Medical Matters The approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine by British authorities early this month truly marks a great triumph for science and not just in the battle against Covid-19. Scarcely could anyone have imagined that at the start of the year the hopes of the world would rest on the approval of a vaccine for…
An initiative which sees spiritual support brought to those living in care facilities has been hailed as “much in demand” by Bishop Michael Router. The effort is being led by the Northern Pastoral Network (NPN), a cross-boarder group of pastoral care workers from Catholic dioceses, and sees prayer resources provided via PowerPoint for use during…
With months to go still until his March 5-8 trip to Iraq, Pope Francis began shaping his message, urging a network of Catholic charities to help Christians who have fled the region to return home if they want to do so. In a video message sent to a Vatican-organised summit focused on the ongoing humanitarian…
Fr John Mahony is the newest priest to be ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Elphin, with the ordination taking place in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Co. Sligo on December 8. At the ordination, Bishop Kevin Doran noted that this was the first ordination to the diocese since Fr John…
Personal Profile The Catholic Church and healthcare have a long history, with the Church being one of the largest patrons of healthcare efforts in the world. It is into this history that Peadar Hand has inserted himself, a young, practicing Catholic and a nurse. Asked where the desire to enter healthcare came from, he cited…
Our childhood Christmases are too few. Before the age of three, children know too little to truly appreciate Christmas. After the age of 11, or so, they know too much, as they veer recklessly towards their teenage years. This means that we have perhaps eight pristinely innocent childhood Christmases. We parents must do what we…
The Christmas season has always been the time when families buy more books than they do at other times of the year. Here, arranged in something like order of age, are some suggestions from this year’s new offerings. The Dead Zoo by Peter Donnelly (Gill Books, €14.99) This artist’s most amusing books about the president up…
Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. That’s a pious axiom that doesn’t always hold up. Sometimes the bad time comes and we don’t learn anything. Hopefully this present bad time, Covid-19, will teach us something and make us stronger. My hope is that Covid-19 will teach us something that previous generations didn’t need to…
Laudato Si’ Advent is one of my favourite seasons where we are encouraged to embrace waiting and hope. If 2020 has taught us nothing else, it has certainly shown us what it is like to wait! Perhaps it has also reminded us of what it is like to hope, to hope for an end to…
Hundreds have been taking part in drive-in Masses celebrated by Fr John Forsythe each week in Randalstown, Co. Antrim. With the help of volunteers, Fr Forsythe of St MacNissis parish was able to accommodate 137 cars with approximately 300 people whereas with social distancing only 100 could attend Mass in their 800-seat church. Attendee and…
Dr Kevin McCarroll
Peter Costello
Fr Ronald Rolheiser