Work of prison chaplains ‘unheralded’ The work of prison chaplains is “vital but unheralded”, Bishop of Kilmore Martin Hayes said on Prisoners’ Sunday. In a homily, Bishop Hayes prayed “for all prisoners”, and remembered “their families, all prison staff and prison chaplains, whose work is vital but unheralded within prison services throughout the world”. Referencing…
Personal Profile Sometimes we expect a ‘voice from the cloud’ moment when it comes to vocations, according to Fr Dave Twohig O.Carm. But for him, there was no clear line to his own vocation. Instead, it gradually evolved until he realised that he wanted to serve people as a priest. “Believe it or not, that’s…
Life in Abundance: Attractiveness of the Catholic Way of Life, by Eamon Flanagan CM (Kolbe Publications, €10.00). This collection of essays and poems contains a large measure of wisdom and useful information. But this is not all for also at the outset the author provides an excellent reading-list for those who wish to pursue what…
Vatican confirms opening of abuse investigation of French cardinal The Vatican has decided to open an investigation into French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, the retired archbishop of Bordeaux, who admitted in a public letter that he had abused a 14-year-old girl 35 years ago. “As a result of the elements that have emerged in the last…
Notebook “To be or not to be”, cogitated Hamlet. Our dilemma as a ‘Family of Parishes’ was slightly different: “To grasp the nettle, or not to grasp the nettle?” The nettle in question would be understood by rural parishes everywhere and is summed up in six words: “Too many churches, too many Masses.” The simplest…
It was another week of disturbing religious controversy, but I’ll start with something different. Philip Nolan was a familiar figure right through Covid times as he was a member of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET). Now Director General of Science Foundation Ireland he was promoting Science Week on The Pat Kenny Show (Newstalk,…
Pope: Seminaries don’t form ‘supermen’, but humble servants The mission of a seminary “is not to form ‘supermen’ who pretend to know and control everything”, but to help seminarians become priests who are humble servants of the communities they continue to belong to, Pope Francis said. “The Lord calls some of his disciples to be…
A recent event in the National Concert Hall’s International Concert Series brought young UK pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason to Dublin for the first time. Isata is the eldest of the family of seven each of whom appears to be endowed with an unusual element of musical genius. The Kanneh-Masons come from Nottingham where London-born father, Stuart,…
Children’s Corner Quicksand is created when water is trapped in sand or marshy earth, thus creating a soil that is halfway between a solid and a liquid.Although the name quicksand would indicate it is in fact created with sand, it can be any mass of clay or dirt particles that contain trapped water. It is…
The Diocese of Down and Connor brought relics of St Padre Pio to the diocese from November 6-11 to mark 20 years since he was declared a saint. Fr Brian Watters CC of St Peter’s Cathedral Parish, in Belfast, had the relics in the cathedral for three days from November 6. “The numbers who came…
Ruadhán Jones
Brendan O’Regan
Chai Brady