You know it is a good homily when your 22-year-old daughter leans over and comments on it in the middle of Mass. We made a point of stopping to talk to our new curate, Fr Brendan, afterwards. What had struck Deirbhile was that Fr Brendan was connecting the readings to issues here and now. It…
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently reported a sharp increase in the incidence of measles in the WHO European region in the first half of 2018 compared to 2017. This increase also occurred in Ireland. The ironic thing is that measles is a disease preventable by simple vaccination and the current resurgence of the disease…
There are hopes the Synod of Bishops will give fresh impetus to resource youth ministry and mirror international youth movements, according to Church youth workers. Following a meeting with Archbishop Eamon Martin and Bishop Donal McKeown in the Vatican, 11 youth ministers discussed the progress of the synod on youth. “One of the big things…
Everyone, it seemed, deplored Peter Casey’s rather unkind remarks about Travelling people being essentially a community which camps on other people’s land and has no genuine claim to a separate ‘ethnic identity’. Whether Travellers are a separate ethnic group is a matter of dispute. But it is certain that they are a disadvantaged group, and…
I find it hard to get enthused about the presidential election or the blasphemy referendum. In the case of the election I suppose it’s because the incumbent is so far ahead that he seems a shoo-in and predictability is always a drama killer. It certainly would be more engaging if only the new candidates were…
A new poll has revealed 93% of people in the North of Ireland believe both the life of the mother and the unborn child are important. The polling, conducted by ComRes, comes as a bankbench bill aimed to introduce abortion legislation in the North was read in the House of Commons this week. Diana Johnson…
De Valera. Rule: 1932-1975 by David McCullagh (Gill Books, €24.99) Peter Hegarty Irish memories tend to associate De Valera with the dismal drift of the 1950s rather than the dynamism and reforms of the 1930s. The man who triumphantly assumed power in March 1932 had a clear idea of the direction in which he wanted to take…
Patrick Ussher Through the pain and suffering of hardship and illness, there can emerge a beam of light. Over time, that light can become increasingly brighter until, eventually, it can illuminate your life in a wholly new way. Illness does not have to define us. We can be ill, yet whole. When I was a…
Governmental advisers did not believe Pope Francis had been fully briefed on key hot-button issues ahead of his trip to Ireland, it has been revealed. Documents received by the Sunday Independent have shown that while crafting her brief message to the Pope about the Tuam Mother and Babies home, Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone was advised…
A well-known social media influencer has become pro-life after watching a movie which details the gruesome reality of late-term abortions. Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer, which was released this month, is an American drama film about Kermit Gosnell, an abortion doctor who killed at least seven infants born alive during abortion procedures. Speaking about the…
Bairbre Cahill
William Reville
Chai Brady
Mary Kenny
Brendan O’Regan