We have to keep hoping in the midst of crises and in the face of our fears, writes Fr Thomas Casey SJ “They’re not ornaments you know,” Padre Pio once exclaimed to a zealous pilgrim who grabbed his hands so firmly that the Capuchin saint began to writhe in pain. Padre Pio suffered from the…
Priesthood is not a job but a gift, Pope says Being a priest is not a job or fulfilling an employment contract but is a gift from God that should be contemplated and treasured as such, Pope Francis has said. Those who turn ordained ministry into an occupation “lose the heart of the ministry, lose…
Owners of a lucrative Cork City site of a former Good Shepherd Sisters convent have taken the property off the market. Devotees of Little Nellie of Holy God, known by many as the unofficial patron saint of Cork who is buried at the sight, have continuously voiced concerns about being able to access the grave.…
Medical Matters September has been designated ‘Sepsis Awareness Month’ in a campaign to increase knowledge and recognition by the public of one of the most common yet poorly understand medical conditions. In fact, sepsis occurs more frequently than heart attacks affecting about 17,000 people each year in Ireland and is the leading cause of death…
Notebook A question. Do you know what the first food eaten on the moon was? The answer may surprise many of you…the Eucharist! Of the many interesting milestones marked or celebrated this past summer, one that stood out for me was the 50th anniversary of for the first people to set foot on the moon…
Newman at Littlemore by Bernard Bassett (Gracewing, £7.99) Next month John Henry Newman will be canonised, at long last many may feel. This occasion will see a flood of books to mark both the events, and to enlarge upon people’s ideas about the man and his career, adding to the large number of books and…
Every now and then there’s a high-profile TV programme that takes religion seriously. The occasions are rare enough but worth waiting for. I was certainly impressed by Inside the Vatican on BBC2 last Friday, a fine piece of documentary making from producer-director Silvia Sacco. It was low key, subtle, nuanced and even moving at times.…
The Kitchen (16) Two women in a kitchen spells trouble, as the saying goes. Here there are three. And it’s not the kind of kitchen you might be thinking of. No, this is 1979 in Hell’s Kitchen in New York, a stronghold of the Irish Mafia (The Murphia?). The men in these women’s lives have…
Migrants ‘enrich us’ and are ‘not a danger’ – bishop The head of the migration commission for the Bishop Luis Quinteiro emphasised that love of neighbour is essential for Christians, and this includes care for migrants and refugees. “We don’t love God if we don’t love our brothers,” stressed Bishop Luis Quinteiro of Tuy-Vigo in…
Every parish in Ireland is to receive a resource pack for the World Day of Migrants, Bishop Denis Brennan of Ferns has said, encouraging parishioners to reach out to migrants and refugees. “Our first thoughts and prayers are with our migrant brothers and sisters who live here among us in Ireland, in our dioceses, our…
Dr Kevin McCarroll
Peter Costello
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone