A priest who called the British army for help just 30 minutes before he was killed was “taking his life into his own hands without hesitation” to help others, according to Belfast-based Fr Paddy McCafferty. Fr Hugh Mullan, one of the 10 people shot dead during the Ballymurphy Massacre in 1971, had called for assistance…
Questions of Faith Most people have heard of or watched pseudo-Christian movies like The Da Vinci Code or Stigmata which make claims that Jesus had a secret marriage with Mary Magdalene or that the Kingdom of God is in all of us. The role of these movies is to sensationalise commonly accepted teachings about Christianity…
Ireland will be in “uncharted territory” if it makes a willingness to participate in abortions a condition of employment in hospitals, Baroness Nuala O’Loan has warned. Baroness O’Loan, who has been an outspoken advocate for the conscience rights of medical professionals, was speaking after the National Maternity Hospital advertised posts stipulating that successful applicants would…
Religion, Landscape & Settlement in Ireland, from Patrick to the Present by Kevin Whelan (Four Courts Press, €45.00) This book is one which will interest a wide range of readers. As it is already into a second printing it can be said to have scored a great success with many of them, and many more…
My daughter’s friend describes himself as not having faith. Then a couple of weeks ago my daughter came to me saying, “When we were in that graveyard, he blessed himself at every grave he stopped at.” She asked him why. It would seem that he is not so much an unbeliever as one who believes…
Dioceses in the state of New Jersey made public on February 13 the names of priests whom they said had been “credibly accused” of sexual abuse of minors, and one of the names is former US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The former US cardinal’s name appears in the list from the Archdiocese of Newark with a…
Children’s Corner Get your children off the couch and away from the TV so they can focus on something much more fun and creative. Making toilet-paper-roll owls is easy and is a great way to make use of something you would otherwise have thrown out. These colourful creations can be kept to decorate anywhere…
The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland has paid tribute to a Tyrone priest after his sudden death over the weekend. Fr Phelim McKeown was a “caring and pastoral priest” who had a “particular empathy for those who were suffering and struggling in any way”. Fr Phelim was ordained in 1996 in Mullaghbawn…
In 1970, the famed British writer Iris Murdoch wrote a novel entitled A Fairly Honorable Defeat. The story had numerous characters, both good and bad, but ultimately took its title from the travails of one character, Tallis Browne, who represents all that is decent, altruistic and moral among the various characters. Despite being betrayed by…
An independent investigation into the much-discussed encounter that went viral between Catholic high school students, a Native American tribal leader and members of another protest group on the Lincoln Memorial grounds in Washington in January found no evidence that the students of Kentucky’s Covington Catholic High School issued “offensive or racist statements”. A report on…
Chai Brady
Colm Fitzpatrick
Greg Daly
Peter Costello
Bairbre Cahill
Fr Ronald Rolheiser