Synod of Bishops publishes list of commission members The Vatican released the names of members of two commissions charged with assisting the leaders of the Synod of Bishops’ general secretariat in reviewing documents, drafting resources and developing best practices. According to the synod website, the theological commission and the methodology commission will include religious and…
A City Imagined: Belfast Soulscapes by Gerald Dawe (Merrion Press, €19.95) Joe Carroll Gerald Dawe grew up in pre-Troubles sectarian Belfast, and this slim book is his third attempt to re-capture what today can seem a magical time when poetry and music were flourishing on narrow streets. As Dawe took his first steps as a…
I wrote my doctoral thesis on the value of various philosophical arguments that try to prove the existence of God. Can there be such a proof? Brilliant philosophers, from Anselm, through Aquinas, through Descartes, through contemporary intellectuals like Charles Hartshorne, submit that the existence of God can be proven through rational argument. Except, a lot depends…
Laudato Si’ This month, the Vatican highlighted the potential good that the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics can bring about during the ‘Season of Creation’, which starts on the September 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends on October 4, the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint…
Bringing fun from all around the world to kids The Building Bridges Community Theatre (BBCAT) in Lurgan, Co. Armagh are gearing up to deliver their ‘All Around The World Summer Scheme’ for children. It runs for five days from August 2-6 for children aged 7-11 years old at Market Street in Lurgan. There will be…
Dear Editor, The concept of ‘safe access zones’ around places that provide abortion is still being bandied about, most recently by Limerick City and County councillors. A group of councillors do not have the power to deprive people of the right to pray quietly outside abortion clinics for the unborn children losing their lives through…
The silly season is upon us. That means that we have to suffer nonsense like Fast and Furious 9, which even by its own (lack of) standards is pretty crazy, featuring an outer space element as well as a mad car chase through Edinburgh. But Vin Diesel (whose very name seemed destined to land him…
Notebook The Pope’s recent document, clamping down on the Tridentine Mass, has made difficult reading for some Catholics. The document issued by his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI authorising that Mass (which Pope Francis has now overridden), also made difficult reading for another band of Catholics. Pontifex The key thing to remember, however, is that neither…
The Sunday Gospel Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. In last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus miraculously fed people by multiplying loaves and fishes. In John’s Gospel miracles are usually called signs. In today’s Gospel (John 6:24-35), Jesus asks the people to see the miracle of the bread as a sign of something greater, to move on to…
‘Do not abandon Mozambique’, say Catholics, amid jihadist attacks l Islamist terrorism threatens the future of Mozambique, according to a Catholic community aiding hundreds of thousands of refugees driven out by attacks. “Do not abandon the people of Mozambique,” Fr Angelo Romano urged at a press conference in Rome on July 21. “The future prospects…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Aubrey Malone