Imagine you are a hardworking man, sitting in a plane with your wife and three kids seeing them excited with you after finally getting the dream of moving abroad with them. Next to your aisle, a mother and her son about to visit her daughter in law and grandchildren, excited to be on her first…
And so, it has been another rotten week for the right to life. Last week I ended with the proposed decriminalisation of abortion for England and Wales, and unfortunately it came to pass. This happened last Tuesday, getting the week off to a grim start. It proved yet again how permissive abortion laws are inevitably…
Cecil B. De Mille was the most prolific director of religious films in history. He even made one of them twice – The Ten Commandments in both 1923 and 1956. De Mille held fervent beliefs but always had one eye on the box office. He said once, “Why turn down 2000 years of free publicity?”…
Casimir Markievicz: A Polish Artist on Bohemian Dublin (1903-1913) An exhibition in the State Apartments of Dublin Castle, runs to September 14 2025; Co-produced by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland and the Office of Public Works. Entrance fee, €3.00; catalogue, €5.00. Count Markievicz, the Polish husband of the redoubtable Constance Gore-Booth, was an artist…
Telling the truth is dangerous: how Robert Dudley Edwards changed Irish history forever Neasa MacErlean (Tartaruga Books, £11.99 / €14.00) By Ciaran Brady Biographies and (worse) autobiographies of historians have become so common that one might imagine they were immensely interesting which, given the generally unexciting lives of scholars, they are not. There are,…
Some years ago, I regularly visited a man who was seriously ill. What made each visit memorable wasn’t just the pastoral care—it was the welcoming party that awaited me: a flock of loud, menacing geese. They would charge at me as if guarding the gates of heaven. I confess I was quietly relieved when Christmas…
An attacker has caused a bloodbath in a church in Syria. So far, at least 22 people have been killed and more than 50 injured. Bishop Bätzing expresses his shock and calls for the protection of all Christians. Following the suicide attack on a church in Syria, Bishop Georg Bätzing is calling for better protection…
Orthodox churches in the USA are joining the lawsuit filed by Catholic bishops against a new anti-abuse law in Washington state. It is intended to oblige clergy of all religions to report cases of child abuse – even if they were disclosed during a confession. Now – among others – the Orthodox Church in America…
The Austrian Pilgrim Hospice in the Old City of Jerusalem is the oldest Christian guest house in the Holy City. Sealed off and emptied of guests, it is now in a difficult financial situation. The renowned Austrian Hospice in Jerusalem’s Old City has been forced to temporarily cease operations due to the war between Israel…
Hundreds of young Catholics who descended on the national Marian Shrine in Knock were told Ireland needs their voice, hope, witness and energy. Bishop Fintan Gavin of Cork and Ross said that “being a person of faith in Ireland today means having the courage to stand out from the crowd and go against the dominant…
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone
Peter Costello
Chai Brady