Ireland’s very own ‘Rosary priest’ has died, aged 97. Fr Gabriel Harty OP, the senior member of Ireland’s Dominican province, passed away on Thursday in Drogheda’s Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. Known as ‘the Rosary Priest of Ireland’, Fr Harty was known for his decades of promoting the Rosary through preaching, missions and publication of…
Pro-life campaigners from across Canada gathered on Ottawa’s Parliament Hill last week for the country’s annual National March for Life. Carrying a variety of handmade and pre-printed signs in a variety of languages, pro-life advocates, school groups, families, and clergy turned out to mark the 50th year of legal abortion in the country. Police declined…
Hannah Harn discusses summer holiday options for kids of all ages Now that young people are at the cusp of surviving another school year, they’ll have three months off to relax and recharge before kicking back into gear in autumn. However, nobody wants to run out of things to do after a week, and…
Fr Tony Coote describes how he was first diagnosed with motor neurone disease I woke in my house in Mount Merrion, Dublin around 6.30am. I hadn’t had much sleep. I had an appointment that morning in the Beacon hospital. I went to the window; the whole area was covered in snow. Normally on a Wednesday…
There has been a mixed reaction in Ireland to norms published by Pope Francis to tackle abuse and cover-up in the Church. Archbishop Eamon Martin has hailed Vos Estis Lux Mundi (‘You are the Light of the World’), the Pope’s apostolic letter on safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults as “a significant move for the…
Questions of Faith Most people have experienced the sadness of witnessing an animal die, usually a beloved pet who brought great joy throughout their short lifespan. During the grieving period, it’s common for parents to tell children that there’s a special place for all the animals who have departed from their world – like a…
Everyday Philosophy George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four gave us many chilling ideas. One of the most influential is ‘thoughtcrime’. The idea of a regime so authoritarian that it would police the inside of your mind, always trying to catch out forbidden thoughts, is terrifying. Thoughtcrime elegantly describes both genuine North-Korea-style domination and more subtle forms…
The Badly Behaved Bible: Thinking again about the story of Scripture by Nick Page (Hodder & Stoughton, £16.99) This is a book which many people really need, but do not realise that they do. Anyone truly interested in the power of the Scriptures should read it. I suspect that for many people it may have a…
Personal Profile Hannah Harn Though Rev. Alex Wimberly, the newly appointed leader of Corrymeela in the North of Ireland, is originally from the United States, he is no stranger to Ireland. A fourth-generation Presbyterian minister, married with three children to Rev. Kiran Young Wimberly, a fellow minister, Rev. Alex worked in Belfast as minister of…
Parishes must be like early Christian communities which reach out to help, Colm Fitzpatrick learns Churches are often referred to as the ‘heart of a community’, but in order for this living, breathing muscle to continue to beat, the parish must sustain and support it. This is no easy task; and requires more than…
Greg Daly
Colm Fitzpatrick
Ben Conroy
Peter Costello