Chinese authorities have ordered journalists not to describe an outspoken retired cardinal as the ‘emeritus’ bishop of Hong Kong, but to use ‘former’ instead. Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun was outspoken in his disdain for the ruling Communist Party, and raised issues regarding political freedom, human rights and religious persecution. He expressed a willingness to get…
Human trafficking is “brutal, savage and criminal,” Pope Francis said, but often it seems like people see it as a sad, but normal fact of life. “I want to call everyone to make a commitment to seeing that this perverse plague, a modern form of slavery, is effectively countered,” the Pope said on July 30,…
Meeting migrants makes you realise they are human beings, and they “have suffered much” according to the Director of Caritas Internationalis. Michael Roy says that listening to the stories of migrants and refugees should help people transcend prejudice. “You may be afraid of migrants as a large group of people coming in, but when you…
New US ambassador to the Holy See US President Donald Trump has nominated Callista Gingrich to be his ambassador to the Holy See. She will face several challenges representing the US in the Vatican, particularly following Trump’s decision to abandon the Paris climate agreement, while Pope Francis has made clear that care for the environment…
Pope Francis and the Vatican have “tried very hard” to find a solution that’s “peaceful and democratic” in Venezuela. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, told Italian media the Vatican wanted to “help all without destruction”. On Sunday a referendum was held to elect a body to re-write Venezuela’s constitution, a matter which has…
Right now, cinemas are featuring the summer blockbuster Dunkirk, written and directed by Christopher Nolan, about the famous WWII evacuation of trapped Allied troops which most Brits regard as among their finest hours. That evacuation, in which hundreds of ordinary people joined an impromptu flotilla to bring the troops home, occasioned Winston Churchill’s famed 1940…
Dear Editor, I’m delighted that Róisín O’Rourke, who responded to my original letter (IC 06/07/2017), is enjoying teaching religion in Leitrim Village. It reminds me of my own experience, 60 years ago, when I too was a primary teacher. I am presently the curate in the largest city parish in Limerick. We have marvellous First…
Dear Editor, Subsequent to the concert at Manchester Arena, outrage was expressed worldwide in the media at the deliberate targeting of the innocent. Among the dead and injured were a sizeable number of young and teenaged children. Some of them were accompanied by parents to act as guardians in getting them there, ensuring to the…
Dear Editor, You published on July 13 Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s recent address at a conference in Germany. The archbishop concluded that the Church is “the redefinition of power in terms of the way in which Jesus revealed who God is”. To me anyway, I have not ever read words that outline the true meaning and…
Dear Editor, In relation to Bishop Kirby’s contribution to the conference ‘Let’s talk Family, let’s be Family (IC 20/07/2017), the State definition of marriage “which cannot be described in terms of traditional Christian doctrine” is at odds with the Christian definition of marriage (“the creator from the beginning made them male and female…is why a…
John L. Allen Jr.