Irish missionary work in Venezuela is worth celebrating even in troubled times, Greg Daly learns This summer, Ireland’s Sacred Heart Missionaries (MSC) celebrated the 50th anniversary of their mission in Venezuela, but compared with 1992’s silver jubilee, the mission’s golden jubilee celebration was a low key affair. “We had a Mass first,” explains Fr…
The tallest statue of the Virgin Mary in the world is set to be built on an island in Central America. At 47 metres high the statue is expected to cost 80 million pesos, just over €3.57 million, and will be built on San Simón hill in a marginalised area of Guadalupe. The project began…
Amongst the many events to fall victim to storm Ophelia was the much-anticipated launch of Martin Luther: The Challenge Then and Now. The book, by Glenstal monk Fintan Lyons OSB, was due to be launched on Monday evening. It has now been re-scheduled for this coming Monday, October 23 at Newman’s University Church, St Stephen’s…
An Post’s new stamp commemorating the centenary of the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima is based on a statue owned by Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, and was designed by a permanent deacon of the Archdiocese. Rev. Martin Barlow, a husband and father of two who was ordained to the permanent diaconate in December…
Finding God in the Waves: How I Lost my Faith and Found it Again Through Science by Mike McHargue (Hodder & Stoughton, £9.99) Christopher Moriarty An intense reading of the entire Bible, following a deeply traumatic incident in his life, led the Southern Baptist author Mike McHargue to a spell of atheism which lasted for two years.…
A Nigerian bishop in Liverpool has said the Catholic Church in his country is beginning to lose its public influence because of the decline of religious Faith in the West. Bishop Matthew Kukah of Sokoto accused European and American politicians and diplomats of publicly “pandering” to Islam at the expense of Christianity. The result, he…
The president of the Sri Lanka Catholic Bishops’ Conference has called on local media not to attack Church leaders over their anti-abortion stance. Bishop Winston Fernando said that media freedom does not constitute a right to target religious leaders who condemned a government decision to allow abortion in a broader range of circumstances. “We can’t…
Martin Mansergh Few statues are not offensive to somebody. Fellow adviser, writer Anthony Cronin, once suggested that the statue of Fr Mathew should be removed from O’Connell Street, as it was offensive to drinkers. Fr Mathew warned the Irish poor against consumption of strong spirits, or they might soon find themselves before the bar of…
Wounds: A Memoir of Love & War by Fergal Keane (William Collins, £18.99) Fergal Keane is well-known as a foreign correspondent, especially for his coverage of Africa and Serbia. His main area of interest is war and its effect on those who have been caught up in it. In his latest book he looks closer to…
Various experts have been appearing before the Oireachtas Committee that is considering what wording to put before the Irish people in next year’s abortion referendum. Much of the focus on the hearings to date has been on their alleged bias. More on this anon, what is far more important is what was said last week…
Greg Daly
David Quinn