MPs in the UK have been urged to acknowledge the “tremendous” Irish Catholic contribution to British life, as immigration debates descend to a “game of fear”. “The Irish Catholic contribution, both to the Catholic Church in England and Wales and to wider British life and community, has been tremendous,” Bishop Paul McAleenan told MPs. The Belfast-born…
New research reveals three out of four Irish people support Government spending on overseas aid, but climate change is down in the list of priorities and understanding of sustainable development goals (SDGs) is low. The Worldview research – published Irish charities network Dóchas – showed that 76% agree it is important to provide overseas aid,…
A new mural of Our Lady of Knock is set to be created in St Patrick’s Cathedral New York, the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan has announced. The news was revealed by the cardinal after singer-songwriter Dana sang the hymn Our Lady of Knock at the St Patrick’s Day parade Mass over the…
Still lack of satisfaction with Church’s response to abuse allegations, writes Ruadhán Jones The quality of the Church in Ireland’s safeguarding structures and culture has “greatly improved” in the last 10 years, according to a report from the national safeguarding body. “A lot of progress has been made, and plans are in place to…
The Oscars are associated with glitz but the films on show depict human dignity in a variety of ways, writes Sr Hosea Rupprecht Awards season is particularly exciting for a film reviewer. I enjoy talking about the stunning work of actors, editors, directors, writers, make-up artists, composers and others. But as a Catholic film…
Séamus Dooley, Secretary of the National Union of Journalists and former editor of the Roscommon Champion, has expressed disappointment about the lack of diversity of opinion in modern media and insisted that editors and producers need to take more risks in ensuring that more voices are brought to the table. Speaking on The State of the…
A top cardinal and leading papal diplomat has said that amid the ongoing war in Gaza, peace in the Holy Land requires a change of mentality in which both sides recognise and respect each other’s right to exist, regardless of whether there is one state or two. “I don’t know if two states are better…
Rev. Robert Marshall The opening paragraph of the editors’ introduction notes that “Ireland’s centuries old reputation as a land of saints and scholars (and sinners) is well established”. They continue that two decades into the 21st Century the island’s association with religious devotion is increasingly considered something of an historic artefact – a kind expression…
David Spesia Jesus’ entire existence was Eucharistic. If you and I are going to live as his disciples and respond wholeheartedly to the gift of his grace, our lives need to be marked by a Eucharistic dynamic. Dynamic This Eucharistic dynamic is as simple as it is profound. It emerges most clearly on the night…
There is an effort these days to cleanse pornography of its dirty image, dressing it up as part of a healthy sexual life. But a new study from the Economic and Social Research Institute’s (ESRI) should complicate that picture. It shows that, among 17–20-year-olds in Ireland, consuming pornography is associated with aggression, “risky” sexual behaviours,…
Ruadhán Jones
Brandon Scott