Staff reporter A priest who gave Last Rites to a 12-year-old boy killed in a collision with a truck in Limerick last week described it as “terribly harrowing”. Wiktor Chojecki (12) was driving the car on the N21 near Adare when the incident occurred just before 2am. It’s believed he took the vehicle while family…
Month: February 2022
Former master of Rotunda praises hospitals founded by religious
The former master of the Rotunda hospital has described his relationship with the HSE as “quite toxic at times” and praised voluntary hospitals, the vast majority of which were founded and run by religious orders in Ireland. In his new book, Delivering the Future: Reflections of a Rotunda Master, Sam Coulter-Smith spoke of the need…
Simplicity is the key to wedding success…
How nice to see – now that restrictions are lifting – couples returning to their wedding plans, which so many put on hold during the course of the pandemic. And although church weddings have fallen in Ireland, they haven’t fallen at all as much as in neighbouring nations. Fewer than a quarter of weddings in…
More than 800 anti-Christian incidents reported in France in 2021
More than 800 anti-Christian incidents were reported in France in 2021. The provisional figures were announced on February 10 as part of an ongoing study of anti-religious acts in the Western European country, which has a population of 67 million people. Investigators have so far identified a total of 1,659 anti-religious acts last year, with…
Synod is a real opportunity – not just another listening exercise
The View In March last year the bishops announced a new synodal pathway leading to a national synod assembly or assemblies. The purpose of that process was to answer one question – “What does God want from the Church in Ireland at this time?” Some 500 people or groups wrote in to answer the question…
Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate
The Sunday Gospel This Sunday our Gospel (Luke 6:27-38) picks up from last Sunday when we were introduced to the Sermon on the Mount which is the charter of Christian living. This charter is inspired by a new revelation of God’s relationship with us. God is revealed as our Father in a way never previously…
New Catholic-run rehab clinic to open in Waterford
Waterford Council has granted permission to the Refuge of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (RIHM) to found a female-only post-detoxification treatment centre in west Waterford. The RIHM is a Dublin-based collective of individuals from several Catholic organisations across the country, while the nuns are members of the Argentine-founded Servants of the Lord and the Virgin…
Ordinary Time and the seasons in Church life
The role of Ordinary Time and the seasons in the Church year are often overlooked, but they have much to teach us, writes Jason Osborne We find ourselves a couple of weeks out from Lent yet, and smack in the middle of Ordinary Time in the Liturgical calendar. I think most of us are guilty…
Pope says Holy Year 2025 should ‘fan flame of hope’
The Holy Year 2025 should focus on “restoring a climate of hope and trust” after the coronavirus pandemic and helping people repair their relationships with God, with each other and with the Earth, Pope Francis said. “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength…
Church’s marriage care service sees large increase in engagement with courses
Brandon Scott Accord, the Church’s marriage care service which provides marriage preparation courses for Catholic couples, has recently encountered a sizeable increase in engagement with its services during the pandemic, with over 50% more couples availing of its marriage preparation course in 2021 when compared to 2020. According to the latest figures released by Accord,…



Chai Brady
Mary Kenny

Nuala O’Loan

Ruadhán Jones


