Correspondence

Over the transom comes the latest attempt to establish a serious “Catholic journal.” The Lamp follows the U.S. edition of the Catholic Herald, launched with great fanfare in late 2018. The aim was obviously to create a Catholic “big tent” publication—“orthodox” yet “inclusive”—but also offering incisive reporting and commentary on the state of the Church. Things fell apart from the very start as one “Catholic” would-be contributor first denounced the magazine’s management for alleged contacts with Steve Bannon and then indicted one of the magazine’s own writers for “antisemitism”—other contributors of course felt compelled to join the latter attack (Taki, the gentleman in question, has contributed more good writing over the years than all of them put together). Next, Damian Thompson, the U.K. editor largely responsible for the recent rise in visibility of the Herald, was out the door, followed by the U.S. editors (I gather Thompson’s caustic commentary on the current state of the Church did not endear him to the ecclesiastical establishment). The U.S. edition folded (replaced by an online presence) and even the U.K. parent underwent a drastic crisis. What survives in hard copy is a U.K. publication featuring admonitions to piety, harmless articles on the past glories of “Catholic culture,” and otherwise nothing that would give offense to the Catholic powers that be. Into the resulting gap comes The Lamp. Its focus is cultural commentary —in particular, consideration of literary topics rather than reporting on current events. We applaud the attempt to avoid polemics and to explore the “Catholic” aspects of life in all their many manifestations. The editor—at least as a matter of intellectual conviction—is laboring under no illusions regarding either the dire situation of the United State and of the Church today, or of his magazine’s capacity to single-handedly save the day. That’s refreshingly realistic. We note further in places a curious Germanophile flavor of this publication. A poem of Goethe introduces the first issue; there is a “Feuilleton” section and a final piece, “Pestsäulen,”on a visit to Vienna. Most intriguingly of all, William Marshner—presumably he of the original Triumph team—is listed as “Kapellmeister”! I regret to report, however, that the first issue falls short of the editors’ ambitions and would-be Catholic radicalism. I frankly didn’t find most of the contributions provocative, compelling, or stimulating reading. They generally rambled over assorted uninteresting topics—for example, a lengthy review of a new translation of Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea(s), which gives the reader no idea why John Senior included it among his “Thousand Good Books.” More modest yet more successful is P.J. Smith’s informative story of the beginnings of one Midwestern parish. Michael Hamill expounds to us how popes (at least more recent ones) are never wrong and when problems crop up it’s because the hierarchy, the clergy, and the elites failed to support them. J.D. Vance tells us how, as a “conservative Catholic” writer defended his criticism of the pope, said gentleman was abruptly silenced when “a wine glass seemed to leap from a stable place behind the bar and crashed on the floor in front of us.” Thus Pope Francis is triumphantly vindicated. I was also struck by a certain artificiality of style. “We were drinking white wine spritzers at a restaurant run by Jesuits,” writes Susannah Black of a recent visit to Vienna. In view of the current state of the Church—especially in that city—it’s like enjoying sherry with the vicar in the rectory while the parish church burns down. For it’s hard to read of such things when in our country Catholic churches are (literally) burning, statues of Catholic saints are being smashed, and the most violent anti-Christian rhetoric is endorsed by the secular media and educational powers. Here and abroad, governments freely order churches closed and regulate and even prohibit the administration of the sacraments. Unresolved sexual and financial scandals continue to percolate. Both the Vatican and the local hierarchies seem incapable of exercising leadership. And while all this is going on, the number of practicing Catholics, of priests and religious, of schools and parishes, continues to plummet. Yes, there is much to write about today—but a Catholic can hardly comment on these things dispassionately. In the online introduction to the new journal the editor claims kinship with the above-mentioned Triumph magazine. But Triumph was virtually the polar opposite of The Lamp both in style and substance. At a time of upheaval much like our own, Triumph was forceful in its language and confronted directly the major issues of state and Church, regardless of the popularity of the views it expressed. The contributors to Triumph displayed passionate intensity and a willingness to take clear and even radical political positions. Not that everything they said was right or that all of their practical policy initiatives were sound. Yet their analysis of our age has stood the test of time far better than that of the establishment Catholic journals—or of their secular equivalents. I hope these comments don’t discourage the reader from giving The Lamp a try. A good Catholc journal is so desperately needed! And the editors’ vision and statement of principles are admirable. But in this case more focus, more passion and more engagement with the reality exploding about us will do the publication good.   Stuart Chessman, The Society of Saint Hugh of Cluny

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The publisher and editor reply:   We thank Mr. Chessman for his interesting letter. We are also confused by it. While we share his unease about certain events that have taken place since our first issue went to press, we cannot see how our failure to comment on them should be held against us. We also ask ourselves whether he really thinks that the issue would have been improved if we had allowed a non-Catholic society gossip writer to publish a scurrilous attack on the Holy Father in place of, say, Brandon McGinley’s profile of Jeffrey Cristina or B.D. McClay’s review of a very fine book by Adam Sisman. We wonder, too, whether it is really true that the author in question (who handles the “High Life” column for the Spectator of London) has given the world “more good writing” than all the other contributors to the Catholic Herald combined. (We think it likely that the aforementioned Mr. Theodoracopulos would be the first to disagree.) We pass over in silence Mr. Chessman’s copious employment of scare quotes, but we certainly agree with him that the temporal power does not have the authority to close churches. The bishops, however, have. (Our editor’s bishop was the last to do so in the United States and among the first to re-open them.) While we are flattered by Mr. Chessman’s comparison of our endeavor to Triumph, we do not recognize either journal in his descriptions. The editors of Triumph took radical positions, to be sure. But from the beginning they also emphasized the importance of wit, urbanity, and good humor, to say nothing of the value of art and literature for their own sakes, as opposed to culture-war syllabus items. As to his other concerns: we freely confess that we do not share the (widely held) view that Catholics should see the Church through a kind of post-Watergate lens (scandal! corruption! sticking it to the man, man!). Finally, we note that “Feuilleton” is French.  

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  What can I say? Wonderful first issue. It was made all the better by arriving digitally in mid-May while the print copies languished in some forlorn postal service truck. I especially thank Mr. Hitchens for his apologia in “Cranmer” and the wonderful poetic prayers that our own tradition seems to have lost the will to write or ability to translate. My only complaint is that now I would like to find a Little Office using the Coverdale and King James. With the best compliments,   Trevor Sliwkanich Mundare, Alberta Canada  

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  Though I missed the deadline to receive the initial issue, I am now subscribed and anticipating the second. Many subscribers have messaged me with comments describing the issue as “What First Things should be” and “A blessing to read.” My response is that it makes sense given the pugnacious personality of the current Catholic editor, Mr. Walther. As a long time reader of First Things, I can only hope that this publication will be able to advance the cause of light, life, and Christian reason in an increasingly ignorant and barbaric culture.   Justin Redemer Hayward, California

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The editor replies:   I am not pugnacious on Sundays.