My first ever article for The Irish Catholic was regarding the new Apple intelligence and the future of AI. I got one thing right and one thing wrong. Apple intelligence has been a total disaster, from different features being laughable because of glitches to the much awaited ‘new and smarter Siri’ being pushed back till…
Despite his recent illness, Pope Francis remains an active leader of the Church, advocating for peace and reform much as he did during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even from his hospital bed, he has overseen key appointments, launched preparations for the 2028 Ecclesial Assembly, and issued repeated appeals for peace. Five years ago, Pope Francis stood…
The example of the unfortunate aftermath of the closure of the Clonmel Friary offers us lessons for what to do when we close churches and when our church closes. There is no doubting the goodwill of the passionate volunteers that sought for the Church to remain open in Clonmel but in cases like this, we…
“As people of faith called to protect the sacredness of human life, we are saddened by the availability of abortion services in our hospitals,” said Bishops Martin Hayes of Kilmore and Larry Duffy of Clogher expressing sorrow over abortion services in Irish hospitals, emphasising the sacredness of life and the role of hospitals in preserving…
Q: Some people have said a spiritual communion is the same as a sacramental Communion when one has a sincere desire and cannot receive otherwise. If this is so, why do we say, “Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.” Would it count in the case of making…
Bishop Kevin Doran was installed Bishop of Achonry. Now, he is officially Bishop of Elphin and Achonry. The event took place in the Cathedral of the Annunciation and St Nathy on March 30. During his homily on the day, the bishop said that there’s a need “to review our structures to make sure that they…
The sticker plastered on a Belfast lamp post made me smile. “I’ve read the last chapter – God wins!” A source of hope in a world of death, destruction and doom. How easy it is for us to forget that the battle for salvation, for our lives, has already been won. Despite death and darkness…
This year marks the 100th birthday of the legendary Catholic writer Flannery O’Connor. Her hometown of Milledgeville, Georgia, drew admirers from all over to take part in the festivities, which included a cake and a ‘Dress Like Flannery’ contest. Writers from all over came to her grave to place their pens, described Fr Damian Ference,…
Fine Gael TD for Dún Laoghaire, Barry Ward, recently made headlines by introducing a bill to remove references to ‘God’ from the Judicial Oath of Office. In an editorial for The Irish Catholic, Senator Ward defended his bill, stating, “My attempt to amend this Oath is not one to secularise Ireland but to establish the…
Normally none of us likes feeling sad, heavy, or depressed. Generally, we prefer sunshine to darkness, light-heartedness to melancholy. That’s why we tend to do everything we can to distract ourselves from melancholy, to keep heaviness and sadness at bay. Mostly, we run from feelings that sadden or frighten us. For the most part, we…
Martina Purdy
Fr Ronald Rolheiser