to The National, Mail Online, Scottish Daily Express, Gript, The Publica, and Count Dankula for helping to promote the project, and to Jon and Sam for helping with all the admin.

God bless you all for your time and energy in helping us get this far.

Please keep me in your prayers. I am praying for you.

Grace be with you,

Fr Calvin Robinson

P.S. A link to the original post:

https://www.calvinrobinson.com/p/thors-island?r=9tsp0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

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Anyone who follows my travels to the US would know my love for the Deep South. The Southern hospitality of Alabama, Texas and Florida. I imagine people would have suspected me to move to one of the Republican states.

I’ve also got good connections in Arizona, California and Ohio, and I have enjoyed time in Colorado, Tennessee and even Washington D.C., but perhaps, in His plans for my visits, God was saving the best for last.

I visited and fell in love with the people and place of West Michigan. Michigan is a stunningly beautiful state, and Michiganders are kind and friendly—very welcoming.

But we do not get to decide where we serve. God calls us to ministry. Through much prayer and discernment, it became very clear that God is calling me to West Michigan. I will share some of these intimate stories and ‘God moments’ that led me here another time.

I am incredibly thankful for the timing. My parish ministry in London was coming to an end. I had completed my curacy as a deacon and then priest-in-charge at Christ Church Harlesden. At the end of October ‘23, I was sacked from GB News. Sometimes, God permits turbulence in our lives for sanctification and other times, he frees us to head in another direction. When one door closes to us, God opens the right door for us; it is our duty to walk through it.

It took a year of planning, bureaucracy, prayer, discernment, administration, etc. But eventually, we got here. And again, I am thankful for the timing, not just for this new stage in my ministry to begin but for some time away from the United Kingdom. Great Britain is my home, and I love it dearly, but it is lost. I will not spend a lot of time going into the politics of it all; I had a good in-depth discussion with on Outspoken and Peter Whittle on New Culture Forum about this. Check those videos out for the full low-down. But essentially, I no longer feel called to ministry in London, and I do not see any political or democratic means of Reconquista. There is no fight left in England; it has become broadly apathetic to an invasion on the one hand by Islam and corruption on the other hand by liberalism. So, there is no ministerial or political reason for me to stay. It is time to regroup. We are to follow Christ, and He often stepped away before the authorities could capture him, before the time was right, and St Paul often left a hostile region to return at a later date. With an increasingly anti-Christ and anti-freedom Government, now is the time to shake the dust off our feet…

America, on the other hand, still has plenty of fight left in her. Further than that, I genuinely believe America will be the last stand for the West - for Christendom. If America falls, we all fall. There is a lot riding on this upcoming election. What a time we are living through.

America has protections in its First and Second Amendments. Britons have often shrugged off the importance of having a written Constitution, but recent events (the arresting of people for social media posts/shares, and even for silent prayer in one’s own head) show that they are necessary. This socialist UK Government is proving Americans right.

The reason the evils of liberalism and Islam are gaining so much ground in the West - particularly in the UK and much of Europe - is because Christ has been pushed to the background. In America, people are still willing to boldly and publicly proclaim the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. They believe in freedom, and they believe in Christ. This is why, I believe, they have not been handed over in the same way Europe has (Romans 1:24-27).

And so, my regular trips to the US have been encouraging, and now I am enthusiastic to be joining the fight where it is; to becoming a soldier for Christ among many.

I am incredibly thankful to my new parishioners for inviting me over, and I am looking forward to my full-time parish ministry.

Yesterday, on Ember Friday in September, I was incardinated as the new Priest of St Paul’s Anglican Catholic Church in Grand Rapids. I would like to thank everyone who attended. A special thank you to our Episcopal Visitor, The Right Reverand Patrick Fodor, who began the service by thanking The Right Reverend Roald Flemestad of the Nordic Catholic Church for releasing me to his charge for this ministry.

So, if you find yourself in Michigan, do come along to St Paul’s. We are a high-church Anglo-Catholic parish where you will find orthodox Christian teaching.

Those of you who are used to following my online or television/radio presence may be more familiar with my cultural commentary. Please do not come expecting a live show of the Common Sense Crusade. The Mass is not about me - or you, or anyone else - the Mass is about God. It is a time when we enter Christ’s perpetual sacrifice, where heaven and earth align, and where we truly, really and presently receive the Body and Blood of Christ. Ninety-nine per cent of the time, my Sunday sermons are about the Gospel reading assigned for the day. Occasionally, they are about the Epistle reading. I do not need to stand in the pulpit and remind you that Tim Walz does not believe in the Second Amendment or that Kamala Harris supports the killing of unborn babies - you already know that. Come to church to put aside all of those woes for a time and spend a moment in worship, praise and thanksgiving of the living God who gives us hope by offering us eternal salvation if we repent and have faith in Him.

See you at Mass.

God bless.

Fr Calvin Robinson
St Paul’s Anglican Catholic Church, Grand Rapids
2560 Lake Michigan Dr NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49534

Thankfully, the owner refused to sell. Why this convicted terrorist was given asylum in the United Kingdom in the first place is beyond me.

In what you could call a Holy Spirit moment, I felt inspired to snap the land up for Christendom instead. Why sit around and tweet about the ‘religion of peace’ taking over our land when we can do something about it? It is time we became more proactive as Christians. So, I launched a crowdfund to do just that. I figured I have a decent number of followers; if we all chipped in £5/$5, we would have enough to buy the island with money left over for improvements.

So, we are buying an island for the Crusade! Here is a short video I put together about the idea:

Torsa, roughly translated as "Thor's island", is available for sale for the first time in 85 years. It is a beautiful island northwest of Glasgow - a real gem in the British Isles, highlighting the marvel of God's creation.

This is our opportunity to restore the Celtic Cross to its rightful place.

It is fairly easy to get to the island from Glasglow. Ironically, there is a dinghy from the mainland to the island. The island is 113 hectares, 280 acres, or half a square mile, and is part of Loch Sween Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area.

The land has a three-bedroom property that is ready to be used immediately. The plan is to convert it into a Christian retreat centre.

There is also a range of traditional stone farm buildings already on the island. These are in a dilapidated state and in need of repair. By renovating these buildings, we could provide a retreat for Christians without the need to build new properties, thus preserving the beautiful environment. One of them could be converted into a chapel, the others into additional accommodation and halls, whilst keeping in-line with the original character of the island.

Regarding donations: If we do not raise enough funds to purchase the property in some way, all donations will be returned to sender.

We are hoping to raise £1.5m to buy Torsa. Any additional donations will go into renovating the dilapidated properties on the island. We have raised well over £100k so far (in real money, not pledges), all from small donations—no big patrons have been approached yet.

