Brendan O’ReganGuardian angels come in unlikely forms, writes Brendan O’Regan
Month: May 2015
Wisdom from the Orient
Peter CostelloGuest from the West: Lessons for the West from a Lifetime in the East by Hugh MacMahon (Original Writing, €15.00 pb; ISBN: 978-1-78237-849-5)
Joyce and the Jews at Marsh’s Library
Courtney McGrailThe Books Editor Marsh’s Library in the shadow of St Patrick’s Cathedral is the oldest public library in Ireland. It remains largely unchanged since the 18th Century, with the books still fenced into little cubicles behind wooden screens. However, I suspect it is visited more by tourists than by natives of the city. This is…
Cultivating more openness for a life with a sense of God
Greg DalyFollowing Pope Francis’ suggestion that Catholics turn to Dante’s Divine Comedy for inspiration in the coming Year of Mercy, Rod Dreher, whose How Dante Can Save Your Life has just been published, reflects at theamericanconservative.com on the dangers of living our lives thinly, with no sense of God. He warns of the dangers of closing…
Keeping the show on the road isn’t enough
We must “remind ourselves that Christianity has something beautiful to offer” writes Andrew O’Connell
Bishops call on Kenyan Government to protect its people as deaths mount
Kenya’s bishops have called on their government to fulfil its constitutional duty to protect all Kenyans, following the massacre of 50 Kenyans at the North Rift and elsewhere in the country. The bishops’ conference, headed by Homa Bay’s Bishop Philip Anyolo, heard the news of the killings as they gathered in Nairobi for their Ordinary…
Anti-capital punishment advocate nun argues for Boston bomber sentence
One of the United States’ leading opponents of the death penalty has spoken on behalf of the Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Sr Helen Prejean, famously played by Susan Sarandon in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking, was invited to speak by Mr Tsarnaev’s lawyers in an attempt to convince a jury to sentence Mr…
French mayor to fight court order to remove statue of Pope St John Paul II
A statue of Pope St John Paul II must be removed from a public square in the small town of Ploermel in France, according to a court which says it violates the separation of church and state. Taking issue with the “ostentatious” location and size of the 29-foot statue, which shows the saint praying under…
Gutierrez invitation by Vatican is a boost for his under-fire theology
The founder of the liberation theology movement has spoken at the special Vatican conference of the Church’s aid and development agencies, talking about “a poor Church for the poor”. The appearance of Fr Gustavo Gutierrez at the event is being hailed as a symbolic moment of acceptance for the Peruvian friar and the theological movement…
Cuban President drawn to prayer
Cuban President Raul Castro gestures toward Pope Francis after a private meeting in the Vatican on May 10. President Castro said he has been so impressed by the Pope that he is tempted to start praying again and return to the Church. He said he would attend all the Pope’s Masses on his September 19-22…