St John Henry Newman, newly named Doctor of the Church, reminds educators that the vocation of teaching is a ministry of truth It should come as no surprise that Pope Francis chose the Jubilee of Educators (November 1) as the occasion to proclaim St John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church. Few figures…
When the Catholic University of America’s National Study of Catholic Priests released its 2025 follow-up report this month, one statistic leapt off the page: younger priests are both more conservative and more lonely. It’s a statistic that speaks volumes not just about the American Church, but also about our own here in Ireland as we…
Last week a judge in Belfast found Soldier F not guilty of the murder of William McKinney or Jim Wray or of five attempted murders on Bloody Sunday, January 30, 1972. Some readers will remember Bloody Sunday, 53 years ago, when 13 unarmed Catholic civilians on a civil rights march were killed by soldiers from…
We are living in a challenging generation in terms of our belief in and understanding of the spiritual. Many Christian ideas that used to inform our lives have faded. What used to be seen as dangerous or even evil is now normalised and often celebrated. Starting in the 1970s, just about all seminaries taught that…
During these celebrations, we unite our hearts with the faithful departed whether they be in heaven or purgatory writes D.D. Emmons It seems unusual that our Church liturgical calendar schedules two major celebrations on days that are back-to-back. But that is precisely the situation with the solemnity of All Saints, a liturgical feast, and…
I could write a book on the Presidential Election, and no doubt some will. When it comes to news and the media I think radio wins – social media may be quicker but there are serious reliability issues, and TV can be less nimble. And so it was that when the count started RTÉ One…
When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her Luke 7:11 Soon afterwards Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. Luke 7:12 As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only…
Dear Editor, Brendan Butler congratulates Sarah Mullaly on her appointment as the first female supreme head of the Anglican Communion and goes on to refer to “women (in the Catholic Church) excluded not only from being ordained and forbidden from reading the Gospel at Mass.” This he claims “is an injustice against Catholic women and…
There is a sense in which anyone of a certain age is a product of Catholic Ireland, including those who react against it, but some are more formed by it than others. You can just see the indelible impression Catholic Ireland has left on them, and one such person in my opinion, is our president-elect,…
On Monday afternoon, my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a call from The Irish Catholic, wondering about this week’s article! Alas, I had forgotten. For six days, I had been part of a group of forty-six pilgrims from the Dioceses of Achonry and Elphin, visiting Rome to celebrate the Jubilee of Hope. On…
Nuala O’Loan
Brendan O’Regan
David Quinn