The Old Gunner and his Medals by Brendan Lynch (Mountjoy Publishing, €12.00; ISBN 978-0-9513668-3-7) Brendan Lynch’s novel, published at the age of 80, is (all going well) an Irish classic in the making. The novel never misses a step. From beginning to end it reads flawlessly as an account of a darker side of Irish history…
Archbishop Anthony Fisher and archdiocesan staff welcomed a commitment by the government of New South Wales to enact anti-slavery legislation passed by the Australian Parliament more than two years ago. The state of New South Wales endorsed the Modern Slavery Act 2018 and supported, in principle, a recommendation to implement the act before the end…
The Vatican’s financial situation must be “a glass house” that displays transparency and honesty, letting Catholics know where its revenues come from and go, said the head of the Secretariat for the Economy. Presenting a detailed budget report of the Roman Curia for 2019, Jesuit Fr Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves said Catholics “have the right…
One size doesn’t fit everyone. This isn’t just true for clothing, it’s also true for spirituality. Our challenges in life change as we age. Spirituality hasn’t always been fully sensitive to this. True, we’ve always had tailored instruction and activities for children, young people and for people who are raising children, carrying a job, and…
US Secretary of State and Vatican official s ex change views on China The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the Holy See’s top diplomats had a “respectful” exchange of views on China, the Vatican said October 1. Responding to questions from journalists, Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See press office, said that Mr…
Celtic Studies in Europe and other Essays by Seán Ó Lúing (Geography Publications, €38.00/£29.99) This collection of interesting essays by the late Seán Ó Lúing, the noted scholar, can be categorised under three headings: autobiography, the Irish language and Higher Studies. Those on staff of the Institute of Advanced Studies are particularly valuable. They provide biographies…
All the fun has gone out of the pandemic. It’s not that I mean to be flippant about something which has cost a million lives globally, and which continues to cause economic devastation. Yet most people acknowledge that there were real positives to the sudden interruption to normal life imposed by the spring lockdown. This…
Some 5,000 students of Spiritan schools in Ireland and their teachers answered the virtual call to prayer on Friday October 2, Feast Day of the Spiritan founder, Claude Poullart des Places. Each classroom across the Spiritan education community created a 15-minute prayer space in its schedule. The online event, led by Fr Paddy Moran CSSp of the Spiritan leadership…
In Co. Down the small and vibrant parish of Ardkeen has been bursting with creativity during lockdown ensuring that the parishioners knew the loving presence of Christ and the support of the Church, writes Paula McKeown Initially our parish started with weekly ‘Faith Survival Kits’, the family rosary, a weekly children’s Mass that teachers and…
There have been quite a few changes on radio for the autumn season, with presenters moving around in a kind of media musical chairs, but some things stay the same. And so I was glad to see the recent return of The Leap of Faith (RTÉ Radio One) to its Friday night slot, with Michael…
Peter Costello
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Brendan O’Regan