Peadar Laighléis As long as I can remember, attracting young people to the Church has been a hot topic. There have been many trials: folk Masses, youth festivals and Taizé evenings, for example. None have proved to be a magic bullet. I don’t believe there is a single answer to this problem, but we could…
A call for mourners to attend the funeral of an Irish man who died in Manchester last month could be the first of many such appeals, the head of the Irish Chaplaincy in Britain has warned. John Joseph O’Brien, 73, died in the Hulme area of the city on August 9, and has no known…
Fr Andrew McMahon For those aware of the recent storm engulfing Newstalk radio’s George Hook, but unfamiliar with its origins, let’s recall the basic facts: at the start of his High Noon programme on September 8, the broadcaster was drawing attention to stories in the news. One was a British court case in which a…
A three-hour Mass probably wouldn’t go down well in the average Irish parish, but according to a priest from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Ireland, his congregation can’t get enough. It’s not only the length of Mass that makes Ethiopian Orthodoxy different. Almost all the liturgy is musical and has copious singing between the priest…
A policeman who was the most senior Catholic in the RUC has spoken of an IRA plot to kill him during Mass. Former high ranking RUC, subsequently PSNI, policeman Peter Sheridan said he was told by gardaí during the height of the Troubles that his life was in serious danger. “I use to attend Mass…
Those of a liberal persuasion tend to congratulate themselves on the changes that have taken place in Irish society over the last few decades as we have become more ‘tolerant’, more ‘compassionate’, more ‘open-minded’ and more ‘mature’. They like to remind us of ‘how far we have come’ compared with the Ireland of say, the…
With space for 50 families, the new Crosscare centre at the Mater Dei Institute in Dublin has opened and is beginning to house vulnerable people. This follows the move of DCU students to St Patrick’s College, leaving the space open to be used as emergency temporary accommodation run by the Catholic charity. The project is…
The Irish Capuchins’ Year of Vocation, launched last weekend at Knock, is a “natural progression” from how the order was in the national spotlight last year in connection with their 400th anniversary in Ireland and the centenary of the Easter Rising, the order’s vocations promoter has said. “It’s a year to actively promote the Capuchin…
The Jesuit Refugee Service has opened a new multi-purpose resource centre designed to create a safe space to support asylum seekers in adapting to their new surroundings in Ireland. Seomra Fáilte was opened in the Balseskin Reception Centre in Dublin in July and offers a range of activities to newly arrived refugees and long-term residents…
As Angela Merkel faces a virtual coronation as sovereign of Europe, the biographies of the lady are coming thick and fast. Five new tomes have been published in recent weeks – two in German, one each in English, French and Dutch. Her background as a Lutheran pastor’s daughter is highlighted in all these Merkel studies.…
Greg Daly
Chai Brady
David Quinn
Mags Gargan
Mary Kenny