Hope: the Autobiography by Pope Francis, with Carlo Musso, translated by Richard Owen (Penguin / Viking, £18.99 / €23.00) I want You to Be Happy, by Pope Francis (Hodder & Stoughton, £16.99 / €20.50 ) Pope Francis, it must be always kept in mind, even by his critics, is a unique figure. For the…
I came across a video a few weeks ago from a mediocre Irish band from Dundalk, who were talking rubbish about religion. It was clear that they were not impressed: “We hate Imams as well.” “I shudder to think of what sort of a fella would say ‘I want to be an Imam when I…
I grew up a second-generation immigrant in the outback of the Western Canadian prairies. Our family was poor economically, subsistence farmers, with the necessities but seldom with much more. My father and mother were charitable to a fault and tried to instil that in us. However, given our own poverty, understandably we did not have…
Sts Cyril and Methodius were two Byzantine brothers who had an important role in the spread of Christianity and literacy across Eastern Europe during the 9th century. Born in Thessalonica, a major city in the Byzantine Empire, Cyril (born Constantine) and Methodius were known for their missionary work, particularly in the Slavic regions, where they…
Nicolás de Cárdenas In his acceptance speech for the honorary doctorate awarded him by the Catholic University of Valencia, Cardinal Kurt Koch rejected the extreme positions of progressives and traditionalists regarding the Second Vatican Council. The prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity reflected in his address on the tension between the two…
Fr Hugh O’Donnell SDB The title must appear an unlikely one given that Matt left school basically illiterate. His time in St Lawrence O’Toole’s Christian Brothers’ school, aged 8/9, is summed up in the phrase, “kept home through necessity”. His next enrolment at age 11 in O’Connell’s is no brighter as there in the margin…
As the situation gets worse in the DR Congo, the Director of Communication at Caritas Butembo-Beni has decried the desperation that has enveloped the people of eastern Congo following an upsurge in violence between the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and the Congolese Armed Forces. M23 took control of the mining town of Nyabibwe last week, located…
The annual ‘4 Corners Festival’ in Belfast, received Dr Lorna Gold in her first official engagement as the new Executive Director of the Laudato Si’ Movement. Recognised internationally for her role in shaping climate campaigns and scholarship in Catholic social justice and ecology initiatives, Dr Gold is the former Board Chair and one of the…
A statue to honour the Irish founder of the Medical Missionaries of Mary, Mother Mary Martin was unveiled at Boyle O’Reilly Terrace beside the Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda to mark the 50th anniversary of Mother Mary’s death. The opening of the event started with an introduction by Sr Sheila Devane to those gathering and welcoming words…
Ireland’s coming population crisis will not be solved by secular people new study claims Young people who embrace religions like Christianity that strongly value marriage and having children will form the future core of Ireland’s dwindling population as their secular counterparts are less likely to marry and have children, the Iona Institute has said. Ireland’s…
Peter Costello
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Renata Milán Morales
Renata Steffens