Please keep us in your prayers. Money is helpful; prayer is necessary. FYI, there is roughly $1.28 dollars to £1 pound.

Regarding ownership: The property will be placed into a Trust to ensure it is kept in good keeping and for the use of Christians for generations to come.

Regarding use: We will set up a retreat centre for Christians, a place away from our busy day-to-day lives, where we can spend time in God's beautiful creation. We find God in the silence, away from the hubbub of modernity. Torsa will become a place to spend time with Him and remind ourselves we are called to be in the world but not of the world.

We will host daily worship services of Morning and Evening Prayer (Matins and Vespers).

It would be wonderful to expand this into a religious community/monastery in the future, with monks growing local produce and producing alcoholic beverages for Britons, as in times gone by.

The Mail covered our ambitions as a “battle for Holy Island.”

Link to the crowdfund: https://www.givesendgo.com/torsa

I look forward to hearing your thoughts. God bless.

Grace be with you,

Fr Calvin Robinson

One day you will get the full behind-the-scenes story of what happened at GB News. But the short story is it all could have been avoided.

Laurence said something inappropriate and could have been reprimanded in some way if it broke the channel’s code of contact. But to sack him at the behest of a woke mob spearheaded by Carol Vorderman was reprehensible.

Dan nervously smirked, and could have provided more challenge to Laurence. But there was no need to suspend him. His producers should have taken it as a learning experience and worked on way of preventing similar situations in the future.

Neither Laurence nor Dan should have lost their jobs.

I said it at the time and I will say it again, you cannot call yourself “the home of free speech” and fire people over someone saying something people may find offensive. If you do not have the right to offend, you do not have free speech.

I got my marching orders for saying that. The channel that promoted itself as the answer to cancel culture, “No one will be cancelled,” ended up becoming the home of cancel culture.

Last week they got rid of another presenter for saying hurty words.

Ofcommunists are not the biggest threat. You can provide evidence for their investigations and you can appeal their verdicts.

The real problem is fear.

Fear of the woke mob. Fear of Ofcom. Fear of losing advertisers. Fear of what other people think. Fear of not being liked. Fear of not getting a job elsewhere. Fear of not being included in the industry with the rest of the MSM. Fear of not being invited to fancy award ceremonies. Fear of being labelled Far Right.

Fear is weak and feeble.

Appeasement never works. Once you feed the crocodile it will keep coming back for more. The woke mob only has power over you if they grant them that power.

Once it became clear you could be sacked for what you said, naturally people started being more careful about what they said. The channel veered to the centre. Fewer people were willing to challenge the narrative, and instead they pump out “climate crisis” content like everybody else. They became the very thing they set out to destroy.

The answer is to be strong. To stand up for the principles you claim to have. To be a team, and to support your employees/colleagues.

GB News had potential. It is a shame it is dying a slow death. Constant lay-offs, consistently low ratings, a lack of new investors, few advertisers. They have not managed to climb back out of the hole they made for themselves.

The viewers responded to the channel’s lack of strength by turning over.

Independent media is the way forward. now has his own platform, , which I appear on as a regular contributor. Laurence and I have our own show, ‘Fox & Father’, every week on Reclaim the Media. I still have my Common Sense Crusade, which is now over at Lotus Eaters.

I have recently ressurected my YouTube channel, where I plan to produce more content in the future. I shared my two-hour conversation with Tommy Robinson, for those who had not seen it behind the paywall.

We were freed from the grips of Ofcom, but also from that toxic environment of fear.

There are many other great independent outlets, including Mahyar Tousi TV, Urban Scoop, New Culture Forum, visegrad24, etc.

Find a host or a platform bold enough to speak the truth at any cost, and back them. Avoid the mainstream media and those who want to become legacy media.

Avoid establishment shills. Support independent broadcasters.

And on that note, thank you for subscribing to my Common Sense Crusade here on Substack.

We now have some fantastic merchandise available for those who would like to own a piece of the Crusade, over at the Lotus Eaters Shop UK/USA. I partnered with some outstanding Catholic designers to create unique designs. Chris Lewis from BARITUS Catholic Illustration did the amazing mugs/t-shirts with St George, the Patron Saint of England, and Our Lady of Walsingham, since England is Our Lady’s Dowry. My friend Caleb Mitchell from the Catholic Pipe Company designed our limited edition pipes with St Bede’s Cross on one side and the Celtic Cross on the other. It does not get more Anglo than that.

All for the greater glory of God.

“Cry God for Harry, England, and Saint George!”

Published by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and approved by Pope Francis, the document The Bishop of Rome is just shy of 150 pages with four major chapters, followed by a summary:

1. Ecumenical Reflections of the Ministry of the Bishop of Rome

2. Fundamental Theological Questions

3. Perspectives for a Ministry of Unity in a Reunited Church

4. Some Practical Suggestions of Requests Addressed to the Catholic Church

   Fr Calvin Robinson is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

   

On initial inspection, this seems to be a genuine good-faith approach to ecumenism in an attempt to consider what a reunited Church might look like. This is not your RadTrad in the comments posting, “SUBMIT TO ROME”, or your Roman supremacist yelling, “SUBMIT TO THE POPE.” This is Pope Francis saying, “Submit to Christ. We’ll work the rest out together.” Unity, to The Bishop of Rome, “does not signify the submission of one to the other, or assimilation. Rather, it means welcoming all the gifts that God has given to each, thus demonstrating to the entire world the great mystery of salvation accomplished by Christ the Lord through the Holy Spirit.”

The preface makes this clear with a continuation of St John Paul II’s invitation for ‘other Christians’ to find together forms “in which ministry of the Bishop of Rome ‘may accomplish a service of love recognized by all concerned’” There is a renewed emphasis on the Bishop of Rome being a “ministry of unity” in the Church.

This document is honest and fair. Pope Francis recognises that so far, “We have made little progress in this regard”. He echoes Pope St Paul VI, “the Pope […] is undoubtedly the gravest obstacle on the path of ecumenism” and that “his pastoral office of unity ‘is not a supremacy of spiritual pride and a desire to dominate mankind, but a primacy of service, ministration, and love’”. The Bishop of Rome intends to build upon Paul VI’s move to find a “collegial way of exercising primacy for the good of the entire Church”.

St John Paul II continued this process “to find a way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation”, as did Pope Benedict XVI who “in his first address, spoke of himself assuming ‘as his primary commitment that of working tirelessly towards the reconstitution of the full and visible unity of all Christ’s followers’.”

There is an appetite for Churches to unite without submission, “Lumen gentium strengthened the office of bishops who govern their particular churches as ‘vicars and ambassadors of Christ […] and not as vicars of the Roman Pontiffs’” One might wonder what cancelled priests and good shepherds like Bishop Strickland might make of that statement.

