Expanded Edition
English author Evelyn Waugh, most famous for his novel Brideshead Revisited,
became a Roman Catholic in 1930. For the last decade of his life,
however, Waugh experienced the changes being made to the Church's
liturgy to be nothing short of "a bitter trial". In John Cardinal
Heenan, Waugh found a sympathetic pastor and somewhat of a kindred
spirit.
This volume brings together the personal correspondence
between Waugh and Heenan during the 1960s, a trying period for many
faithful Catholics. It begins with a 1962 article Waugh wrote for the
Spectator followed by a response from then Archbishop Heenan, who at the
time was a participant at the Second Vatican Council. These and the
other writings included in this book paint a vivid picture of two
prominent and loyal English Catholics who lamented the loss of Latin and
the rupture of tradition that resulted from Vatican II.
In the
light of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, many Catholics are
looking again at the post-conciliar liturgical changes. To this "reform
of the reform" of the liturgy now underway in the Roman Catholic Church,
both Heenan and Waugh have much to contribute.
Pages: 128. Paperback.
About the Editor:
Dom Alcuin Reid is a monk of the Monastère
Saint-Benoît in Fréjus-Toulon, France. He has lectured and has published
extensively on the Liturgy, including The Organic Development of the Liturgy with a preface by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, and The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described.
