Religion is moving centre-stage in the US presidential election, writes Kieron Wood The victory of Mormon Mitt Romney in the Iowa caucus last week has once more highlighted the importance of religion in US presidential elections. In the 2012 Iowa caucus of January 3, Romney took only 25 per cent of the vote,…
Two years after Haiti’s earthquake, Trócaire continues its work there, writes Eoghan Rice In the labyrinth of narrow laneways that cut through Villa Rosa, Saul Darbouze leads us to the place he calls home. The path changes from concrete to mud as we enter further into this tangled web of side-streets and alleyways.…
Family Activities Annie O’Connell Your family may be coming back to earth with a bang after the excitement of Christmas. If the children are feeling a bit under the weather after the holidays, we can help them to express and accept their emotions. We can explain how we all need to get more sleep,…
Health Matters Dr Andrea Fitzgerald Depression is a common illness, affecting more than one in 10 people in Ireland at any one time. Nearly 20 per cent of us will suffer from depression at some point in our lives. Depression is so common globally that the World Health Organisation has predicted that by 2020…
January can be a strange month. The post-Christmas blues begin to set in and everything seems a little flat after the hectic Christmas period. Bills are pouring in, the focus is back on the cheerless news about the economy and it’s difficult to get back to the reality of our mundane existence with the…
In a rediscovered letter, a dying mother says goodbye to her young daughter ‘When we bought two (copy) books for your homework so that you had the opportunity to use the one ”like all the others” I made up my mind to write a long, long letter to you in the one you didn’t…
Denis Buckley describes some of the work of Humanitarian Volunteers in Kenya Have you ever considered volunteering for a short period in Africa? The support of volunteers from Ireland has now become crucial to the survival of many small projects. The collapse of the Celtic Tiger and the global credit crunch has had…
A priest exonerated of sexual abuse has returned to full ministry in his Co. Down parish. Fr Sean Cahill stepped aside from Castlewellan-Kilmegan parish in February 2010 after an allegation was made against him. However, following an investigation by the PSNI, Fr Cahill was cleared of any wrongdoing in August. On New Year’s Day,…
This year will present a number of issues of concern, write David Quinn The year ahead looks set to be an extremely important one. Quite apart from the economy, several issues of great importance to Catholics and Christians more generally will be decided as well. For example, by the end of 2012 it…
26 pastoral workers murdered in 2011 The year 2011 saw 26 religious and lay pastoral workers killed in the course of their work. In a document released by the Fides, the Vatican’s information service for missions, details are offered of those 18 priests, four religious sisters and four lay people who died by violence…
Maria Byrne
Paul Keenan
David Quinn