Courtney McGrailThe Pro Life Campaign (PLC) has said that it is unacceptable that the HSE might not investigate circumstances surrounding abortions in Irish hospitals. Responding to reports of how staff at a Leinster hospital were concerned that an abortion was granted to a woman who presented as pregnant and suicidal, despite her having no history of…
Month: June 2015
Purgatory & paradise
Cathal BarryEvery year thousands of people undertake a three-day-long pilgrimage to Lough Derg, each with their own intentions. In the first of a two-part special, The Irish Catholic reports on St Patrick’s Purgatory. Cathal Barry recounts his pilgrimage to St Patrick’s Purgatory
Ireland needs another St Patrick
Dear Editor, The result of the recent referendum in Ireland has devastated me and everyone I have spoken to about it. I am Irish born and for the first time in my life I am ashamed of my country. On the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, the college where I teach had a…
Catholics now have a minority perspective
Dear Editor, For all who now seek to live within the spirit of any faith, and most especially Christianity, and in particular within the Catholic denomination of the Christian faith, it is time for us to realise that it is grossly illusionary to think that the Spirit is in one with, or even compatible with,…
Time for Christian Churches to unite
Dear Editor, Noting the further slip in the influence of the Catholic Church in this country, I feel that we are being prompted to “make all things new”. The ‘new’ thinking could be to work more actively in bringing unity to the Christian Churches. Early enthusiasm for this work has waned. Each Christian Church has…
Remember to take time out to enjoy your garden
Paul GarganGarden seats are not just for decoration – use them.
Helping teens connect to parish life
Mags GarganMags Gargan meets participants in a post-Confirmation parish programme which keeps young people connected to the Church
Medjugorje is an extraordinary oasis of peace
Fr Martin Delaney reflects on his experiences of the revered shrine
Recent books in brief
A Life to Live: Awakening to God’s Abiding Presence by Jim O’Connell MHM, foreword by Liam Lawton (Columba Press, €14.99) Some years ago, our reviewer, Angela MacNamara, wrote of an earlier book of Fr O’Connell’s that “it is as though someone is taking one’s hand and enabling one to face the real world of God…
A man of clay
Ecuadorean sculptor Ramon Guato opens a mould figure of Pope Francis at his workshop in Quito June 12. Guato, a sculptor of religious figures, has prepared about 2,000 figures to be sold at Catholic libraries ahead of the upcoming visit by Pope Francis to Ecuador in July. (CNS photo/Guillermo Granja, Reuters)