The Bishop of Rome seems to aim to rollback the ultramontanism of Pius IX, “the Pope is not, by himself, above the Church; but within it as one of the baptized, and within the College of Bishops as a Bishop among Bishops,” whilst still professing to the primacy of Rome “called at the same time — as Successor of Peter — to lead the Church of Rome which presides in charity over all the Churches”. This approach may be welcomed by Eastern Orthodox and Old Catholic Churches, as well as Anglo-Catholics who have always professed the Successor of Peter to be Primus Inter Pares - first among equals.

All of this should be seen in the wider context, taking into consideration that Pope Francis has been highlighting his primary title as Bishop of Rome and delegating all other titles under the category of “historical titles”. At the same time, he brought back the use of “Patriarch of the West” among them in the annual Vatican Diptychs (Pontificio Annuario del Vaticano 2024). This pope clearly sees his role as a patriarch among patriarchs, first among equals, and leader of the apostles. As the document states, “from the early Church, Christianity was established on major apostolic sees occupying a specific order, the see of Rome being the first.” This more humble approach may indeed bring a welcome “contribution to the reestablishment of unity among all Christians”.

Those who believe in the Catholicism of the undivided Church of the first millennium may be interested to read, “Certain criteria of the first millennium were identified as points of reference and sources of inspiration for the acceptable exercise of a ministry of unity at the universal level, such as: the informal – and not primarily jurisdictional – character of the expressions of communion between the Churches; the ‘primacy of honour’ of the Bishop of Rome;”

Delving into this document, one might be encouraged or petrified, depending on one’s theology, to read that a “rediscovered brotherhood” of Churches “should also be re-read theologically, alongside the dogmatic differences of the past.” Especially when we read, “One of the fruits of the theological dialogues is a renewed reading of the ‘Petrine texts’, which have historically been a major stumbling block between Christians.” Avoiding “anachronistic projections of later doctrinal developments”, the Church has been able to “consider afresh the role of Peter among the apostles”. This seems to have born some good fruits, as through “exegesis and patristic research, new insights and mutual enrichment has been achieved, challenging some traditional confessional interpretations.” In particular, we are clearly referring to Matthew 16:17–19, in which Christ said to Simon-Peter, "Petros, on this petra I will build my church." Biblical scholar, Dr Jules Gomes, writes of the Church Fathers on this topic, “44 fathers understood the rock to be Peter’s confession of faith, 16 interpreted the rock as Jesus, 8 interpreted the rock as all the apostles, and a few believed the rock to be the faithful. Only 17 fathers thought the rock was Peter.”

Another admission is that “The dogmatic definitions of the First Vatican Council are a significant obstacle for other Christians.” This includes the definition of papal infallibility. This time, it is not Rome that has come to a different conclusion, but the ecumenical partners, “ecumenical dialogues have registered promising progress when undertaking a ‘re-reading’ or ‘re-reception’ of this Council, opening up new avenues for a more accurate understanding of its teaching.” Here we read of the importance of studying “Vatican I not in isolation, but in the light of their historical context, of their intention and of their reception – especially through the teaching of Vatican II.” For instance, in regards to papal infallibility, “the choice of terms used (‘ordinary’, ‘direct’, ‘immediate’), some dialogues were able to clarify the dogmatic definition of universal jurisdiction, by identifying its extension and limits." This already seems to have had a positive impact, “they were able to clarify the wording of the dogma of infallibility and even to agree on certain aspects of its purpose, recognizing the need, in some circumstances, for a personal exercise of the teaching ministry, given that Christian unity is a unity in truth and love.”

That said, there remain issues regarding Solo (see: Prima) Scriptura and ecclesiology, “In spite of these clarifications the dialogues still express concerns regarding the relation of infallibility to the primacy of the Gospel, the indefectibility of the whole Church, the exercise of episcopal collegiality and the necessity of reception.” but on the issue of Church government, the document does state that “Rome must not require more of the East than was formulated and lived during the first millennium… It implies the recognition of the right of the Eastern Churches to ‘govern themselves according to their discipline’” which should come as a sigh of relief to many.

Further regarding Church governance, there seems to be an understanding that bringing Churches back into the fold of one universal Church would not be made easier if all focus were not on Rome and conversations were instead had at different levels. There is a repeated emphasis throughout the document on “the three levels of the Church: local, regional and universal”, and this process of decentralisation could be a good thing, “Western Christian communions, observing an ‘asymmetry’ between these communions and the Catholic Church, call for a strengthening of Catholic episcopal conferences, including at the continental level, and for a continuing ‘decentralization’ inspired by the model of the ancient patriarchal Churches.”

On a pragmatic level, there is an understanding that the Church cannot operate under a one-size-fits-all approach, “Bishop of Rome’s relationship to the Eastern Churches and their bishops […] would have to be substantially different from the relationship now accepted in the Latin Church.” As Churches re-enter communion with each other, this will be important as a sign of practical unity and a move away from submission, “Churches will continue to have the right and power to govern themselves according to their own traditions and disciplines.”

On the issue of uniatism, unity in diversity appears to be the favoured approach, “direct jurisdiction of the Roman See over all the local Churches… can no longer be accepted either as a method to be followed nor as a model of the unity our Churches are seeking.” In regards to the pope’s temporal authority, some Churches argued “power of the Bishop of Rome should not exceed that required for the exercise of his ministry of unity at the universal level” and went further still, “a voluntary limitation in the exercise of his power – while recognizing that he will need a sufficient amount of authority to meet the many challenges and complex obligations related to his ministry.” It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

The Bishop of Rome makes many practical suggestions on how all of this may work, but the essence seems to be “a renewed understanding and exercise of papal primacy can contribute to the restoration of Christian unity.” This author tends to agree.

The four main suggestions are:

1. “a Catholic ‘re-reception’, ‘re-interpretation’, ‘official interpretation’, ‘updated commentary’ or even ‘rewording’ of the teachings of Vatican I”

2. “a clearer distinction between the different responsibilities of the Bishop of Rome, especially between his patriarchal ministry in the Church of the West and his primatial ministry of unity in the communion of Churches, both West and East, possibly extending this idea to consider how other Western Churches might relate to the Bishop of Rome as primate while having a certain autonomy themselves.”

3. More synodality.

4. “A last proposal is the promotion of ‘conciliar fellowship’ through regular meetings among Church leaders at a worldwide level in order to make visible and deepen the communion they already share. In the same spirit, many dialogues have proposed different initiatives to promote synodality between Churches, especially at the level of bishops and primates, through regular consultations and common action and witness.”

