It is a strange thing to realise that you have become a sort of slave – albeit a fairly happy one, at least when you are tucking your peacefully slumbering little masters in at night. Perhaps the term, “indentured servant” is more accurate, because there is the prospect of eventual freedom, allegedly. With each new…
Month: February 2015
Bunting for St Valentine’s Day
Erin FoxAny occasion is made special with the addition of decorative bunting. Typically, bunting is shaped like triangles but different holidays inspire different shaped bunting such as Christmas trees, shamrocks, Easter eggs or, with St Valentine’s Day just around the corner, hearts. Heart bunting is not just for St Valentine’s Day. Make this garland for the…
Working together to protect the vulnerable
Louise McCarthytalks to the project manager of a campaign working with the hospitality sector to combat child sex trafficking
Lights for consecrated life
Courtney McGrailReligious carry candles in procession at the start of a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis to mark the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, February 2. The Mass in St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican also marked the World Day for Consecrated Life.
Vatican Round-up
Pontifical council consider challenges for women Violence against women, cultural pressures regarding women’s physical appearance, attitudes that subjugate women or that ignore male-female differences and the growing alienation of women from the Church in some parts of the World are themes the Pontifical Council for Culture is set to explore. The council has chosen to discuss the theme, ‘Women’s Cultures:…
Vatican to provide free haircuts for the homeless
Homeless people in Rome will soon be able to head to the Vatican for a free shave and haircut. According to the Italian news agency ANSA, haircuts and shaves will be available to those less fortunate on Mondays. In Italy, barbershops are traditionally closed on Mondays, allowing for volunteer barbers to donate their time. The…
Exiled Dominican friar fights to preserve Iraqi Christian past
A Dominican friar, exiled from his friary in Mosul by the Islamic State last year, is working to preserve Christian manuscripts through digitisation to ensure the memory of Iraq’s Christian past survives. Iraqi native, Fr Najeeb Michaeel, OP, founded the Centre for the Digitisation of Oriental Manuscripts in 1990 to foster the collection and recording…
Philippine prelates insist peace process must continue
Philippine Catholic leaders called for the peace process to move forward between the country’s largest Muslim rebel group and the government, days after a deadly encounter between fighters of the two sides in the country’s south. The 12-hour battle on January 25 happened during a crucial stage in peacebuilding efforts between the rebel Moro Islamic…
The road to eradicating Ebola
Much still needs to be done but there is light in the darkness, writes Seán Farrell
Galway novena takes to the streets
Cathal BarryOrganisers are getting inventive to draw in a younger audience, writes Cathal Barry