Nano Nagle: The life and the Legacy by Deirdre Raftery, Catriona Delaney, and Catherine Nowlan-Roebuck (Irish Academic Press, €24.95) In 2013 Pope Francis declared Nano Nagle (1718–84), the founder of the Presentation Order, to be venerable. For the nuns of that order, their friends and associates and the countless admirers of Nano Nagle’s work this was…
Ireland’s looming abortion law exposes key contradictions in left-wing thought, writes Greg Daly “Follow the money,” may be the most famous phrase penned by the legendary Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman, who died last week. Uttered by the mysterious ‘Deep Throat’ source in the 1976 Watergate blockbuster All the President’s Men, it’s useful advice and…
New guidelines on the question of clerical sexual abuse were discussed and presented during the general assembly of Italy’s bishops, with the creation of a National Advisory Centre to aid bishops and the promises to make a “more radical evangelical choice” in terms of prevention. “Woe to whoever touches children,” said Italian Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti,…
Archbishop Eamon Martin has launched the 2018 online Advent Calendar, which will go live on www.catholicbishops.ie on the first Sunday of Advent, December 2 next. The 2018 Advent calendar will provide a special focus on family as part of ongoing reflections following the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families…
Don’t forget that Christmas is a time for sharing, writes Colm Fitzpatrick The Christmas season has the incredible ability to turn an empty, quiet house into a bustling and lively hub where families – for a short period of time – can catch up and reminisce over stories and jokes long gone past. However,…
A medieval crozier newly on show in the National Museum is one of the most important in Europe, writes Greg Daly It seemed appropriate that the National Museum of Ireland on Dublin’s Kildare Street unveiled its latest acquisition, the so-called Prosperous Crozier, on the feast of Dublin’s patron saint, St Laurence O’Toole. Found in…
Science of Life Mary Robinson, Head of the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice, recently advocated that we should all reduce our consumption of meat in order to ameliorate global warming, saying: “We need to eat less meat, maybe become vegetarian, or even vegan.” The underlying idea is to eliminate emissions of warming gases…
Sharing the Wisdom of Time, Pope Francis and friends (Messenger Publications, €24.95 / £27.50) This is a book inspired directly by Pope Francis. Youth, as we are all aware, knows it all, middle age has had ‘experience’, but maturity (surely to God a better term than ‘old age’), maturity has wisdom. Though it contains reflections…
The president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops said he was leaving the bishops’ autumn general assembly more hopeful than when the meeting began. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston said in remarks closing the assembly that his hope was primarily grounded in Christ as well as realising that the body of bishops was on…
‘Widows, orphans, and strangers’ – that’s code in scripture for the three most vulnerable groups within a society at any given time. And both the great Jewish prophets and Jesus, himself, assure us that ultimately we will be judged by how we treated these while we were alive. It’s interesting to look at any given…
Greg Daly
Colm Fitzpatrick
William Reville
Peter Costello
Fr Ronald Rolheiser