Homeowners are being encouraged to invite elderly people who may have mobility or other issues to their houses to watch the papal Mass in a group setting. Pope Francis’ Mass in the Phoenix Park on August 26 is set to be an historic event for all involved, but with many elderly people unable to attend,…
Letter from Britain A new report on sexual abuse committed by staff of international aid agencies could provide a blueprint for the Church in dealing with the aftermath of the accusations surrounding once-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former Archbishop of Washington, and other high-ranking clerics that have come to light in 2018. The British Parliamentary International…
WMOF 2018 Family is the “strongest building block of society” according to Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli who been confirmed to sing at the Festival of Families in Croke Park on August 25. The event is a celebration of family life and is expected to be one of the highlights of the WMOF with Pope…
Building on the development of Church teaching against capital punishment, Pope Francis has ordered a revision of the Catechism of the Church to assert “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” and to commit the Church to working toward its abolition worldwide. The catechism’s…
An Irish priest who was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease (MND) in February, has completed a 550km journey from the top to the bottom of Ireland raising almost €220,000 to aid research into the condition. Dublin-based priest, Fr Tony Coote said the disease was a “very degenerating and difficult illness” but rather than complain about…
Pilgrims travelling to see Pope Francis in the Phoenix Park this month should be careful travelling to and from the event and make use of public transport when possible, Killaloe’s bishop has said. Bishop Fintan Monahan said that on August 26, around 500,000 people are due to be in Dublin together for the World Meeting…
A Catholic bishop in the Philippines has expressed support for a government plan to rescue three Filipino migrant workers abducted in Libya last month. Bishop Rufino Santos, head of the Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People, said he supports President Rodrigo Duterte’s proposal to send a frigate to help rescue the Filipinos. “Yes we support,”…
What Are We Doing Here? by Marilynne Robinson (Virago, £18.99) Patrick Claffey Born in 1943, Marilynne Robinson is a celebrated American novelist and essayist, a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005, a National Humanities Medal and the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction in 2016 – the year she was also named…
Medical Matters An ageing population has resulted in a major increase in the number of older adults who have significant cognitive impairment. While the incidence of dementia at any given age has not changed much in recent decades, the number of people affected has noticeably risen due to gains in life expectancy. Dementia incidence…
Chai Brady
Colm Fitzpatrick
Dr Kevin McCarroll