Suggestions one and two make good sense. Suggestion 3, I fear, may lead to more progressive ideas infiltrating the Church. The last suggestion seems to be a continuation of the twenty-year process leading up to The Bishop of Rome. If this is the result, more conversations must surely be a good thing?

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Yesterday was the memorial of Our Lady of Fatima, so I posted a reminder on social media to “pray the rosary.” Part of my vocation is reminding people to pray and praying with them. I received a number of questions that caught me off guard, including:

Fr. Calvin why are always posting rosaries in your story? Are you catholic - where in Scripture does it say pray the rosary - it was a corrupt practice of the medieval catholic church and as false as many of their satanic doctrines.

Calvin Robinson there is something in the scriptures against vain and repetitious prayer which the rosary is the bedrock of isn’t it? I like most of your work, but have to be careful of some of the Catholic traditions.

So where in the New Testament do we find the apostles praying the rosary?

Mariology is far removed from the simplicity of Christ. Plain as day...we are all Mary and have her experience spiritually. Isn't this the the true born again experience. Christ in you your hope of glory.

Dont! Jesus alone saves!

No need to pray the rosary. You can pray directly to God.

A genuine question: where in the Bible does it state anything about these beads? Are there any specific scriptures I can read about them and if there is any connection or relevance to Yeshua, Yaweh, Christ Jesus?

Please give me scripture ref where the believer is instructed to pray to Mary? (Or any other saint come to that?)

These are direct quotes. They seem well-intentioned but show a clear misunderstanding. I want to take a moment to address some of the most common misconceptions.

And it is not just poorly catechised Protestants; the Romans were jumping in, too:

The "luminous mysteries" are not part of the rosary

Drop the luminous 🤔

I get it. There are 150 Psalms and 150 Hail Marys in the rosary cycle, and Our Lady did not give the Luminous Mysteries to St Dominic (we’ll get to that), but I do not see a problem with additional prayers. Call me a modernist if you like, but it just seems like the Rad Trads are overly precious about this. I have seen rosary beads used for other prayer patterns - some people use them in a similar way to an Eastern Orthodox komboskini saying, “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me, a sinner” for every prayer; some people use them for divine chaplet prayers; some Low Church people say the Lord’s Prayer for every bead instead of Hail Marys. Prayer is prayer is prayer. More prayer is a good thing. I cannot get behind the idea that the Luminous Mysteries should be removed or are not part of the rosary. They have been since St John Paul II introduced them in 2002. Pray them if they help you; ignore them if they do not.

Some people even unfollowed me for posting about the rosary, which is probably a good thing because I will be posting more Christian prayers and rosary updates in the future. If someone is triggered by prayer, they are probably better off not following me on social media. Although, announcing an unfollowing is unnecessarily passive-aggressive.

We will address the above comments and misconceptions, but before we talk about what the rosary is not, let us discuss what it is.

What is the purpose of the rosary?

Prayer.

The rosary is a set of beads used to aid Christians in their prayer. The word bead in English comes from the Old English gebed, which is Germanic in origin, linked with the Dutch bede and German gebet. It means to pray, or to ‘bid’. Beads were purposefully designed as prayer aids.

Mary, as the Mother of God, directs people to her Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Just as she did at the wedding at Cana, when He performed his first miracle. Mary intercedes for the people at the wedding when they are out of wine, and Christ at first seems to rebuke her “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” But Mary does not waver in her faith in her Son, telling the servants to “Do whatever he tells you”, and, of course, Jesus then performs his first public miracle.

In our lives, Mary, as the Theotokos — the God-bearer — points us in the direction of her son. She reminds us to keep our focus on him. The immaculate heart of Mary leads us to the sacred heart of Jesus. Just as she did with her fiat in the story of the Annunciation, when Mary consented to the Angel Gabriel to bear the Son of God. She showed us how to commit to God’s plan, to accept His will, just as Jesus did in his kenosis, His emptying of Himself to become man, God incarnate, fully God yet fully man, and then again in His submission to the will of the Father.

Of all the people, in all places, throughout all time, God chose Mary to be His Tabernacle. We honour her because of that and because at the end of His Passion on the Cross, Jesus gave His mother His Church, “Behold, your mother!” For that reason, we venerate Mary, and we hold her in high regard and with great respect. We do not worship her.

Praying the Rosary

When we pray the rosary, we start off with the doxology; we open our prayer to the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit with a sign of the cross to highlight our prayers to the Triune God. We worship only the one true God.

We then recite the Apostle’s Creed, a declaration of the Christian faith.

Then we start off with an Our Father, the Lord’s Prayer, which our Saviour Christ commanded and taught us, and we are bold to say.

Followed by three Hail Marys (Luke 1:28 & Luke 1:41-42), where we acknowledge that Jesus is the heart of our faith - blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus - and ask for the intercessions of the Mother of God, the person closest to our Lord and Saviour.

We then pray another doxology, “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen”, as if there was any doubt who we are worshipping and where our prayers are directed. All glory belongs to God.

That is the introduction, and now we pray through five decades - sets of ten beads - with the same pattern. We start with an Our Father, we pray Hail Marys on the small beads, and we end with a Glory Be. After each decade, we pray a Fatima Prayer, “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy. Amen.”

Before each decade, we remind ourselves of a mystery. The idea is to hold these sacred mysteries in our minds as we pray through the decade. We may also include intercessions. If we have things/people to pray for, a good time is to announce them at the start of each decade. Some people like to pray for a different intention with every bead.

Intercessions

Prayer intentions are an important part of praying the rosary.

Jesus Christ is our mediator between man and God the Father. He is the mediator of the New Covenant. But the Scriptures teach us that there are other forms of intercession, too: “the Spirit himself intercedes for us” (Romans 8:26) and that we should intercede for each other. St Paul often asked for prayers, “I appeal to you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf” (Romans 15:30). Again in 2 Corinthians 1:11, “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us in answer to many prayers.” And another prayer request in his second epistle to the Thessalonians, “Finally, brethren, pray for us…” (2 Thessalonians 3)

Jesus Himself commands us to pray for others, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44) and in the Our Father (Matthew 6:5–13).

We have all seen the old trope a million times:
Protestant: “There is only one mediator, Jesus Christ; why ask for prayers from Mary or the Saints?”
Catholic: “Do you not ask your friends and family to pray for you, too?”

It is cliche at this point, but it is accurate. And to those who say the Saints are dead, remember the Scriptures teach us otherwise, “the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised” (Matthew 27:52) and that neither death nor life can separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35-38). It is a fine thing to ask for the prayers of those close to Christ.

Sacred Mysteries

There are three or four sets of mysteries, depending on how traditionalist you are. There are the Joyful Mysteries, Sorrowful Mysteries, Glorious Mysteries, and the optional extra of Luminous Mysteries.

