Vocations have fallen drastically, and many parishes are now supported by clergy from countries such as India and Nigeria, writes Eamonn Coyle Ireland, a nation with over 10,000 years of human habitation, has been continually shaped by waves of migration, conquest, and cultural evolution. From its earliest settlers in the Mesolithic period to modern globalisation,…
Driven by the Monsoons: Through the Indian Ocean and the Seas of China, by Barry Cunliffe (Oxford University Press, £30.00 / € 42.00) Barry Cunliffe, now Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at Oxford University, is one of the most distinguished archaeologists of his generation. He is known not just as an excavator, but also as…
The sexual assault at the centre of Sorry, Baby (15A) is transmitted to us effectively. We see the outside of a house with steps leading up to it in late evening. The bottom floor is lit. We then segue to the house sometime later. The same lights are on but evening has now turned into…
Christopher Hill: The life of a radical historian, by Michael Braddick (London: Verso Press, £35.00 / €42.95) Though I occasionally met Christopher Hill (1912 -2002), he was, as the author of this thoughtful study attests, as reserved within his kindly and courteous public demeanour as to have left me with little sense of his actual…
Is Ireland a racist country? Based on my experience it is not, but no doubt there are racists among us. Recently The Irish Catholic had a headline about Indian Catholics being the target of abuse, which led to a wider discussion. On Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1, Tuesday) Archbishop of Dublin, Dermot Farrell, spoke of…
On Friday, August 15, exactly 60 years after the opening and blessing of the Holy Family Church Ardfinnan, Co. Tipperary, parishioners and clergy gathered to celebrate Mass and mark the anniversary. PP Fr Michael Toomey paid tribute to past and current parishioners in his homily: “Tonight is an occasion for us to give thanks to…
Catholic officers in the PSNI are more likely to come under investigation for misconduct than their Protestant colleagues, snapshot figures provided to the Policing Board show. While Catholics make up just over 32% of the police workforce, Data from the Professional Standards Department (PSD) reveal that they accounted for almost 42% of officers being investigated…
I have just returned from the general chapter of the Dominican Order in Krakow, Poland. One Sunday during the proceedings we visited the extermination camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau. These camps situated in close proximity to each other were the largest and most infamous Nazi extermination camps during the Holocaust. Located in occupied Poland, Auschwitz…
The papal secretary travelled to Peru at the weekend and delivered a special gift. In his luggage he also had personal words from Leo XIV and an announcement. An unusual gift from the Vatican has attracted attention in the northern Peruvian city of Chiclayo. As the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference announced on Monday (local time), Pope…
Peter Costello
Aubrey Malone
Brendan O’Regan