Christians must be courageous when praying to God and not simply repeat prayers “like a parrot”, Pope Francis has said. “In common parlance, people use an expression that I really like when they have a goal: ‘I put it all on the line’. In intercessory prayers, this also applies: ‘I put it all on the…
Pope Francis has named Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta as the new archbishop of Washington. The appointment was announced today in Washington by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Vatican nuncio to the United States. Archbishop Gregory, 71, a former president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops who helped navigate the conference through the clergy sexual…
Perry West New legislation in Alabama would ban all abortions in the state, except in cases where the mother faces a “serious health risk”. The bill, introduced in both the Alabama House and Senate on April 2, would make it a felony for doctors to perform or attempt an abortion. Women would not be…
I have a cousin, whose judgement I respect, who regards Dr Michael Mosley as an infallible ‘health guru’. Dr Mosley has made television programmes for the BBC on diet and health, and is well known for his successful ‘fast diet’. The ‘fast diet’ recommends eating very little on two days a week – fasting – which…
Priests warn of ‘horrendous’ problems from EU clock change An EU plan that would see a different time-zone on either side of the border would leave parishioners not only divided by the border, but also by different clocks. Local priests have warned of “horrendous” confusion for parishioners with one saying “God help us” if…
The View Martin Mansergh Standing outside the church after a funeral last week, a woman volunteered that one of her antecedents had been an RIC District Inspector in North Kerry, who was shot dead by the IRA in 1921. Having just finished reading Fergal Keane’s Wounds: A Memoir of War & Love about the…
If you think you owe your parents nothing, prepare to learn they were right all along, writes David Quinn Recently I came across the following tweet from a Jewish academic in Israel by the name of Yoram Hazony: “Honour your father and mother or learn about life the hard way.” I’ve never read a…
After all, next to being pro-life, being nationalist-minded is probably the next biggest mortal sin in Irish politics, writes Pól Ó Muirí If I mention the name, Peadar Tóibín, I am sure that the words ‘pro-life’ pop into your head. If Mr Tóibín has one Unique Selling Point at the moment: it is that…
The Church runs the risk of becoming a museum unless it can learn to reach out more to young people, Pope Francis warned this week. The Pontiff insisted that young people will not find the Church credible if it seems to be constantly on the defensive and focused on a small number of issues. Francis…
If the Church restores the female diaconate it will be up to individual bishops to decide, writes Phyllis Zagano Nearly three years ago, Pope Francis accepted the request of the International Union of Superiors General, the membership organisation of some 1,800 heads of women’s religious orders and institutes, to establish a commission to study…
Mary Kenny
Colm Fitzpatrick
David Quinn
Greg Daly