There are five mysteries per set, and typically, we pray them on these days:

Mondays and Saturdays: Joyful Mysteries
Tuesdays and Fridays: Sorrowful Mysteries
Wednesdays and Sundays: Glorious Mysteries
Thursdays: Luminous Mysteries

The more traditional approach is

Mondays: Joyful Mysteries
Tuesdays: Sorrowful Mysteries
Wednesdays: Glorious Mysteries
Thursdays: Joyful Mysteries
Fridays: Sorrowful Mysteries
Saturdays: Glorious Mysteries
Sundays: Glorious Mysteries

For Rad Trads who find this problematic, the common advice is to meditate on the Luminous mysteries as a discrete/additional chaplet. This way, you can follow St. John Paul II's recommendation whilst still maintaining the traditional symbolism of the rosary as the Marian Psalter.

What do we meditate on as we pray through the mysteries?

Joyful Mysteries

The Annunciation; The Visitation; The Nativity of Our Lord; The Presentation in the Temple; The Finding in the Temple.

Luke 1:26-27 & 1:31, Luke 1:39-42, Luke 2:6-7 & 10, Luke 2:22 & 26, Luke 2:42-49

Sorrowful Mysteries

The Agony in the Garden; The Scourging at the Pillar; The Crowning with Thorns; The Carrying of the Cross; The Crucifixion.

Matthew 26:36-39 & 45, Luke 23:16, John 19:1, Isaiah 53:7, Matthew 27:28-29, John 19:5-6 & 17, Luke 9:23, Luke 23:33, John 19:25-27.

Glories Mysteries

The Resurrection; The Ascensions; The Descent of the Holy Spirit;' The Assumption of Our Lady; The Coronation of Our Lady

Matthew 25:5-6, John 11:25-26, Mark 16:19, Acts 1:11,2:1-2,38, Revelation 12:1, Judith 13:18 & 15:9, Psalm 45:13-14.

The Luminous Mysteries

The Baptism of Our Lord; The Wedding of Cana; The Proclamation of the Kingdom; The Transfiguration of Our Lord; The Institution of the Holy Eucharist.

Matthew 3:13-17, John 2:1-3,5,7,9,11, Mark 1:14-15, Matthew 10:5-8, Matthew 17:2 & 5, Matthew 26:26-28, John 6:51,5456.

What are the origins of the rosary?

Prayer ropes have always been used by Christians as a tangible tool to aid prayer. The Jesus Prayer and the Our Father were the most popular prayers said with prayer ropes in the early centuries.

The legend behind the rosary, though, is that St Dominic had a vision of Mary, in which she presented him with a rosary - the beads and the prayers. St Dominic travelled and promoted the rosary to Catholics as he preached the Gospel. This took place in the early 1200s, long before the Protestant Reformation.

Marian Apparitions have occurred a few times throughout history. No one is forced to believe in private revelations. These are known as pious devotions. Many of these apparitions have led to the conversion of millions of souls to Christ, most significantly perhaps, Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531, which led to around 10 million conversions to the Catholic faith. Cardinal Burke is leading a nine-month novena on this for those who are interested in more prayers.

Answering Protestant Misconceptions

“Where in the Bible does it tell us to pray the Rosary? Give me Scripture references.”

The framing of this question suggests a misunderstanding of the purpose of the Bible. God reveals Himself to us in a few ways. Early on in the Old Testament, it was through the Patriarchs; later in the New Testament, it was through the Apostles. But ultimately, God became incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, to reveal Himself to us and to form a New Covenant with us. He taught his Apostles, and they, in turn, taught the next generation of elders, who have passed on that knowledge and orders all the way through to today’s bishops. We call that ministry Apostolic Succession. After a few hundred years, these teachings were written down and compiled into what we now call the Bible. The Bible is Sacred - it is divine revelation - but it is not an instruction book or encyclopedia of absolutely everything. It is God’s revelation to us, along with the Church’s teachings - Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture together.

What the Bible does not do, is explicitly list everything we should or should not do. It sets the tone. The Bible introduces us to Jesus, it does not tell us everything he did or said during his ministry on earth. Nor does it lay out a rulebook for life.

For instance, the Bible does not say that we need to hold our hands up or sway when we pray, but some people find that comforting. Nor does the bible say to thumb beads when we pray, but that works for many. If it enhances one’s prayer life and is not performative, it should be encouraged.

Some people hold hands when they say grace before a meal; others use icons to focus their attention; some light candles; others sing praise and worship music. None of these things are found in the Bible.

In fact, it could be argued that the rosary is more scriptural than extemporary prayer. When people pray what is on their hearts, they tend to make it up as they go along - there is a risk of falling into error or heresy. However, when people pray through the rosary, they tend to use prayers developed over the centuries by theologians to focus us back on the scriptures (as highlighted above in Sacred Mysteries).

Mariology

There are a lot of objections to Mariology as being unscriptural. We explained some of that in ‘What is the purpose of the rosary?’

This seems to be a modern Protestant idea that is very separate from the thinking of the Reformers. John Calvin, Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli all agreed that Mary was blessed amongst women, that she was to be honoured and venerated, and that she remained a perpetual virgin. None of them said the Roman Catholic Church overemphasized her role. None of them claimed protestant teachings on Mariology should differ from Catholic teachings.

Martin Luther is known to have defended Mary as the Mother of God, her perpetual virginity, her immaculate conception and her assumption:

“She is rightly called not only the mother of the man, but also the Mother of God ... It is certain that Mary is the Mother of the real and true God.”

“It is an article of faith that Mary is Mother of the Lord and still a Virgin.”

“But the other conception, namely the infusion of the soul, it is piously and suitably believed, was without any sin, so that while the soul was being infused, she would at the same time be cleansed from original sin and adorned with the gifts of God to receive the holy soul thus infused. And thus, in the very moment in which she began to live, she was without all sin...”

“There can be no doubt that the Virgin Mary is in heaven. How it happened we do not know.”

Luther venerated Mary, “The veneration of Mary is inscribed in the very depths of the human heart.” and in his final sermon at Wittenberg in 1546 wrote, “Is Christ only to be adored? Or is the holy Mother of God rather not to be honoured? This is the woman who crushed the Serpent's head. Hear us. For your Son denies you nothing.”

John Calvin likewise said, “Elizabeth called Mary Mother of the Lord, because the unity of the person in the two natures of Christ was such that she could have said that the mortal man engendered in the womb of Mary was at the same time the eternal God.”

“Helvidius has shown himself too ignorant, in saying that Mary had several sons, because mention is made in some passages of the brothers of Christ.” The word for ‘brother’, we know to mean ‘close relative’ such as ‘cousin’.

