Letter from Rome Elise Harris This year’s Roman celebration of International Women’s Day happened to fall in a moment when Pope Francis has been drawing some fire over women’s issues, in part for using allegedly sexist language during a recent sex abuse summit and also for a perceived lack of progress on his repeated…
Chai Brady investigates some intricate frauds No one is completely unsusceptible to the many wheeler dealers and scam artists offering sham services or duping many online. They capitalise on those who may be too trusting or ignorant of the warning signs. Knowing the right steps to take can fortify anyone against making an expensive…
A Dublin homeless charity has issued an “urgent” Lenten appeal to protect the future of a Sunday dinner service they provide every week for over 300 vulnerable people. Increasing numbers of service users and insufficient funding from the State has put pressure on Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI), who are keen to protect the Sunday dinner’s…
A momentous meeting between the President of the Mormon Church and Pope Francis shows “at the moment there are things that are more important” than some big theological differences. The Mormon Church is officially called The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints (LDS). Ireland’s spokesperson John Connolly said that although LDS Church baptisms…
Whatever else Pope Francis’ decision on Monday, March 4 to open the archives from the pontificate of Pius XII in 2020 may mean, there’s one preliminary conclusion that seems take-it-to-the-bank, no-doubt-about-it, slam-dunk certain. Here it is: opening the archives will not – indeed, by definition, cannot – settle the historical controversy about Pius XII and…
Catholic prelates in Syria, accompanied by Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, president of Caritas Internationalis, visited the eastern Ghouta region outside of Damascus and saw “unspeakable suffering”. “In every face, mostly the children” was a “very confused” expression, Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan said. The visit was part of the annual session of…
Strandhill, one of the most stunning seaside villages in Ireland, will be front and centre for this year’s St Patrick’s festival celebrations, as Mass for St Patrick’s day comes live from the Sligo location on RTÉ1 at 11am. The village at the western edge of Sligo Bay has a close association with St Patrick, who…
Understanding religion is vital for understanding Ireland, writes Greg Daly One would think that the obvious theme of Prof. Kevin Whelan’s Religion, Landscape & Settlement in Ireland would be that it’s impossible to make sense of the Irish landscape without considering the role of religion, but this isn’t even the half of it, he…
Questions of Faith A common question that often puzzles believers and non-believers alike concerns God’s hiddenness. The question might look something like this: “If God wants us to know and believe in him, why doesn’t he present himself more explicitly, perhaps through a miracle? If God can do anything, surely this is the first thing…
What’s to be learned through failure, through being humbled by our own faults? Generally that’s the only way we grow. In being humbled by our own inadequacies we learn those lessons in life that we are deaf to when we are strutting in confidence and pride. There are secrets, says John Updike, which are hidden…
Chai Brady
John L. Allen Jr.
Colm Fitzpatrick
Greg Daly
Fr Ronald Rolheiser