We have just entered the month of the Dead. November is a time when, as Catholics, we are reminded that the dead are still with us. What, then, should we make of the increasingly gaudy – and gory – festival of Hallowe’en, just past? I must confess that I find Hallowe’en increasingly disturbing. Aside from…
The government of Pakistan’s deadline for Trócaire to cease operations is just weeks away, with an Irish Member of European Parliament saying it may be that “faith-based organisations are being targeted”. Pakistan’s government sent a letter to Church-charity Trócaire along with 16 other charitable agencies last month asking them to leave the country. The letter…
The head coach of a Scottish football team is subjected to sectarian abuse every day because he is an Irish Catholic who played for Celtic, according to his agent. After Neil Lennon, head coach of Hibernian, was hit with a coin at a recent Edinburgh Derby match between renowned rivals Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian…
The Church is a convenient scapegoat for Ireland’s historical sins, writes David Quinn Last week I attended a conference at Notre Dame University in the US. Before proceeding to the main topic of this article, a word about Notre Dame itself is in order. When you visit it, one word comes to mind; majestic.…
Belfast’s High Court should send a clear message that killing unborn children is a crime in the North, and that health professionals who break the law must be prosecuted, pro-life campaigners have said. Speaking against the background of a court case involving a woman challenging a decision to prosecute her for procuring illegal abortion pills…
A collapse in Church credibility and the absence of a shared vision of a ‘common good’ for society were key factors leading to the repeal of Ireland’s constitutional protections of the unborn, one of the world’s leading philosophers has said. Speaking at Notre Dame University’s High Powers Conference, Prof. Alasdair MacIntyre said that many in…
Seven Coptic Christians were killed and 12 more injured in Egypt when a bus traveling to a desert monastery south of Cairo was ambushed by Islamic militants. The bus was traveling to St Samuel the Confessor monastery on November 2, when a number of attackers approached the vehicle from nearby dirt roads and opened fire.…
France’s Catholic bishops have published a report on measures to combat sexual abuse by clergy, listing data on criminal charges and efforts by a new anti-abuse commission. “The journey to zero tolerance has begun in a firm and visible way,” Bishop Luc Crepy of Le Puy-en-Velay, head of the French Church’s permanent commission for fighting…
Peter Casey may have tapped into disaffection gaining some 23% of the voters at the presidential election, but he is decidedly out of touch when it comes to the broadcast of the Angelus on RTÉ. The station’s exit poll following the election found that 68% of people supported the national broadcaster continuing to broadcast the…
Sugar has become an intrusive and corrosive part of our culinary life, writes Colm Fitzpatrick “Sweet-tooth” is often a phrase tossed around describing someone with a penchant for sugary goods, and while it seems like this term only applies to a small number of people, in reality, most of us are secretly addicted to…
Maria Steen
David Quinn
Greg Daly
Colm Fitzpatrick