Paul KeenanMore than 100 Muslim leaders – clerics and laypeople alike – have signed on to a letter criticising the Middle East Muslim military group ISIS. In the 17-page letter, the leaders quote extensively from the Quran, the Muslim scriptures, to rebuke ISIS' tactics and actions. Since the letter was issued, more than 125 Muslim leaders…
Month: October 2014
Vatican Roundup
Pope Francis has called for abolition of the death penalty as well as life imprisonment He has also denounced what he called a "penal populism" that promises to solve society's problems by punishing crime instead of pursuing social justice. "It is impossible to imagine that states today cannot make use of another means than capital…
Ebola nurse thanks God and doctors for recovery
Nina Pham, a Dallas nurse, was the first person known to have contracted the Ebola virus in the United States
Catholics must present a positive vision to Ireland
Cathal BarryThe new director of Trinity College Dublin’s Loyola Institute has called for a renewed vision of what it means to be Catholic
Heroic Iraqi seminarian saved Blessed Sacrament from ISIS
An Iraqi seminarian has proven his credentials after he heroically saved the Blessed Sacrament from a local Church before Islamic State militants ISIS descended on the village of Karamlesh. “Until the very last minute, the Pashmerga [the Kurdish armed forces protecting the villages] were telling us it was safe,” the 24-year-old seminarian, Martin Baani, told…
Craftsman of the snowflake
John F Deane This book by the Berryman scholar, Philip Coleman, is beautifully timed, both as a celebration of Berryman’s birth 100 years ago, and in its work to challenge assumptions about the poetry that have tended to diminish Berryman’s worth. Assessment of a poet may change from generation to generation. So-called ‘confessional’ poets have…
Better religious instruction in school
Dear Editor, There is lots of talking about the lack of vocations to the priesthood and religious life but no word at all about the lack of religious instruction in our national schools since Vatican II. It is nonsense to expect young men and young women to give their lives to Jesus Christ when they…
Hollywood star finds God in WWII movie
Mags GarganAmerican actor Shia LaBeouf (28) has revealed that he found God while playing the part of a Christian soldier wrestling with guilt during World War II, in his new film Fury. “I found God doing Fury,” said the actor, whose mother is from an Ashkenazi Jewish family and whose father has Cajun (French) ancestry. “I…
The mysteries of Marco Polo
Peter CostelloHis encounters with Christianity is one of the mysteries of Marco Polo
Ireland’s workers up in arms?
The Irish Citizen Army by Ann Matthews (Mercier Press, €14.99/£11.99)