Reading Robert Fisk’s posthumously released book, Night of Power: The Betrayal of the Middle East, I was struck by something he said in the whistlestop tour chapter of the last century’s history of Israel and Palestine. Speaking on this particular subject, he observed “Anyone who tries to tell what he or she believes is the…
When Archbishop Kieran O’Reilly reflects on Ireland’s missionary tradition, he sees a great line of continuity. “There was a time when we sent missionaries to the four corners of the earth,” he told The Irish Catholic. “One of the strongest things we can ask of people. Be part of our own family of the baptised.…
If you’re not free to practice your faith, all other rights evaporate too writes Michael Kelly In just four years, 2029, Ireland will mark the bicentenary of Catholic Emancipation. I write that more in hope than expectation, since the signals from official Ireland are not promising. When the Programme for Government was launched last year,…
The emerald green of Limerick has been worn by some of the country’s most colossal athletes in recent years: Kyle Hayes, Gearóid Hegarty, Will O’Donoghue. Giants of men, they have combined raw athleticism with finesse and skill to etch themselves into the national consciousness as household names and leaders on the field. Yet in the…
Former Mountjoy Governor, John Lonergan, reflects on his career, social justice and the problems currently plaguing the criminal justice system “I suppose that was the beginning of beginning to realise that life is not fair and that some people were born into horrendous circumstances where it was almost inevitable that they were going to end…
Shortly after Pope Leo XIV lamented the declining birth rate in Europe, the cardinal of Tokyo said Japan is also facing a similar crisis. In Rome, Japanese Cardinal Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo said Japan’s birth rate has been significantly low in recent years, with the total fertility rate standing at 1.15 per woman in 2024.…
Christian lay leaders are seeking representation in the upcoming parliamentary election in Bangladesh scheduled to be held in February. Leaders of the Bangladesh Christian Forum met with Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Joint Secretary Mirza Fakrul Islam Alamgir on October 13 and sought nomination from the party for Advocate John Gomes from the Christian community for…
The Vatican’s child protection board said on October 16 that the Catholic Church has a moral obligation to help victims of clergy sexual abuse heal, and identified financial reparations and sanctions for abusers and their enablers as essential remedies. The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors focused on the issue of reparations in its…
Mali is going through a very delicate period in its history. Assimi Goïta’s military junta, which came to power following the second coup in less than a year back in May 2021, has embarked on a path of total independence from France and the West in general, opting instead for alliances with its neighbours Burkina…
The first time I was in an in-patient locked psychiatric unit, I was overwhelmed by the amount of suffering I saw in the people there. While conversations about mental health are fairly common, the experience and suffering of serious mental illness – of psychosis, detachment from reality and life-threatening impulsivity – were completely new for…
Michael Kelly