The Dry January phenomenon that has emerged in recent years which sees people abstain from alcohol throughout the month of January would be better supplemented with more lasting initiatives, like attendance at local AA meetings, as fellowship with others in recovery shouldn’t just be limited to one month of the year. Speaking to The Irish…
Speaking in the aftermath of the ‘Wellbeing and the Catholic School’ document published by the Council for Education in partnership with the Council for Catechetics, the National Director for Catechetics said that the document offers an opportunity for Catholic schools to “recognise what’s distinctive about Catholic education” by seeing wellbeing in Catholic schools as forming…
As 2025 began, a significant event in Cologne, Germany, was a proof of the commitment of young Catholics from across Europe and highlighted the growing faith among Irish youth. The SEEK conference, organised by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), brought together over 500 young Catholics for four days of spiritual renewal, fellowship, and…
Excitement grows as 4 Sacred Heart statues blessed by Pope Francis will make their way to Ireland in the next weeks as part of the ‘All Ireland Sacred Heart Crusade of Love and Hope’. On January 8 these four statues were blessed by the Pope with the witness of four Irish priests: Rev. Shane Sullivan,…
The recent statement from the Association of Catholic Priests on how dedicated nuns are portrayed, often negatively, in the media gave me cause to reflect on the topic, and it’s a bit of a patchwork. The most obvious example is the demonisation of nuns because of their role in the Magdalen Laundries and similar institutions.…
When David Lodge died at the beginning of this month, he was hailed, in the obituaries, as the leading English Catholic novelist since Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh. Mr Lodge, who was 89, had indeed written a famously hilarious novel about a young Catholic married couple, in 1965, struggling with the “Safe Period” of fertility…
There is nothing as psychologically and morally dangerous as lying, as denying the truth. Jesus warns us that we can commit a sin that is unforgivable which (in his words) is a blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. What is this sin? Why is it unforgivable? And how is it linked to not telling the truth?…
President Michael D. Higgins in his speech at the BT Young Scientist &Technology Exhibition promoted the thinking of Jesuit scientist and theologian/mystic Pierre Teilhard de Chardin as an example of the potential interplay of science and ethics. “Science offers great possibilities that have a pivotal role to play and, at its best, in responding to…
Catechesis on creation is of major importance. It concerns the very foundations of human and Christian life: for it makes explicit the response of the Christian faith to the basic question that men of all times have asked themselves. Human intelligence can find a response to the question of origins which can be known with…
In tribute to John Wijngaards. who died last week, we republish this piece, still timely, written by him in January, 2023. Rest in Peace. As an 87 year-old Catholic priest and theologian I have worked for the Church for most of my life. Experience has taught me that old Mother Church needs to adopt…
Brandon Scott
Renata Milán Morales
Brendan O’Regan
Mary Kenny
Fr Ronald Rolheiser