PHOTO: ANDY BULL

A church in Droitwich Spa has won lottery funding to restore its fine mosaics 29

COLUMN

Shelagh Fogarty ‘Gisèle Pelicot’s rejection of anonymity and of shame shows stunning strength’ / 7

REGULARS Word from the Cloisters 15 Puzzles 15 Letters 16 The Living Spirit 17

CONTENTS 28 SEPTEMBER 2024 // VOL. 278 NO. 9571

FEATURES

4 / Bishops in a bind

Trust in church leaders may not be restored until safeguarding is seen to be

independent of the bishops / BY CATHERINE PEPINSTER

6 / Beloved beyond the yoke Marriage between a Christian and a non-believer can be difficult, but it can also

show that God’s love is without boundaries / BY KATHRYN SIMMONDS

8 / The song of the poor Inspired by Óscar Romero, a young Scottish priest decided to go and work in

war-torn El Salvador / BY TOMMY GREENAN

10 / The Tablet Poem

Sin / BY MICHAEL GLOVER 11 / Where there’s muck One joy of living on the land is seeing the interconnectedness of God’s world –

what decomposes also feeds and gives life / BY AUSTEN IVEREIGH

12 / A template for transformation Pope Francis has told grassroots leaders that their work embodies the Church’s

synodal journey / BY ANGUS RITCHIE AND ANA FRANÇA-FERREIRA

NEWS

24 / The Church in the World / News briefing 25 / Vatican gives approval for Medjugorje devotions

27 / View from Rome 28 / News from Britain and Ireland / News briefing

29 / ‘Buffer zone’ law criticised

COVER: ALAMY/AP, SALVADOR MELENDEZ

ARTS / PAGE 18 Television We Will Dance Again LUCY LETHBRIDGE Theatre The Real Thing MARK LAWSON Exhibition Michael CraigMartin JOANNA MOORHEAD Radio Lady Swindlers with Lucy Worsley D.J. TAYLOR

BOOKS / PAGE 21

Fiona Sampson Goethe: His Faustian Life A.N. WILSON James Fergusson A Voyage Around the Queen CRAIG BROWN Ariane Bankes Raising Hare CHLOE DALTON Lucy Beckett What Does Israel Fear from Palestine? RAJA SHEHADEH James Moran Creation Lake RACHEL KUSHNER

For more features, news, analysis and comment, visit www.thetablet.co.uk

28 SEPTEMBER 2024 | THE TABLET | 3