Josephine Corcoran

Pope Leo's first papal document, Dilexi te is out now. 📖

What does it say?
What's an Apostolic Exhortation?
How does it link back to Pope Francis?
What is the preferential option for the poor?

The answers to these questions and more. ⤵️

https://cafod.org.uk/pray/dilexi-te-explained

"Where the world sees threats, [the Church] sees children; where walls are built, she builds bridges"

Pope Leo’s message to us after the Gospel reading : "Brothers and sisters, those boats which hope to catch sight of a safe port, and those eyes filled with anguish and hope seeking to reach the shore, cannot and must not find the coldness of indifference or the stigma of discrimination!"

I had the beautiful experience of hearing Pope Leo say Mass on Sunday morning. I was with my family for the Jubilee of Hope, specifically last weekend the Jubilee of Migrants and for Missionaries.

Young lives cut short on an unimaginable scale: the 18,457 children on Gaza’s list of war dead Every name on a list compiled by health authorities in Gaza of the child victims of Israel’s offensive

www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

Far from comprehensive, the list does not include the thousands still buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings, as well as the war’s many indirect victims

This year, #NationalPoetryDay coincides with #YomKippur, so here is a poem that touches on my Jewish heritage, originally published in the wonderful @poetrywales.bsky.social magazine #BookSky

BBC National Short Story Award - BBC National Short Story Award 2025 - You Cannot Thread a Moving Needle by Colwill Brown - BBC Sounds Colwill Brown's powerful story is a contender for the BBC National Short Story Award.

I find *reading* prose written in dialect difficult but this story works so well in audio. Its amazing. I’m not surprised it won this year’s BBC National Short Story Award #shortstory #audiobooks #bbcsounds #bbcshortstoryawards #colwillbrown

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

I’ve just seen that he’s died

Thanks for sharing this Paul! Isn’t it mysterious how some poems speak to us? This one speaks to me.

And sometimes it happens that you are loved and then you are not loved

Brian Patten

BBC Sounds - The Plot Against America by Philip Roth - Available Episodes Listen to the latest episodes of The Plot Against America by Philip Roth on BBC Sounds.

Very good serialisation/adaption of Philip Roth’s novel ‘The Plot Against America’ (2004) on BBC R4 at the moment. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/serie...

‘I wanted it all’: Claire’s shoppers on what the store has meant to them Sparkly memories of the accessories stores, 156 of which will be rescued from administration in the UK and Ireland

V sweet re Claire’s Accessories “One of my favourite memories while working there is when me & the other girls would pierce each other’s ears. We would wait until it was really quiet and just go for it. I think I have three holes in one ear and four in another”

www.theguardian.com/business/202...

He wouldn't know London if it "slapped him across the face with a wet kipper."

The Guardian view on Christianity and the UK far right: churches must stand up to the false prophets of division | Editorial Editorial: Symbols of Christian nationalism were prominent at last Saturday’s ‘unite the kingdom’ march. Their deployment had little to do with religious faith

I would like to see churches speaking out about this www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

In an interview with the FT, Eric Trump played down the financial benefits to the family from its crypto interests and defended the launch of the $MELANIA and $TRUMP memecoins earlier this year as a bit of 'fun' on.ft.com/46JWYbK

Josephine Corcoran (@andothernotes) I’m grateful for this thoughtful piece about Bishop Robert Barron’s response to the death of Charlie Kirk. I’ve been troubled by the seemingly uneven reaction to this loss of life compared to others.

In relation to this, I’m grateful for this thoughtful essay about the Bishop’s response to Charlie Kirk’s death compared to his proclamations about other high-profile killings. substack.com/@andothernot...

This is a niche Catholic thing but is anyone here involved with a Parish that’s used Bishop Robert Barron’s ‘Catholicism’ course? I’m alarmed at some of this man’s recent comments/social media posts and curious about how influential he is in the UK.

Ireland to withdraw from Eurovision 2026 over Israel RTÉ has announced this lunchtime that it will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song contest "if the participation of Israel goes ahead."

Ireland will not take part in 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if participation of Israel goes ahead, RTÉ Director-General says

MPT MAGAZINE (2016) ‘For The Voiceless People’ by Gemoraw Of all freedoms, speech is the first, and it is the tongue which allows us to voice our desires and our desiring. If the tongue is tied down and cannot tell what we feel, not only our flesh is tied, but our soul. And if our fellow man is tongue-tied, we must speak for him too! If we find ourselves in a free country, what is the use of freedom, if we do not speak for the speechless? Is it a crime to say I am their fellow man? your tongues are burning, your hunger is raging! blame the drought! say our Authorities. But for all those whose voice is silenced, and who cannot cry help! for themselves: cry help!! TRANSLATION: CHRIS BECKET & ALEMU TEBEJE

By Ethiopian poet and activist Gemoraw (from @mptmagazine.bsky.social) “If we find ourselves in a free country / what is the use of freedom / if we do not speak for the speechless?”

And still I put my dressing gown and go out in the garden, every time.

I have to say that every single one of these hotly anticipated and grandly announced lunar/solar once every hundred years ‘events’ have resulted in an extravaganza of cloud/mist/fog/rain/shadow for me. Not that I’m bitter or anything.

WHERE is the sodding moon???

It's a wrap! Yesterday I submitted my @poetryschool.bsky.social
MA in Writing Poetry final portfolio. An amazing 2 years, including launching my collection Crippled at the Summer School. Did I mention I've a book out? Copies here: www.redsquirrelpress.com/product-page... or DM me for a signed one.

Nigel Farage uses private company to pay less tax on GB News earnings Exclusive: Reform leader’s use of personal services firm is a practice criticised across the political spectrum

Just wait until the BBC, Sky, Mail, Telegraph, Express, Sun, and GBeebies get hold of this story of obvious and deliberate tax avoidance!

JUST WAIT!

<waits>

<waits some more>

<does today's sudoku>

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Imagine if any Tory or Reform politician had EVER had this much scrutiny from the UK’s sh*tty press and news outlets

A group of journalists gathered at Lebanon's Martyrs’ Square in Beirut to express support for their Palestinian colleagues reporting in Gaza, holding the pictures of some of the 274 Palestinian journalists killed by Israel since it began its war on the enclave.

Today is the perfect Bank Holiday Sunday to lose yourself in poetry and Geraldine Clarkson writes the stuff damn well.

On Israel reportedly uprooting Palestinian olive groves - aje.io/8y47ao - even the draconian Hebrew laws of war laid down in early biblical times forbade the wielding of the axe against them.