Human rights groups have voiced concern over the arrest of a Coptic Christian activist in Egypt, on terrorism-related charges. Critics argue the arrest is an attempt to silence those who disagree with the government. Ramy Kamel, founder of the human rights organisation Maspero Youth Union, was arrested on Saturday by seven police officers. He faced…
Shooting and Cutting: A survivors guide to film-making and other diseases by Stephen Bradley (Mercier Press, €14.99) Film maker Stephen Bradley is the creator of Noble, the 2014 drama about the true life story of Christina Noble, the children’s rights campaigner and charity worker in Vietnam, who founded the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation. Some years ago Bradley was…
Normally speaking, when a Pope hits the road, all other Vatican operations enter a state of suspended animation. Appointments, documents and statements are held up awaiting his return, because nobody’s supposed to distract from the message he’s travelling to deliver. The fact the Vatican made an exception during Pope Francis’s November 19-26 trip to Thailand…
RTÉ has “unreservedly” apologised to writer and broadcaster Kevin Myers after the station wrongly accused him of being a Holocaust denier. The false claim was aired in 2017 after Mr Myers was dismissed as a columnist with the Sunday Times newspaper after an online campaign accusing him of anti-Semitism – despite the fact that he…
You should try out an eco-friendly Christmas this year, writes Colm Fitzpatrick The environment has a litany of enemies who are all determined to suffocate and destroy it. The list is almost endless; carbon emissions, deforestation, plastic pollution and oil spills all contribute to ensuring the planet will not be in a fit state…
Gathering together to share ideas, recharge and build creativity is invaluable writes Paula McKeown On Saturday Nov-ember 16, more than 40 young adults actively involved in Catholic Youth Ministry gathered in Sacred Heart Parish in North Belfast, in the Diocese of Down and Connor, for the Fifth Encounter Network Conference. Encounter is a grassroots Catholic…
A pro-life group have launched the ‘Repeal Section 9’ Campaign, which urges people in Northern Ireland to vote only for pro-life candidates in the upcoming Westminster Election. Precious Life launched their campaign this week, which aims to put pressure on political representatives in Northern Ireland to state their commitment to repealing the Westminster-imposed abortion law…
Under Construction: Working with the Architect by Neil O’Boyle (SPCK, £8.99) The literary conceit behind this book is an original one. Author O’Boyle takes the idea of revamping your home, from the garden and front hall up to the bedroom, and gives it a spiritual twist. Most of us will have worked with either a…
Advent feels like a good time to be thinking about parenting. We are conscious of Mary and Joseph – parents to be – their expectation, their anxiety, the advice coming from all sides, the whispers in the background about Mary’s pregnancy, the prospect of a long journey with Mary heavily pregnant. As well as being…
Chai Brady speaks to an Irish priest who combats human trafficking in Vietnam Understanding why people risk their lives and pay extortionate amounts of money to be taken on perilous journeys across Europe is confounding for many people far removed from the causal factors behind the decision, but one priest who works on the…
Peter Costello
John L. Allen Jr.
Colm Fitzpatrick
Bairbre Cahill
Chai Brady