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| Type | Bimonthly magazine |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Brandsma Books |
| Editor | Peadar Laighleis |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Circulation | 3,000 |
| Website | http://brandsmareview.wordpress.com/ |
The Brandsma Review was a bi-monthlymagazine of conservativeCatholic opinion in circulation in Ireland. ItsEcclesiastical Latin masthead isPro Vita, Pro Ecclesia Dei et Pro Hibernia 'for life, for the Church of God and for Ireland'. It is called after the DutchCarmelite priest-journalist BlessedTitus Brandsma, who lived in Ireland for a period in the 1930s and was subsequently martyred by the Nazis.
The magazine was founded in the wake of theX Case and the resignation of Rt. Rev.Éamon Casey as Bishop of theRoman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora in 1992 and since then it has consistently opposedeuthanasia, embryo experimentation, andabortion.
The legend 'Ecclesia Dei' is a reference to the 1988 document ofPope John Paul II,Ecclesia Dei Adflicta which deals with theTridentine Mass, but this is not a unanimous position within the editorial board. Board members of theLatin Mass Society of Ireland have contributed articles over the years. At the same time, the Review tries to cultivate a broad presentation of Catholic culture and has correspondents inNorth America,Europe and theAustralasia. It sometimes publishes articles by non-Catholics (generally Evangelical Protestants and eastern Orthodox, but sometimes Jews, Muslims and conservative secularists have contributed) on matters of common concern.
The Brandsma Review has published many articles criticising the state ofcatechesis in IrishCatholic schools and the existence of unorthodox liturgical practices and doctrinal statements within sections of Irish Catholicism. It has also been critical of the tendency of some Traditionalist Catholics to believe inconspiracy theories. The March–April 2008 issue (vol. 17 no.2) p. 2 has an editorial "Beware of French Letter Liberals – And Jew Baiters!" which describes "our sniff test for articles submitted for publication. The left nostril is for pro-contraceptionists... the right nostril, for Jew baiters. Both are incompatible with real Catholicism, and so both are a no-no." It has also published articles questioning the allegedMarian apparitions at Medugorje.
The founder editor ofThe Brandsma Review is Nick Lowry, a retired news editor fromRadio Telefís Éireann who contributes signed editorials and a regular column "Straws for the Camel's Back" commenting on current events within Irish Catholicism. Lowry retired in February 2012 and was replaced by Peadar Laighleis, who was also President of theLatin Mass Society of Ireland.[1] The original model used was that of theBallintrillick Review, which was in circulation in Ireland in the 1980s, until its editor Doris Manley died of cancer; theBallintrillick Review was outspokenlyanti-abortion but was somewhat more communitarian on economic matters and had no particular interest in theTridentine Mass. Many of the originalBrandsma Review subscribers had subscribed to the more stridentFaith and Family which earned notoriety at the time by being banned from the Catholic book storeVeritas.
Among the contributors to the magazine are Mel Cormican, David Manly, and the campaigner on many social issues DrJoe McCarroll.