Notebook Every church in Ireland has a box-shaped receptacle, of gold or silver, often decorated with precious jewels. In years past this special container was placed in the centre of the ‘high altar’, but now it’s usually on its own, on a separate column or plinth, with its own spotlight, in its own distinct space,…
Catholic Bishop in China overcomes coronavirus A retired priest in China has made a remarkable recovery from the coronavirus just days after being diagnosed with the epidemic. Bishop Joseph Zhu Baoyu of Nanyang, who is 98 years old, fell ill with pneumonia from Covid-19 on February 3. On February 12 he tested negative, but two…
We CAN all do it For anyone with children on the Autism Spectrum living near Wexford, Cottage Autism Newtork (CAN) hosts many different events that parents, kids or the whole family can attend. Over the next few weeks they have coding classes, teen bowling, soccer, brick play time and more. There are also some coffee…
I don’t imagine that the elections for the Seanad will deliver as much sound and fury as the General Election for the Dail. Quite rightly too – the Upper House is a secondary chamber which doesn’t govern the country. But it still seems to me to be important, and to bring another dimension to the…
The Pope may have to fast-track a replacement for Archbishop Diarmuid Martin in Dublin or face the prospect of the country’s largest diocese not having a bishop for up to a year, The Irish Catholic understands. Informed sources confirm that Dr Martin – who is due to reach the mandatory age of 75 at which he…
The View I spent some time recently with a group of very fine priests reflecting on their vocations and on their work as priests, work which is centred on sustaining ordinary people like me and you, sometimes in profoundly difficult circumstances, nourishing us and helping us on our journey home to the Lord who made…
We have moved too far away from traditional fasting says a Glenstal Abbey monk. Fr Fintan Lyons OSB, has said “I feel we have gone too far in avoiding the older practice of fasting from food; in the Church’s tradition it was associated with feasts, the fast before the feast, and based on what the…
Amazonian exhortation points towards Pope’s real aim, writes David Quinn When Humanae Vitae was issued in 1968 by Pope Paul VI, it was greeted with dismay and anger by many people, including practicing Catholics, who expected the Church to relax its previous prohibition against the use of artificial means of birth control by Catholics.…
Pro-life campaigner Katie Ascough has hit back at comments made by the President of University College Dublin (UCD) in a Sunday newspaper. Prof. Andrew Deeks spoke about the impeachment of the former Students’ Union president and her claims of discrimination by lecturers due to her religious beliefs in the Sunday Independent article. Ms Ascough, who…
Seán Cassin The Irish Embassy in Hanoi has an incisive and challenging comment on its website about Vietnam’s economy. It reads “high rates of malnutrition are often masked by impressive economic development. In Vietnam, stunting still affects almost one in four children, and among ethnic minority groups this reaches almost 40%.” I read on…
Mary Kenny
Chai Brady
Nuala O’Loan
David Quinn