Courtney McGrailBurundi’s bishops have called for action to be taken to ensure the country’s elections take place safely. In a statement issued in the aftermath of the departure from the country of constitutional court vice-president Sylvere Nimpagaritse, the bishops’ conference urged support for elections so the institutions of state could “enjoy the confidence of the people”.…
Month: May 2015
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…
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…
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…
Throwing away tradition
Dear Editor, When the Government says this referendum is about civil marriage and has nothing to do with religious marriage, what is really being said is: We don’t care about centuries of tradition or philosophical or theological wisdom, and we don’t care about what God has to say about human affairs, as made known through his…
Keeping the show on the road isn’t enough
We must “remind ourselves that Christianity has something beautiful to offer” writes Andrew O’Connell
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…
How the Red Star waned over Ireland
Sean Murray: Marxist-Leninist and Irish Socialist Republican by Sean Byers (Irish Academic Press, €24.99 pb)
Joyce and the Jews at Marsh’s Library
The 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…
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)