Notebook Recently I went to the United States to visit some people and to spend a bit of time with my aunt who lives in Richmond, Virginia. She was turning 98, and I was happy to be able to see her in the lead up to that day. A mighty woman, but that’s another story!…
Dear Editor, We have a new strain of Covid, with more mutations, and possibly more powerful than our vaccinations. This is frightening, and people are very worried and scared. People are divided, some are vaccinated, others have chosen not to be. Older people, in many cases, are staying at home, and some have never emerged…
edited by Brandon Scott Bishop Antonio Staglianò of the Diocese of Noto in the Italian island region of Sicily left parents dismayed after he told a group of children that Santa Claus did not exist, subsequently sparking a week of backlash from parents and international media. After Bishop Staglianò’s comments on the Christmas character caused…
TV & Radio Review 2021 I had hoped that I wouldn’t be writing about Covid-19 again at the end of 2021, but it has dominated the media for the year. But should it be so? One night in early December I was listening to the BBC Radio 4 news headlines and the only mention of…
World of Books Selected by the Books Editor The December and January holiday season is the most important sales period of the year for many publishers and bookshops. The tables in the books-sellers are piled with books of all kinds, many on topics that would get better attention at another time of the year, such…
by Brandon Scott Soprano Celine Byrne has insisted that faith must be at the centre of Christmas celebrations, despite all the distractions. Speaking on RTÉ Lyric FM’s Marty in the Morning, Ms Byrne said that Mass is a huge part of her family Christmas. “I go to the church and light candles,” Ms Byrne told…
We unashamedly celebrate and feel proud about our exceptional Christian heritage, writes Alexander O’Hara Recent proposals to designate Saint Brigid’s Day, February 1st, as a public holiday are to be welcomed. It needs to be made clear however that we are celebrating a remarkable Christian saint, not a pagan goddess. The romanticism linked to pagan…
Editor’s Comment When he was first made a bishop in Argentina, Pope Francis took as his motto the Venerable Bede’s account of Jesus recruiting the tax collector Matthew, miserando atque eligendo, which roughly translates “He saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him”. Friends say that Bishop Bergoglio liked the way Latin had…
The Little Way Association receives numerous requests from missionaries throughout the world asking for help to feed, support and educate needy, deprived children. Due to COVID-19 they are faced with many sufferings. They tell us of orphaned children left alone with no one to love or care for them, of families so poor that they…
At Backpack Productions we offer our courses as online facilitated groups. These groups run via Zoom and included in the enrolment fee is access to recordings of the sessions or video material used, so that you can stay up to date even if the times don’t always suit you! Our Spring 2022 schedule includes the…
Brendan O’Regan
Peter Costello
Michael Kelly