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with Cathy Macdonald

Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch on chronic illness and his religious discovery. Plus a Bosnian apparition, and a look at the role of NDAs in modern society.

Acclaimed author and master stonemason Andrew Ziminski joins Cathy to discuss the fascinating stories and history in the churches and graveyards he has restored for his new book, Church Going - A Stonemason's Guide to the Churches of the British Isles.

After nearly 15 years spent studying the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary to a group of children in Medjugorje, Bosnia, in 1981, the Vatican recently announced its findings. Cathy talks to Rome-based journalist Josephine McKenna about the process of declaring it a site of legitimate Catholic devotion and the wave of religious tourism that has grown up around it.

Cathy’s Spiritual Life guest this week is Stuart Murdoch, the lead singer of Scottish indie-pop band Belle and Sebastian. Alongside the story of his personal faith journey, Stuart tells Cathy about his semi-autobiographical debut novel, Nobody’s Empire, and delves into its themes of chronic fatigue syndrome, religious discovery and the city of Glasgow.

Joining Cathy on this week’s Faith Forum panel is Ravi Ladva - a member of the Hindu community in Scotland, award-winning Jewish writer Rodge Glass and ethicist and theologian Gina Menzies.

The panel will be reflecting on some of this week’s big stories.

In the wake of the current investigations into Mohamed Al Fayed and record executive P Diddy, the panel contemplate the use of non-disclosure agreements and what they tell us about the direction of society and the ethics around them.

After the health secretary, Wes Streeting, recently described the NHS as ‘broken’, the panel examine the impact of emotive language in politics and beyond.

And as the Jewish festival of Rosh Hashana, the Hindu festival of Sharad Navratri, and the Christian Harvest Thanksgiving Festival get ever closer, the panel looks at their significance to each faith and the intricacies of celebrating religious festivals at a time of unrest.

11 days left to listen

1 hour, 55 minutes

Last on

Sun 29 Sep 2024 08:00

Music Played

  • Belle and Sebastian

    Nobody's Empire

    • Nobody’s Empire.
    • Matador.
    • 001.
  • Aretha Franklin

    Respect

    • Aretha Franklin - Queen Of Soul.
    • Atlantic.
  • Renaissance

    Northern Lights

    • Folk Flavours.
    • Crimson.
    • 10.
  • The Police

    Message In A Bottle

    • The Very Best Of Sting & The Police.
    • A&M.
  • Florence + The Machine

    Shake It Out

    • Shake It Out.
    • Island Records.
    • 1.

Broadcast

  • Sun 29 Sep 2024 08:00