The Christmas story is surely one of the greatest stories ever told. It chronicles a birth from which the world records time as before or after. Moreover, it is written in a way that has inflamed the romantic imagination for 2,000 years. This hasn’t always been for the good. Beyond spawning every kind of legend…
Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie was brought to new life by Jesus, and now he’s bringing Jesus to life on TV’s The Chosen, writes Jason Osborne ‘Phenomenon’ is a term often overused in the realm of movies, TV shows and books, but in the case of TV series The Chosen, it truly comes up short. Boasting…
Letter from Rome: The Pope’s answer on Paris prelate raised more questions than it answered John L. Allen Jr As the wise saying goes, “If you don’t want the answer, then don’t ask the question.” That adage doesn’t cover every situation, however, because there are also times you genuinely do want the answer, and still…
edited by Brandon Scott Sacramental Confession has healing abilities that priests should especially emphasise to help bring God’s love and consolation to a world damaged by two years of the coronavirus pandemic. That is the advice for confessors from Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, who stressed the urgency of their work for humanity. “In the season of…
The Irish bishops’ council for catechetics has launched a new religious education programme to “foster religious literacy” in Catholic secondary schools. The ‘Credible Catholic’ programme is aimed at senior-cycle non-exam RE, having been designed in line with feedback from teachers and theological advisors in Ireland, a press statement from the council said. Drawing on an…
A new exhibit at the national museum aims to shed light on 1,500 years of devotion to St Columba, writes Michael Kelly Stop a passer-by in any Irish town and ask them who the patron saints of Ireland are. Chances are everyone will be able to rhyme off St Patrick. Perhaps many make a stab…
edited by Brandon Scott Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to celebrate Christmas with a focus on Jesus Christ’s closeness, not on the consumerist, commercial aspects of the holiday. “Let’s not live a fake Christmas, please, a commercial Christmas,” the Pope advised. “Let us allow ourselves to be wrapped up in the closeness of God, this closeness…
Junno Arocho Esteves Adam Piekarski, a homeless man from Lódz, Poland, never imagined that the sketches he would draw in his free time while waiting for the public showers near Bernini’s Colonnade would lead to the opportunity of a lifetime. In November, the Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Office announced that its 2021 set of commemorative…
Film Review 2021 “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” For the first half of the year, Covid-19 had us under house arrest. Starved of cinemas we found sustenance in mini-series, box-sets, the occasional gem from streaming platforms. The Oscar ceremonies went ahead in February in the kind of funereal…
The current state of national data collection with regards to abortion and its adverse outcomes are worse than “abysmal”, according to Laois-Offaly TD Carol Nolan. Deputy Nolan’s comments come following a report that 12,000 women in England and Wales have been treated in hospital for complications arising from medical abortion treatment failure. It is understood…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
John L. Allen Jr.
Ruadhán Jones
Michael Kelly
Aubrey Malone