We can’t forget that in our lifetime, the Government actually criminalised going to Mass, writes David Quinn Dr Tony Holohan became probably the most famous face in Ireland during the Covid-19 pandemic. As the country’s Chief Medical Officer, it was he the Government turned to in order to steer us through the crisis. He chaired…
David Mills You want to start a vigorous discussion among Catholics, make a definitive statement about what ‘good worship’ is. Be as specific as possible. Every level of detail will double the emotional investment other Catholics will be feeling. Arguments Which is to say: Don’t do that. It won’t get you anywhere, it won’t change…
Jaymie Stuart Wolfe With all the talk about ChatGPT, and Pope Francis’ ongoing criticism of bad preaching, a dark question crossed my mind: What if the homilies we heard at Mass were composed by artificial intelligence? Would they be better than what the average Catholic hears in the average parish every Sunday, or somehow, even…
Christian democracy means putting the human person at the centre of our political action writes Manfred Weber MEP The world has been in crisis management mode for more than a decade: we experienced a global financial crisis and a pandemic. Now we are witnessing what it means having a bloody and ruthless war right on…
Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin visited Lough Neagh as the largest freshwater lake in Ireland succumbs to toxic blue-green algae and as the Archbishops of Armagh issued a joint call for a Lough Neagh taskforce to tackle the issue. The algae is killing fish, birds and dogs, with concerns about public health arising too as…
Jenna Marie Cooper Apparitions such as Fatima and Lourdes, along with mystical writings of various visionary saints such as St Faustina’s diary, are considered “private revelations”. This is as opposed to “public revelation,” which is the Word of God contained in Sacred Scripture as it has been interpreted by the Church’s teaching authority down through…
Thomas O’Loughlin This week we continue the exploration we began in the first part of this essay, published in the last issue. Disputes and churches If it were not for the conflicts in the Aegean churches we might never have had the genuine letters of Paul. There were disputes about practices and unwillingness to welcome…
Members of St Fintan’s parish community, Sutton, Co. Dublin, were joined by Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell as they celebrated the 50th anniversary of the church at the heart of their commuimty. Archbishop Farrell was principal celebrant at Mass on Sunday, September 17, joined by priests who have served in the parish over the past…
As first reported by Loup Besmond of La Croix, Pope Francis apparently is considering imposing pontifical secrecy on the upcoming Synod of Bishops on synodality, not simply on opinions and votes, as was past practice, but on all issues addressed during synod discussions. The stated aim would be to protect the frankness and honesty of…
You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. No single line, outside of Scripture, has ever spoken to me as powerfully, as persistently, and as hauntingly, as that line from St Augustine. In essence, it’s Augustine’s life story – and the story of each of our…
David Quinn
Ruadhán Jones
John L. Allen Jr.
Fr Ronald Rolheiser