Calvin showed veneration and honour, “It cannot be denied that God in choosing and destining Mary to be the Mother of his Son, granted her the highest honour.”

“To this day we cannot enjoy the blessing brought to us in Christ without thinking at the same time of that which God gave as adornment and honour to Mary, in willing her to be the mother of his only-begotten Son.”

Ulrich Zwingli said many similar things, too.

Jesus alone saves

This is at best a truism and at worse a strawman. Yes, Jesus alone saves. Jesus Christ is our only Lord and Saviour. No one is arguing against that or undermining it.

Catholics worship God and venerate Mary and the Saints. Veneration is not the same as worship. A common argument here is to differentiate between latria, dulia and hyperdulia. Latria is the honour and worship due to God alone. Dulia is honouring the Saints and hyperdulia is the highest honour given to Mary, below that of latria. But I do not find this argument helpful. Whilst it makes sense to Catholics, it sounds like semantics to Protestants.

The problem in translation here is really in the way Catholics and Protestants worship. Protestants sing songs of ‘praise and worship’, and they pray. Protestant worship is very much stuck in the temporal. Whereas Catholics can sing hymns about God but also sing songs venerating Saints and Mary without causing any confusion because true worship to Catholics comes in the form of the Sacraments, which all centre around the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. Holy Communion, in Catholic teaching, is the real presence of Jesus. When a Catholic consumes the consecrated host during Mass, they are united in Communion with God Himself, a glimpse of heaven is brought to earth, as our hearts are lifted toward heaven. Jesus Christ, the living Son of God, is really present in what used to be that bread and wine. This is a form of worship that is spiritual, otherworldly even. Without it, all veneration, adoration, and worship would seem pretty much the same.

Vain repetition

This is what happens when people take one line of scripture out of context. Matthew 6:7 is often quoted as follows: “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” The context here is about heaping up empty phrases, babbling in tongues or mindlessly repeating nonsense.

We repeat prayers all the time. People who pray the Daily Office / Liturgy of Hours pray the Lord’s Prayer at least twice a day but never do so in vain. Psalm 136 has repetition, with the same line over and over, “for his steadfast love endures for ever.” but in the context, it makes sense, and the scriptures cannot contradict themselves. So, this is not an outright rule against repetition.

With the rosary, yes, there is repetition involved, but no, it is not in vain.

Pious Devotion

I think when it all comes down to it, praying the rosary is an ‘optional extra’, a pious devotion people can choose to do or choose not to do. If it helps you in your spiritual life, fantastic.

When in Rome, I tend to pick up a few rosaries to give away to Christians I meet out and about. Here are some rosaries I recently gave away to my Instagram followers:

Kind followers occasionally send me rosaries, too. I always keep and treasure them and use them for prayer. Here are a few nice rosaries I have been sent. One was for Dan Wootton and another for Tommy Robinson. If rosaries can be used to bring people back into the faith, I see that as a win-win.

Tomorrow, I am off on a Pilgrimage to Europe. I am really looking forward to some prayerful contemplation with Patrick Coffin and Bishop Strickland. I imagine we will be praying the rosary a lot. If you have any prayer requests, please send me a private message.

I will be praying for you all. Please pray for me, a sinner too.

This week’s article was going to be on the Catholicity of the universal Church. I have been working on a piece about the whole Church in my continued hope for Christian unity. But something more pressing has come to my attention this week.

The Church of England shared a link on social media to its webpage, History of the Church of England. This post caused major backlash, which resulted in the CofE disabling replies on Twitter.

The tweet in question read, “The Church of England is the established Christian church in England.

Our roots go back to the time of the Roman Empire, when the church came into existence in what was then the province of Britain.

Find out more about our history at http://cofe.io/OurHistory.”

Fairly benign, one might have thought, until one reads the replies, particularly from Roman Catholics. The seething genuinely caught me off guard. Now, anyone who follows my work will be aware that I am no fan of the Church of England as an institution. I left a couple of years ago in a rather public spat, so there is no love lost between us. However, they are right in this. The Church of England’s history is far more interesting and nuanced than this revisionist take that “the fat philanderer Henry VIII invented a new Church and the Church of England has no Catholic roots.”

Regular readers will know my theology is incredibly Catholic. Most protestants think I am a swift breeze away from swimming the Tiber. I have my issues with the contemporary interpretation of papal supremacy. This week, I learned there is another dogma I do not share with my Roman brethren, and that is the outright denial of the Church of England’s Catholic roots.

Henry VIII is responsible for some awful atrocities. Eamon Duffy covers them well in his Stripping of the Altars. The dissolving of the monasteries is one of the greatest crimes in English history — absolutely awful. And I have written previously on how the Reformation was a mistake. Any Church split is bad for Christian unity; the Body of Christ is supposed to be whole.

That said, Henry VIII was a human being like the rest of us, a fallen individual. History is not black/white, and we can paint him as a villain all day long. But it is important to look at history holistically and address the whole picture. His rottenness does not take away the Church’s heritage. Even he did not have that power.

In retrospect, had Pope Clement VII annulled Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon and given him the opportunity of being blessed with a son to produce an heir to the throne, much of the mess of English Church history could have been avoided. The Pope would not have been setting a precedent. This was perhaps a political decision, not a theological one. The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was Queen Catherine’s nephew, and he had taken control of Rome. The Pope refused to disolve Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine for that reason, it had little to do with the sanctity of marriage, unfortunately. But that point is neither here nor there.

Henry VIII was a Catholic king. The reason the present King of England is called Defender of the Faith (Fidei Defensor) is because Parliament bestowed the title on Henry VIII and his successors to defend the Anglican faith. Prior to that, though, Pope Leo X bestowed it upon Henry VIII for his book Defence of the Seven Sacraments (Assertio Septem Sacramentorum). In Defence of the Seven Sacraments, Henry VIII outlined the importance of the Sacraments in what was called “one of the most successful pieces of Catholic polemics produced by the first generation of anti-Protestant writers.” Henry VIII called Martin Luther a heretic - which is quite ironic considering how many Anglicans venerate Luther today.

Being incredibly Catholic, Henry VIII did not set out to create a Protestant Church, certainly not in the same guise as Protestantism on the continental of Europe.

Henry VIII got divorced and secretly married anyway; he was excommunicated, and in return, he split the English Church from Roman authority. In 1536, Henry VIII gave sanction to his Ten Articles of Religion, which became the foundation of the Bishop’s Book (otherwise called The Institution of the Christian Man). Over the next three years, this work progressed to become the King’s Book, containing Six Articles of Religion for the Church of England, “The articles reaffirmed Catholic doctrine on matters of transubstantiation, the reasonableness of withholding the cup from the laity during communion, clerical celibacy, observance of vows of chastity, permission for private masses and the importance of auricular confession.” [1539] This was not your grandma’s Protestantism.

