Pierre Teilhard de Chardin once said something to the effect that we reach moral maturity on the day we realise that, ultimately, we have to choose: genuflect before something higher than ourselves or begin to self-destruct! Simone Weil had a similar idea. She consistently affirmed that our deepest longing was to find someone or something…
Travelling on Titanic with Father Browne by EE O’Donnell SJ, foreword by Dr Robert D. Ballard (Messenger Publications, €25.00 / 23.00) Published last week, to mark the 110th anniversary of the sinking of RMS Titanic, this evocative collection shows Frank Browne’s photographs taken on the leg of the ship’s maiden voyage from England to Queenstown.…
Archbishop criticises plenary council preparations At a time when Catholicism in Australia faces crises such as a loss of faith and declining religious practice, a plenary council preparatory document shows “serious failures” that suggest a lack of confidence and “evangelical vigour”, Archbishop Julian Porteous of Hobart has said. Archbishop Porteous warned that the document may…
I’m writing these reflections in Holy Week and later this evening I will join my colleagues to celebrate the Chrism Mass during which we will renew the promises made at ordination. Much has changed since that July evening in 1986 when I first made those promise and so this annual renewal causes me to reflect…
Kansas-born mezzo Joyce DiDonato returned to the National Concert Hall (NCH) recently as part of its International Concert Series 2022. The impeccable instrumental ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro accompanied her again, this time directed by young Russian conductor and harpsichordist, Maxim Emelyanychev. Strangely-lit Entitled EDEN, the evening was a strangely-lit staged event where a circular centrepiece…
This month saw the release of another stark report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the third in a series of red alerts from the United Nations, calling for governments around the world to urgently respond to the climate crisis. The report painted a grim picture of a world with rising greenhouse gas…
Dear Editor, Thank you for your continued focus on the synodal pathway on which the Church in Ireland is not embarked. It is long overdue, but must not be allowed to become a ‘talking shop’ that goes nowhere dominated by the sort of people we all remember at meetings during our professional career. Thankfully I…
Usually there are loads of religious programmes on mainstream media over Easter. Mostly it’s biblical epics and religious services, but I’m always on the lookout for something different and creative. Walled City Passion (RTE One, Easter Sunday) certainly had those qualities. It imagined a peace festival in a certain walled city – Derry, but not…
The Catholic Chaplaincy at Queen’s University Belfast marked 50 years of its presence at the chaplaincy’s iconic site situated at the heart of the Queen’s campus, Friday April 8. All gathered in the University’s Great Hall were treated to a rich programme of art, poetry and music, much of which was performed by current students…
Irish charity Sophia Housing hosted an event in the Royal Marin Hotel Dun Laoghaire to thank religious congregations for their work in tackling the housing crisis. Since its foundation in 1997, Sophia has acted as a conduit for orders to who make lands and property available to be converted into homes. Speaking at the April…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Peter Costello
Brendan O’Regan
Ruadhán Jones