Last Sunday, September 7, Pope Leo XIV canonised Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati as saints in Rome. There is an Italian phrase associated with Pier Giorgio Frassati that has taken on a deeper significance over time. ‘Verso l’alto’ translates as ‘towards the heights’. It was scribbled by him on a photograph in 1925 and…
Granny Bridget’s Fairy Tales, by Felicity Dempsey (Atlantic Papers Press, €14.89; contact info@atlanticpaperspress.com) Here is a children’s book which will be welcomed by many parents. As many parents and grandparents are well aware it is difficult to wean young people away from the mass-produced pabulum which fills the internet at all hours. Felicity Dempsey is…
Diplomats in Dublin by Kees van Hoek (The Talbot Press, December 1943) Recently a relative in New York sent me a slightly battered copy of this book, which is not only of great immediate interest as evidence of just how much Ireland has changed since the “Emergency”, but suggests as well a topic for…
Last weekend saw the canonisations of Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis – distinctive because they were young lay adults, from the 20th and 21st centuries respectively. The former is probably the lesser known of the two, and the film To the Top – Pier Giorgio Frassati (EWTN, Sunday) from 2023 helped to inform us…
Dear Editor, Faced with the appalling evil of war, I suggest that the word ‘complicity’ is a more appropriate term than ‘cooperation’ as used by David Quinn in his recent article: “Is the Church cooperating with evil in Israel?” Complicity implies partnership in an evil action. It requires neither involvement in the core activity…
Last week I wrote about The Keys of the Kingdom. Another 1944 film, The Picture of Dorian Gray, explores the other pole of the heaven/hell divide. Telling the story of a man who sells his soul to the devil, it has a moodily atmospheric feel to it. German expressionism meets drawing-room comedy in an excellent…
Young people organised protests throughout Nepal against a government ban on social media. After heavy police violence, they have now achieved considerable success. Nepal’s communist Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli resigned on Tuesday following the violent suppression of street protests. The Nepalese newspaper “Republica” quoted him as saying that he wanted to contribute to…
“Since 2019, Jordan has stopped registering refugees,” says Rottenburg’s bishop. There is no state support for these people and Caritas is often the only help. A summary of the trip. According to Bishop Klaus Krämer of Rottenburg, the refugee crisis in Jordan continues to worsen. “Since 2019, Jordan has stopped registering refugees. This means that…
The brave parish priest of Gaza continues to lead his tiny flock in faith and hope amid the suffering, writes Michael Kelly When the war in Gaza started following the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, the tiny Christian community had a stark choice to make. Do they remain in their…
In the West Nile region of Uganda, farmer Nelson Alimuke has helped build a brighter future for his family after enrolling in the Sustainable Agriculture Livelihood Programme at the Adraa Agriculture College, a project of the Franciscan Brothers missionaries. Using farming methods learned during the training, Nelson and his family have built a successful venture…
Peter Costello
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone
Michael Kelly