Henry VIII was hardly a Continental Protestant, but he did become a reformer. We take it for granted now that everyone can access the Bible in their native tongue - but it is Henry VIII who first commissioned an English Bible. Pope Paul II prohibited Bibles in vernacular languages, and violators were punished. The Rheims-Douai Bible was later allowed (1582-1610) but for the purposes of Roman Catholic exiles from England in France to avoid any errors/bias from the Protestant translations. Access to the English Bible is a direct result of the Reformation. The Coverdale Bible was to be placed in every church in England.

King Henry VIII instituted the first English liturgy, too, with the Great Litany. He commissioned direct translations from Latin to English, thus avoiding the problems the Novus Ordo faced with removing important parts of the liturgy. It could be argued that Henry VIII was less of a liturgical reformer than the Second Vatican Council.

Anglican Kings and Queens

King Henry VIII’s son, Edward VI, was a young king at nine years old, and it seems he was surrounded by Protestant advisors. He led the English down a more Protestant path, but his tenure was short-lived. He only sat on the throne for six years. Unfortunately, he caused some lasting damage during that time, which we will get to.

Henry VIII’s daughter, Queen Mary I, became Queen and attempted to reunite the Church of England with the Church in Rome. Unfortunately, her methods led her to be known as Bloody Mary. She burned Protestant heretics at the stake. Neither side of the Reformation came out smelling of roses. Anti-Catholic sentiment rose, and under her sister Elizabeth I’s reign, Catholics were persecuted just as badly. I do not intend to paint this as a tit-for-tat; prominent Catholics like St Thomas More had previously been killed under Henry VIII for not submitting to his supremacy. The Reformation and Counter-Reformation is a grave stain on English Christian history.

Queen Elizabeth I attempted a compromise with her 39 Articles. She was excommunicated by Papal Bull. Ever since then, the Church of England has been independent from Roman jurisdiction. It may have been Henry VIII’s actions that led to this moment, but he did not create a new Church. The Church of England split from Rome and was never able to reunite fully. But she was not a new invention.

The British Empire spread Christianity around the world and did so in the English expression, which came to be known as Anglican. The Anglican Communion grew from churches in communion with Canterbury, outside of communion with Rome.

Apostolic succession

In 1896, Pope Leo XII declared in his apostolic letter, Apostolicae curae, Anglican ordinations to be “absolutely null and utterly void.”

But based on what? A misinterpretation of the Form and Manner of Making, Ordaining, and Consecrating of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons in the Book of Common Prayer — a particular liturgy that only existed between 1552 and 1662 — a sixty-year blip, if anything.

The Book of Common Prayer, which contains the approved liturgies of the Church of England, went through a few iterations in the battle between Catholicism and Protestantism. Generally speaking, the original 1549 was still fairly Catholic, the 1552 was more Protestant, and the final version in 1662 was held to be the via media of Anglicanism. The middle way between Protestantism and Catholicism. The 1662 BCP is still the official liturgy of the Anglican Church, all these years later. The beautiful language and liturgy have since been adapted into the Latin Rite via the Ordinariate’s Divine Worship Missal and Divine Worship Daily Office books.

The Ordinal - the order for ordaining deacons, priests and bishops - in the 1552 BCP introduced under King Edward VI was vague on the purposes of ordination, and Pope Leo XIII took it as a “defect of form and intention,” claiming that as a result Anglican orders were “absolutely null and utterly void.”

This is a line I have seen Roman Catholics throw at Anglicans quite often as a dismissive attempt to demean them. Not only does it lack charity, it lacks critical thinking. Just because a pope said it does not make it true. The pope was not speaking infallibly. As I understand it, the pope is only infallible when he speaks ex-cathedra. The Roman Catholic Church declares that the only time the pope has spoken infallibly since the Council of Vatican I is on the statement of the Assumption of Mary as an article of faith. Since Vatican I was in 1870, and Apostolicae curae was issued in 1896, it suffices to say this was not an infallible statement.

Also, if Henry VIII broke from Rome in 1533 and the new Ordinal did not come into play until 1552, would that mean there were two decades of valid but illicit ordinations taking place in the Church of England? It seems that would be the case - and this provides further proof of the continuation of the Church and an affirmation of the Church of England’s Catholicity.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York's response to Apostolicae curae was Saepius officio, in which the Archbishops demonstrated Biblical validity. More importantly, they pointed out that Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies would be found guilty by the same measure as those of which they were accused.

During Queen Mary’s reunion of the churches, not a single priest was deprived due to a ‘defect of order.’ Many remained in office without re-ordination. Some were even promoted in the Roman Catholic Church.

Even if it were true that Anglican orders were null and void in 1896, would it still be the case today? Old Catholic and Eastern Orthodox bishops have been involved in Anglican consecrations since the Bonn Agreement in the 20th century. In 1922, the Patriarch of Constantinople recognised Anglican orders as valid.

Other developments in this area have occurred. This year, Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury commissioned a pair of Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops at a joint ceremony. Pope Paul VI gave his ecclesiastical ring to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Justin Welby has inherited this ecclesiastical ring from his predecessors.

In my humble opinion, Anglican orders have only come into question since 2015, when they consecrated the first woman bishop. Since women cannot become priests or bishops, and the Church of England does not have the authority to unilaterally decide otherwise, anyone ordained since 2015 would need to provide evidence of their apostolic succession to demonstrate that they were not ordained by a woman, or by someone who was ordained by a woman. The waters have been muddied, but this is a very recent innovation.

The conclusion of the Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission of 1990 stated:

The Catholic Heritage of the CofE

Regardless of whether one thinks Anglican orders are valid or not, whether one thinks the Reformation was a success or not, or whether one likes Henry VIII or not, it is silly to argue that the Church of England is an entirely separate entity from the Church in England before the Reformation and that it is a new invention, completely separate of any heritage.

The Church in England was active prior to St Augustine - the first Archbishop of Canterbury, sent by Pope Gregory I. It is assumed that Christians arrived in England via France because there is evidence of Christian activity as early as the second century. Records of the Council of Arles in 314 AD and the Council of Ariminum in 359 AD show the presence of British bishops. By the time authorities arrived in England from Rome in 597 AD, there were many Christians living across these lands. It is well documented that one of Augustine’s first challenges was to unite them all under his authority. That included Christians from Wales, Cornwall, Iona, and Lindisfarne, to name a few. And the English battle against foreign authority never ceased. The Church of England was not under direct Roman authority until 664 AD, and that is only because the Roman and the Celtic Christians were fighting over the liturgical calendar, and they had to seek a higher authority to settle the matter of which date Easter would land on. The problem of authority, however, was never truly resolved.

