This turbulent priest

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I reflect on the schism that occurred when the SSPX took themselves out of communion with the Catholic Church when they consecrated new bishops without a papal mandate. Are they victims or aggressors? Do they merit our sympathy or criticism? Here is my take... Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I reflect on the beautiful reredos located in the sacred heard chapel at St Anselm's in Pembury which was created by C R Ashbee a prominent member of the Arts and Crafts movement. This reflection leads me to ponder the role of beauty in the world and in the faith and to consider how important the quest for beauty might be... Support the show You ca...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I try and distinguish between technological advance in society and genuine progress. I challenge the common assumption that humanity is evolving as time goes on... Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visit patreon.com and search for 'Ed Tomlinson' All vie...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I ponder the accusation, so often hurled at Christians, that religion causes war. Is it true? Does this claim stand up to scrutiny? What does the church have to say about this?  Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visit patreon.com and search for 'Ed Tomlinson...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I pick up on the education secretary's claim that modern children are too risk averse and cosseted and ask if we need to re-asses parenting especially in light of our faith as Catholics.   Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visit patreon.com and search for &a...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I try and give a Catholic response to the senseless murder of University student Henry Nowak. I suggest that a loss of Christian anthropology is leading to struggles in our society to deal with matters of justice and truth.  Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visi...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I give my first impressions on the first encyclical of Pope Leo which centres on anthropological questioning- what does it mean to be human in a fast evolving world with Ai?  Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visit patreon.com and search for 'Ed Tomlinson&ap...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I ponder the breakdown of the parish system and of local community in recent years and its impact on the faith and life of England.  Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visit patreon.com and search for 'Ed Tomlinson' All views on this podcast are my own p...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I ponder why Christianity has been largely abandoned by all political parties but especially the left, which once had a strong alliance with Catholicism in working class areas of Britain. I ask how Christians should engage with modern politics and end with a hopeful observation that the worm might, at last, be turning... Support the show You can now sup...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I share my concerns that global conflict is in the air and ask if the complexities of modern warfare make a traditional understanding of just war theory somewhat obsolete and difficult to discern. Is it time for the church to update its teaching in this regard?  Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patre...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I ponder the scandal that was caused when the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullaly, gave an apparent blessing in the basilica of St Peter in Rome and, more alarmingly, when a Catholic prelate appeared to accept it. Has ecumenism gone too far? Are we in danger of putting carts before horses? Do we cause confusion when we pretend to be more united...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I ponder the recent spat between Pope Leo and President Trump and try to ponder not only what caused it but also what the solution to such conflict might be... Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visit patreon.com and search for 'Ed Tomlinson' All views o...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I ponder a wonderful document, produced by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith, which explores the patrimony of the Ordinariate and examines how it is working on the ground. It is essentially a huge boost to those of us in the Ordinariate as it represents indisputable backing from Rome as regards the work we are doing.   Support the show You can now...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I ponder how we can fully enter into passion tide as we prepare for a good Holy Week Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visit patreon.com and search for 'Ed Tomlinson' All views on this podcast are my own personal views and do not represent the views of the wider ch...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I highlight how a serious crisis of masculinity in both the world and the church is deeply damaging both.  Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visit patreon.com and search for 'Ed Tomlinson' All views on this podcast are my own personal views and do not r...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I attempt to sidestep the politics of the situation in Iran and ask instead what we should make of it all as Catholics?  Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visit patreon.com and search for 'Ed Tomlinson' All views on this podcast are my own personal view...

Send us Fan Mail In this Lenten episode I deep dive on the subject of fasting. It is a practice that was once entirely normative for Christians but which has fallen out of us for many. Is it time to re-evaluate our need for it?  Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visit patreon.com and search for 'Ed Tom...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I ponder the role of altar serving, noting what aspects of this vital work has been lost in the modern era and asking how it might be reformed to help us in our future.  Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visit patreon.com and search for 'Ed Tomlinson' A...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I contemplate the grotesque scandals of Epstein in America and the Muslim grooming gangs in the North of England. And I ask what they have in common and what this reveals, from a Catholic perspective, about the loss of an authentic moral framework within modern secular Western culture.  Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow thi...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I ponder the ancient season of Pre-Lent which was lost to most modern Catholics at the Second Vatican council.  Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visit patreon.com and search for 'Ed Tomlinson' All views on this podcast are my own personal views and do...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I look into one of the most misunderstood and neglected aspect of Catholic teaching- the use of indulgences!  Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visit patreon.com and search for 'Ed Tomlinson' All views on this podcast are my own personal views and do no...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I explore the theme of relics. What are they? Are they biblical? What does the church teach us about them?  Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visit patreon.com and search for 'Ed Tomlinson' All views on this podcast are my own personal views and do not represent th...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I look back on 2025 with a special emphasis on the life of faith.  Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visit patreon.com and search for 'Ed Tomlinson' All views on this podcast are my own personal views and do not represent the views of the wider church or the Ordina...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I ponder the expectant Virgin Mary. What does her pregnancy tell us about God and ourselves? What lessons can we learn from the fact that God entered this world as an embryo?  Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this link  https://www.patreon.com/Thisturbulentpriest1974 Or visit patreon.com and search for 'Ed Tomlinson&a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I delve into some of the more surprising conversion stories in history to show how there is no place too dark for the light of Christ to penetrate. A good reminder in this season of Advent that God's grace and mercy is always more powerful than your puny sins- so take them to confession.   Support the show You can now support me on patreon. Just follow this li...