Sunday Gospel Jem Sullivan Most of us struggle to keep up with new year resolutions if we make them. I’ve fallen behind on my spiritual resolutions already! Thanks be to God that the Lenten season approaches. For in the coming weeks, the Church invites us to return to the Lord with our whole heart, mind…
Notebook A few weeks ago, priests were the subject of a highly-publicised TV programme, entitled: The Last Priests in Ireland. It wasn’t exactly the way I thought we might see ourselves presented or our ministry described. Last is a dangerous place to be! It puts on additional pressure and is tinged with sadness and despair.…
A new collection showcases diversity of the Catholic poetry, hears Ruadhán Jones Catholicism and art, like faith and science, are not supposed to mix. Art is about ‘freethinking’, so it is assumed that subscribing to dogma can only limit your talent. A new book on Catholic poets blows this myth out of the water. Collated…
Sarajevo (KNA) In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country’s most famous postcard motif is currently causing death threats. The university in Mostar actually wanted to advertise one of its seminars with a poster of the famous “Stari most” bridge and the historic city centre. However, the fact that an “artificial intelligence” (AI) used to generate the…
Colombo (KNA) The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka is seeking the canonisation of hundreds of Catholics who were killed in the bomb attacks on Easter Sunday 2019. A petition to this effect is being prepared for the fifth anniversary of the deadly terror on 21 April, the Asian press service Ucanews reported on Wednesday. “A…
Bonn (KNA) German Catholic bishops believe that victims of human trafficking should be granted a residence permit in Germany. “It is necessary for those affected to be able to develop a secure life perspective. This is the only way they can be freed from the clutches of human traffickers,” explained the chairman of the German…
Vatican City (KNA) An international congress in the Vatican has been focussing on the further training and motivation of Catholic priests since this Tuesday. The motto, taken from the Bible, is: “Rekindle the grace of God that has been given to you.” The Vatican authorities for the clergy, evangelisation and Eastern Churches are responsible for…
The Catholic Difference Within 24 hours last month, three mainstream Catholic websites ran stories describing Pope Francis’s meeting with the members and consultors of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, with the following headlines: Pope Francis defends blessings of couples in ‘irregular situations,’ including same-sex unions (America Media, January 26); Pope defends document…
Berlin (KNA) Following an attack on a Jewish student on a street in Berlin-Mitte, the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, has once again called for universities not to become “no-go areas” for Jews. Universities must create a safe environment for Jewish students and not give extremists any room, he…
Indigenous people in trouble because of illegal gold prospectors By Thomas Milz (KNA) The images of emaciated indigenous children caused horror throughout Brazil in January 2023. The government of Jair Messias Bolsonaro, which had just left office at the time, had deliberately accepted the precarious situation in the Yanomami reserve, journalists explained at the time.…
Ruadhán Jones
George Weigel