Frank Litton The Tyranny of Merit. What’s become of the Common Good? by Michael J. Sandel (Penguin Random House, €25.00/£20.00) Oh let us love our occupations, bless the squire and his relations, live upon our daily rations, and always know our proper stations, so the servants were taught to sing. Democracy put paid to that. Aristocratic…
Notebook On a June evening in 1963, as Pope John XXIII lay dying, a strange sight appeared in St Peter’s Square: the chief rabbi of Rome, with a crowd of Roman Jews, gathering with their Catholic fellow citizens to honour Pope John. During his papacy he had made several important gestures of friendship towards Judaism,…
Richer countries must address ‘stark’ vaccine inequality There is a “real need” to address the “stark and worrying” contrast between the level of vaccination in Ireland and the developing world, an aid worker returning from Africa said. Gavin Douglas of Concern Worldwide saw first-hand the roll out of an EU-funded vaccination programme in Sierra Leone…
“Happy New Year” I said to a parishioner coming out of church. Seeing his reaction, I added; “It is only a few days old, I presume we are still ok wishing each other a Happy New Year.” He stopped, looked at me and replied. “Oh yeah. Many returns.” I had to smile about this short…
Dear Editor, One evening recently I stopped for a while in a small village in the evening dusk. There wasn’t a single person to be seen on the village streets. All were in the comfort of their homes facilitated by the companionship and love of their families or so I imagined. I went into the local…
Personal Profile Sr Eileen O’Connell OP made her final profession in December last year. Her path to religious life came almost as a surprise to her. She had a general sense that the she was being called to more, and faithfully following it, she came to the Dominican sisters, Cabra. The Faith was important to…
Vatican announces motto of Jubilee Year 2025 Preparations are already underway in Rome for the 2025 Jubilee, a special year of grace and pilgrimage in the Catholic Church. Archbishop Rino Fisichella met with Pope Francis this month to discuss the motto for the jubilee. In a video published by Vatican News on January 13, Archbishop Fisichella…
People spending close to a third of waking lives on phones An analysis of trends in mobile phone usage has found that people in mobile-first markets spend close to a third of their waking hours using their phones. The report, from analytics firm App Annie, concluded that across the top ten markets analysed, the average…
This is one of my favourite recipes to make, since it is another easy-to-make-yet-delicious recipe. One thing which makes this recipe excellent is that it is completely customisable. You can use whatever combination of chocolate you prefer, whether it be all dark or all milk. You could even use up some of that Christmas chocolate!…
“Respect and reverence for the dead is the mark of a great people,” a priest of my childhood acquaintance – long since gone to God – often remarked. I never really understood what it meant as a child, and looking back death was very present and open in the community where I grew up in…
Ruadhán Jones
Michael Kelly