Battles that Changed History: Epic conflicts explored and explained by Phillip Parker, R.G. Grant & Andrew Humphreys, foreword by Sir Tony Robinson (Dorling Kindersley, £20.00) There is something deep in the male psyche that loves wars and tales of wars. Women with their very different view of the world are generally unmoved by tales of war,…
Parishioners in Derry and Tyrone donned their hiking books this month as they faced a daunting ascent in the Donegal mountains. As a fund-raiser for Derry’s St Eugene’s Church, Glenock, the parish of Newtownstewart, Co. Tyrone, organised a sponsored climb of Mount Errigal. The two groups of climbers rose to the challenge. The “early birds”…
The president of the Polish bishops’ conference confirmed the country’s Catholic Church will resist “LGBT ideology” as equality campaigners demanded the dismissal of an archbishop who branded gays and lesbians a “rainbow pestilence”. “People belonging to so-called sexual minority circles are our brothers and sisters for whom Christ gave his life,” Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki of…
Dr David Carey discusses how to foster good behaviour in children Children are not born with a neural template to engage peacefully with others. This is a skill that must be learned by interacting with the environment, aided by parents and caregivers, including, often very importantly, teachers. If we take some time to look…
A parent’s perspective August can be a funny kind of month in many ways. I’ve never quite been able to shake off that lingering childhood dread that marks the last weeks of the summer holidays. A few weeks earlier the summer break stretched out, full of promise. Anything could happen: another heatwave that would…
Following the announcement that the cause for sainthood for celebrated writer Gilbert Keith Chesterton would not go forward in his home diocese, Dale Ahlquist, an expert on the author, said this stall “points to the difficulty of getting a layperson canonised”. Ahlquist noted one reason given for halting Chesterton’s cause was that the author, considered…
A Doctor’s War by Aidan MacCarthy (Gill Books ex Collins Press, €11.19) This is a fascinating war memoir by a remarkable survivor, who attributed his safe-keeping to divine intervention. Aidan MacCarthy was born in Castletownbeare, Co. Cork in 1914. He was educated at Clongowes Wood College, which for his English readers he describes as “the Eton…
Tens of thousands of young faithful descended on Bosnia and Herzegovina last week to celebrate Medjugorje’s Youth Festival which is now in its 30th year. It comes after a ban on pilgrimages organised by Catholic dioceses and parishes was lifted under a papal decree on May 12. Earlier this year Pope Francis gave the Vatican…
Over 1,000 young people will descend on Kildare this weekend to celebrate one of Ireland’s biggest faith festivals. The Youth 2000 Summer festival – taking place in Clongowes Wood College from August 18-22 – will see young people gather to celebrate their Faith in a fun and vibrant way. “It’s the biggest, most exciting youth…
The standing committee of the Panamanian bishops’ conference has expressed its concern over a migration reform bill, asking that it be humane and respectful of the rights of immigrants and refugees. They urged that immigrants and refugees not be seen as a threat, or blamed for the social ills affecting the country. The bishops released…
Peter Costello
Colm Fitzpatrick
Maria Byrne