Science of life Does addiction to drugs destroy the capacity for free will in the addicts, rendering them incapable of saying ‘no’ to drugs? This question is currently before the High Court of the State of Massachusetts, US, and will be adjudicated on shortly. The specific case in question is that of Julie Eldred,…
Sweet Treats As we finally digest the large quantities of rich food from December, we can roll our way into January. With empty presses as far as the eye can see, every household needs something easy and delicious to fill the selection box sized hole in tummies. No one can resist a smile as…
Cork: Bishop John Buckley, combining his hurling and bowl playing skills, getting the St Vincent’s GAA Poc Fada under way at Kerry Pike. Photo: Mike English
Spirituality There’s a line in the writings of Julian of Norwich, the famous 14th-Century mystic and perhaps the first theologian to write in English, which is endlessly quoted by preachers, poets and writers: “but all shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well”. It’s her signature…
Letter from Rome Observers who’ve watched waves of attempted reforms wash over the Vatican across the years and then recede, often leaving very little changed in their wake, always marvel at the place’s ability to absorb a shock without really giving way. While there are many factors that help explain the staying power, here’s…
Family-friendly museum events Though the holidays are over, the National Gallery of Ireland is offering more occasions for the whole family to have fun and be inventive together. The drop-in session ‘Tearing through nature’ on January 14 from 11.30-3.30 is a creative workshop inspired by Turner’s landscapes, where you can create your own dramatic landscapes…
Jonathan Corrie’s death in December 2014 seemed set to transform national attitudes to homelessness, but more than three years later, not merely has the situation not improved, but things have got much worse. With roughly 9,000 people homeless in Ireland now, it seems the country now has more than twice as many people homeless as…
Quality Time at St Chinian by Patrick Masterson (Liberties Press, €14.99) Many people have enjoyed Ronald Searle’s The Terror of St Trinians and its sequel of comedy films. With an unmistakable reference to it in the title, Masterson provides a foretaste of this debut novel. Just as Searle described the eccentricities and idiocies of the staff…
Church leaders need a cultural shift to see the media as a partner rather than an adversary, writes Martin O’Brien What is the perception of the Irish Churches among the secular media in terms of getting out their story? Dynamic and missionary, which are words that I would associate with an 81-year-old man, Pope…
Collusion: How Russia Helped Trump Win the White House by Luke Harding (Guardian / Faber. £14.99) Peter Hegarty It’s no secret that Vladimir Putin supported Donald Trump in the recent presidential election. The two men are kindred spirits, white nationalists who dream of returning their countries to past greatness. They have cooperated, and more closely than is…
William Reville
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
John L. Allen Jr.
Greg Daly
Martin O'Brien