There were grievances over Peter’s Pence (foreign taxation) and, of course, the issue of the now infamous indulgences being used to fund St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. There were many issues bubbling up under the surface around the time of the Reformation, which could essentially be seen as the first Brexit. The split from Rome was not theological but ecclesiastical. The Church of England did not cease being Catholic; it ceased being under Roman authority. There are those who would say they are one and the same, and I address that in my next article, which will more broadly explore Catholicism and Catholicity.

It has not always been the case that the Bishop of Rome appoints bishops in foreign lands, for example. Roman Catholic author Eamon Duffy writes on this in Faith of Our Fathers, that investiture has traditionally been a local authority. Princes of the land (i.e. the King or Queen) used to select their own bishops. The Pope only really acquired that power universally relatively recently. The matter was settled after a protracted conflict between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor in the Concordat of Worms, and the German Emperor retained the right to preside over the election of abbots and bishops. In return, the Holy Roman Emperor renounced his right to select the Pope. This is a battle that had previously played out in England, too, with the then Pope contesting King Henry I of England for that authority, which was resolved in the Concordat of London.

All this to say, the Church in England has always held tensions against Roman authority. We tend to think the Church was Roman until the Reformation, but in fact, the Church in England has only been under direct Roman authority for half of its existence. Although, it is fair to say the Church in England was always in communion with Rome, until after the Reformation.

So, yes, the annulment (or lack thereof) played a large part in the Church of England’s divorce from Rome, but that was not the only contributing factor. The English have always been Christian but not always accepted Roman authority. We have had a rough history, but it most certainly is a history. To suggest that the Church of England began in the 1500s is a revisionist approach at separating her from her Catholic lineage.

Anglicanism has become known as the English expression of the Catholic faith. Roman Catholics will no doubt take issue with that, as will many Protestants. But the Church of England is not a new religion. You can say they entered schism or even that they became apostate - as I have in the past. But to suggest it is an entirely new entity without any Catholic roots or heritage is ludicrous.

One should never underestimate the human capacity to want to make everything binary. We really are losing all capacity to observe nuance. We want to live in a Marvel world of heroes and villains. That is simply not the case here, nor is it realistic. Most of the canonised Saints lived checkered lives and did some pretty awful things. Surely, the Christian message is one that we are all sinners, yet we can always repent of our sins and grow in our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. He died for us, and he forgives us. He offers us eternal salvation, and that is never unachievable. Even for a man like Henry VIII.

I would argue that the Edwardian period, the early twentieth century, was the peak of the British Empire. Queen Victoria left behind a legacy no king or queen of the United Kingdom will ever be able to match. King Edward VII’s role was to conservative an Empire; he and King George V – our late Queen Elizabeth II’s grandfather – were good kings in the sense that they preserved the traditions handed down to them. Unfortunately, during the reigns of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II, we saw the height of feminism, World War II, liberalism and the sexual revolution. All of which contributed to the downfall of the greatest Empire since the fall of Rome.

The British Empire began under Queen Elizabeth I and ended under Queen Elizabeth II. Four hundred years of spreading the rule of law, Christian values, civil society and democracy around the world. The self-hating hard-Left will say we spread misery, and don’t get me wrong, there were a few bad eggs. But on the whole, we spread love and prosperity. Churches, schools, hospitals, charities, railways, roads, and other important infrastructure were all developed throughout the colonies. A lot of countries sought independence after WWII, but it is interesting to see them now regretting that decision.

The British Empire ended slavery on a global scale. We led the fight against fascism. We developed the idea of parliamentary democracy and the welfare state. There are many, many good things to have come from the Empire. Inventions, technology, the industrial revolution.

When people talk of colonisation, that is what we should remind them of. People used to be proud to be subjects of His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India.

England was at the heart of the British Empire. It was the Empire of the English overseas territories and dominions, and there was never any doubt about that. This is why I am often surprised when I hear people who are rightly proud to be English show resentment at the term British. England conquered the world under the banner of the British Empire.

People often dismiss Great Britain as just a landmass, forgetting that in the Act of Union 1707, both English and Scottish parliaments agreed to create a united kingdom called Great Britain. The two kingdoms have had an off-and-on history until that point, but since then, we have been one. The English did not stop being English, nor did the Scots stop being Scottish; for that matter, neither did the Welsh stop being Welsh. But together, along with the Irish, before the recent troubles, we ruled the waves.

England subsumed the Scottish Parliament into the Parliament of Great Britain. The English are not oppressed. We do not need a new parliament; we have a parliament. We just need better Englishmen to stand for parliament. More patriots, fewer career politicians.

So, it is very possible to maintain one’s ethnicity whilst supporting one’s nation. I should specify for the intellectually challenged, aka the far-Right, ethnicity is not entirely determined by skin colour. An ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, including a common set of ancestry, traditions, language, history, society, and religion, whilst also maintaining one’s nationality. It is possible to be English by ancestry, tradition, language, history, and religion (Anglican, btw) whilst also being British – a citizen of Great Britain. The two are neither mutually exclusive nor contradictory.

In 1997, our Government made a grave mistake in handing Hong Kong over to China. We did not need hindsight to tell us how horrendous that would be for a formerly free Hong Kong. What a disaster that has turned out to be for both British and Chinese Hong Kongers. But it also marked the symbolic end of the British Empire.

As the modern Chinese Empire grows, gaining new territories across the African continent and the Caribbean all the time, and with Russia and Iran both proving to be a constant threat to the West, it is a great shame to see how far Britain has fallen as its former builder and defender.

I am not proposing we should become neo-cons, but merely lamenting the fact we can no longer be taken seriously as a force to be reckoned with.

The United Kingdom is no longer a serious country. We have no defence plan, a tiny defence budget, and what military we do have left is effeminate and liberal. The physical criteria for our soldiers continues to get watered down in the name of diversity, inclusion and equity, and our leaders push strongmen out in favour of woke wets. As a result, no one is interested in signing up.

In what ministers keep referring to as a ‘pre-war world’, surely, we should stop relying on the United States to be our big brother in the playground to ward off bullies and get down to the gym ourselves. It is time we rebuilt that military might that helped shape the world. Restore the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the British Army to a state of preparedness.

Let us elect politicians who are willing to defend our borders and increase our military might.

I am not saying we need to rebuild the Empire. I do not think we have the ability anymore, never mind the will. But we could at least attempt to become a self-respecting nation once again. Can we at least try that?

Make Britain Great Again.