The consequences of population decline will be seismic unless we act quickly, writes Ray Kinsella Once upon a time, when Ireland was less self-obsessed, issues like the financial burden of getting married and starting a family were the lifeblood of elections. No longer. Our skewed fiscal system discriminates against marriage and starting a family.…
Thousands of Venezuelans including clergy took to the streets in Caracas and other cities to demand democratic change last week, amid on-going economic, political and social crises in the country. “Today [March 10] the Venezuelan people have returned to the streets demanding their rights and manifesting their desire for a change of direction in the…
As I left Mass last weekend, one of the parishioners came after me to say – “There will be no more Mass now for four weeks.” Actually, it could be longer. In Kent, where I am presently sequestered (and sequestered is the word), the authorities are talking about compelling all older people to remain in…
The after effect of Ebola, education equality and evangelisation of Sierra Leone are all in a day’s work for the Bishop of Kenema, writes Róise McGagh Bishop Henry Aruna of the Kenema Diocese in Sierra Leone on his visit to Ireland was reunited with schoolteachers of his from the Holy Ghost Missions. Today known as…
Cardinal George Pell has had his “leave to appeal” ruling deferred by the Australian High Court last week in what is a final attempt to have his conviction for sexual assault overturned. Pell was sentenced last year to six years in prison for molesting two 13-year-old choirboys in Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral, while he was…
Sixteen fragments in the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC are not from the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls but elaborate fakes, it has emerged. Despite the fact that they were purchased for millions of dollars, they have now been exposed as worthless forgeries probably made from old shoe leather. However, the hoaxers did such…
Personal Profile “There is great joy and fulfilment in being interested in and touching the lives of other people in some small way, however small. ‘It is in giving that we receive’,” says Anita McTernan, a volunteer nurse in a Sisters of Mercy, Mission Hospital in Mutomo, Kenya. Anita is not a Sister of…
Everyday Philosophy I’ve been thinking a lot about art lately. I’ve been catching up on the excellent Risking Enchantment podcast, which discusses beauty in art and culture and its place in the Catholic faith. And I recently had the privilege of hearing the art historian Elizabeth Lev talk about Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel paintings. I…
More tortuous than all else is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it. The Prophet Jeremiah wrote those words more than 2,500 years ago and anyone who struggles with the complexities of love and human relationships will soon enough know of what he speaks. Who indeed can understand the human heart, given some…
The past few weeks have got me thinking about Lent as a spiral journey. I’ve written before about how we learn in a spiral rather than a straight line, how we come back to things to understand them more deeply, to gain a new perspective on them or simply to be reminded of what is…
Mary Kenny
Ben Conroy
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Bairbre Cahill