It was no fluke that the climax to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings – the destruction of the Ring on Mount Doom – took place, as Tolkien fans who pore over appendices will tell you, on March 25. March 25, writes Eleanor Parker at aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com, is “the single most significant date in salvation…
Pope’s reminder of the source of salvation Only God’s infinite mercy can bring us salvation, Pope Francis said in his Easter message. Describing the world as “full of persons suffering in body and spirit”, with the daily news full of stories of brutal crimes and large-scale armed conflicts, the Pope said “the risen Christ points out paths of hope to beloved…
Dear Editor, Cathal Barry in your edition of March 3 is clearly hoping that Fianna Fáil forms the next government because he feels the majority of that party is not in favour of amending the Eighth Amendment. He also quotes Dr Ruth Cullen of the Pro-Life Campaign as having the same opinion. I would not be too sure.…
Dear Editor, It seems from Nuala O’Loan’s article The View (IC 17/03/2016) that the highly qualified and distinguished Commission for the Protection of Minors is being strangled in the way other benevolent bodies are, by having to get funding from the very people of whom they may be most critical. Slow strangulation by poverty or the…
A particularly early print deadline recently meant the number of hours’ sleep this columnist got the night previous fell well shy of the recommended amount. The amount of sleep needed to function the next day varies from person to person. While the average adult needs about eight hours of sleep each night, some people need…
Shane O’Neill by Ciaran Brady (Irish Historical Association/UCD Press, €17.00) This is an account of a complex character who lived in a period when the fortunes of the leaders of Irish Clans could change frequently and sometimes with dire consequences. Shane O’Neill was born into the O’Neill Clan c. 1530. The O’Neills at that time presided over…
Holy Orders is the sacrament of apostolic ministry, writes Cathal Barry Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. As such, the Church teaches that “it is the…
Greg Daly speaks to Aid to the Church in Need about the global war on Christianity The persecution of Christians around the world is something increasingly spoken of, according to John Pontifex from Britain’s branch of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), but the problem goes far beyond perception. “It’s clearly very much getting…
Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, PCPA, known to millions globally as the foundress of the EWTN Global Catholic Network, died peacefully at 5pm on Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016, surrounded by the Poor Clare Nuns of Perpetual Adoration of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, Alabama. “This is a sorrow-filled day for…
Dear Editor, We wish to register our protest at Enda Kenny misusing the name of Jesus on live television while in the US for St Patrick’s Day celebrations. This was picked up and repeated by the Irish and UK media and it is not acceptable from our acting Taoiseach. We do appreciate that he intended…
Greg Daly
Courtney McGrail
Cathal Barry