Students should remember how they can make a difference for friends who are struggling, Ireland rugby coach Joe Schmidt said last Friday at a Mass in Knock to mark the fifth anniversary of the death of Kerry teenager Donal Walsh. “If you see that one of your friends is struggling, in a dark place and…
The Icon of the Holy Family was welcomed to St Patrick’s parish in Ringsend last week, with one Mass celebrated by Bishop Raymond Field attracting 400 people. Deacon Tom Groves led the welcome ceremony on Monday, which was attended by St Patrick’s Boys and Girls National School. He led a catechises explaining the meaning of…
A noble end cannot justify an evil means, otherwise morality would be a simple matter of having good intentions, writes Dr John Murray Many people, including practising Catholics, might be motivated by compassion for women in crisis pregnancy situations to vote ‘yes’ in the upcoming abortion referendum. Such women and their difficulties feature often…
Migration and the Making of Ireland by Bryan Fanning (UCD Press, €25) Joe Carroll This is “the first comprehensive history of migration to and from the island of Ireland”, according to the publisher’s blurb. It certainly is comprehensive as it goes back to Neolithic times and up to more recent arrivals of Nigerians, Poles, Romanians and…
For centuries, suicide was considered as an act of despair and despair itself was seen as the most grievous sin of all. In many religious circles, despair was seen as the most sinful of all acts and ultimately unforgiveable. Sadly a strong residue of that remains, suicide is still seen by many as an act…
Fr Arnold Rosney On a beautiful warm May bank holiday Sunday, the Killaloe diocese jointly with the diocesan youth team and the World Meeting of Families hosted a wonderful Family Picnic Day. This was the first time the diocese hosted such an event. The event took place in the Showgrounds, Ennis which provided excellent facilities both…
The Church in Cameroon said shots were fired at the residence of Archbishop Samuel Kleda, president of the bishops’ conference, after he criticised policies by the government of President Paul Biya. “Projectiles were shot at the Archdiocese of Douala headquarters, breaking its windows,” the local vicar general Msgr Dieudonne Bayemeg said in a statement. “There…
Memoir: Remembering Krzysztof Joseph Romanowski by J. Anthony Gaughan (Kingdom Books, €15.00; available from Veritas branches) Today Polish is now the second most spoken language in Ireland (as Joe Carroll observes elsewhere on this page). Fr Gaughan’s new little book goes some way to explaining why this is. It consists of a brief, but moving memoir,…
Medical Matters An outbreak of measles earlier this year has highlighted the importance of children getting immunisation with the MMR vaccine. Measles is a highly contagious viral illness that gives rise to cold like symptoms, a fever and a rash, and usually affects children but can occur at any age. While in most cases…
Primate of All-Ireland Archbishop Eamon Martin has urged Catholics not to be afraid to speak up for their Faith. Dr Martin was speaking at the launch in Omagh of the new book How to Defend the Faith Without Raising Your Voice, co-written by The Irish Catholic Managing Editor Michael Kelly. He gave the example of…
Greg Daly
Chai Brady
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Peter Costello
Dr Kevin McCarroll