The Archbishop of Armagh has said the suffering endured by the Irish – Catholic and Protestant – during WWI should act as an impetus for political leaders today to build a just and lasting peace in Northern Ireland. Archbishop Eamon Martin became the first senior Catholic leader to speak at an Armistice Remembrance Service when…
The new umbrella group, Suma de Actores Sociales (SUMAS), is calling Mexican citizens to stand up against efforts by president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador to legalise abortion, euthanasia and marijuana. SUMAS was launched in Mexico City and unites 700 organisations around the country. Juan Dabdoub Giacoman, a founding member, said the new group seeks “to…
Dennis Sadowski At the urging of the Vatican, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops will not vote on two proposals they were to discuss at their Baltimore meeting regarding their response to the clergy sex abuse crisis. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, USCCB president, informed the bishops as they opened their autumn general assembly…
A leading pro-life group has said the announcements that the Welsh and Irish governments will provide free abortions to women from the North of Ireland are a “shocking and outrageous attack” on unborn babies and the democratic process. The Welsh government announced on November 9 that they will provide free abortions for women from the…
Michael O’Leary: Turbulent times for the man who made Ryanair by Matt Cooper (Penguin Ireland, €14.95 / £14.99) Frank Litton Michael O’Leary stands out among Ireland’s entrepreneurs. Is this because of his great success? His personality? The fact that so many of us have flown with his airline? Matt Cooper’s account of this “prince among men” will…
Youth Space Gerry Doherty reflects on his spiritual journey with Youth 2000 “I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord!” (Phil. 4:4) These were the words that have stayed with me since the night my 16-year-old self had first arrived at the Youth 2000 Summer Retreat in Cistercian College, Roscrea on August 16, 2014. I want to tell you why this phrase is…
I live on both sides of a border. Not a geographical one, but one which is often a dividing line between two groups. I was raised a conservative Roman Catholic, and conservative in most other things as well. Although my dad worked politically for the Liberal party, most everything about my upbringing was conservative, particularly religiously.…
Catholic bishops have urged help for half a million Congolese deported from neighbouring Angola under a crackdown on informal diamond mining. The bishops said they were alarmed by news of human rights violations by Angolan security forces and said the expulsion of “successive waves” threatened peace along the two countries’ 1,300-mile border. “Thousands of children,…
Beautiful Thoughts for Beautiful Minds by John Scally (Currach Press, €14.99) For a long time I have valued collections of poems, short stories and essays as the best kind of bedside books. They provide just enough to allow the old brain to run down and come to rest, and to allow me to drift away into…
The Primate of All Ireland has asked over 200 Maynooth graduates to become “missionary disciples” and spread the message of the Gospel to others. Conferring 232 lay women and men with academic awards in Theology, Philosophy and Education on November 10, Archbishop Eamon Martin said that with their new knowledge, the graduates should be open…
Colm Fitzpatrick
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Peter Costello