I get a sense of the anticipation that’s growing with the prospect of public Masses being back from June 29. Some have wanted them sooner, others have urged caution, but unlike the anti-racism protestors the Church has shown great restraint and civic responsibility. Last Monday Archbishop Diarmuid Martin was interviewed on The Pat Kenny Show (Newstalk)…
Ida is a Pawel Pawlikowski film about an 18-year-old orphan girl raised in a convent. As she prepares to become a nun she learns she’s a Jew. Her parents were murdered during the Holocaust. She has to put doubts about her vocation behind her as her cynical aunt helps her explore her roots. Shot in…
The Belfast-born writer and theologian C.S. Lewis once opined on the saints who live amongst us. “Already the new men are dotted here and there all over the earth,” he wrote. “Some, as I have admitted, are still hardly recognisable: but others can be recognised. Every now and then one meets them. Their very voices…
Catholic charity to send Brazil aid Brazil is to receive emergency aid from a leading Catholic charity as the coronavirus crisis worsens in the country. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has announced 11 new projects in response to this, supporting the work of priests, religious and lay missionaries. In total, the projects will…
Dear Editor, On March 22, we learned of the very sad death of the first Covid-19 victim in our country; a lady in the east of Ireland, who was vulnerable due to an underlying medical condition, we were told. Since then, we have followed the statistics; the rise and fall in death rates, the genders…
The Irish Refugee Council (IRC) has welcomed the new draft Programme for Government which contains a commitment to ending Direct Provision. In the draft published this week, assurances have been made that accommodation will be provided for asylum seekers. “This is a significant moment in the long campaign to end Direct Provision and is necessary step for triggering…
Notebook Monsignor Jim Cassin died on Friday, June 5, 2020. He was a priest of the Diocese of Ossory. Dear Jim, I write this letter to you just ten days after you have gone to The Father’s House where no doubt you have received a warm welcome from the Father himself but also a wonderful…
The Sunday Gospel Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. Once upon a time…not too long ago…it took courage of a sort not to go to church in holy Ireland. People who did not go to church were regarded as odd, or maybe worse. They swam against the social tide which equated church attendance with respectability. How…
Helping kids move from primary to secondary Transitioning from primary to secondary school can be difficult and intimidating for children, what better way to get them prepared than an outdoor skills programme in the wilds of Co. Mayo? The day of fun, adventure and life learning is said to be an opportunity to; -Explore how…
The patron of lost things offers a vital link between faith and reason writes Michael Sanfey The Financial Times newspaper has a glossy magazine called How to Spend It. Many of us disorganised souls might feel the need of a title called How to Find It. Listening to the radio recently I was surprised to…
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone
Michael Kelly