Pope Leo XIV and the bishops of Venezuela have urged prayer, calm and respect for national sovereignty following the US military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and transferred them to the United States to face federal narcoterrorism charges. Speaking at the conclusion of the Angelus prayer in St…
Author Diarmuid Johnson reflects on how the legacy of Ireland’s ancient monks continues to shape modern Europe, despite being forgotten at home “Much of the knowledge the old people once had about the local saints, the holy wells, the pilgrimages and the feast days was lost – and another version of faith has come to…
How can Scripture draw us more deeply to God? One ancient Christian practice offers a path: lectio divina, Latin for ‘sacred reading.’ It is one of the earliest forms of Christian prayer, long recommended by the Church as a way to let the Bible come alive in our hearts. From the beginning, Christians followed the…
When it comes to sport, all I really know is what seeps into my brain against my will – or what I’ve gleaned from entertaining Hollywood films! But a New Year spat over a sports headline caught my eye. It involved a retired Tyrone football star, Conor Meyler, and an Irish News columnist, Kenny Archer. The…
Q: A Catholic Church near me is named after a certain saint, but has “protomartyr” after the name. What does this term mean? A: My guess is that the church you’re thinking of was named “St Stephen,” since “protomartyr” is a title specific to him. “Protomartyr” is a Greek term that is usually translated as…
Pope Leo XIV urged young people to remain open to God’s call in a video message to thousands attending the SEEK 2026 conference, took place January 1–5 in Columbus, Ohio, Denver and Fort Worth, Texas. “Be open to what the Lord has in store for you,” the Pope said, encouraging participants to reflect on the…
The director of Mean Streets and Silence sees his life as a journey through fear, failure, and the surprising grace found in ordinary moments There is a moment early in Scorsese on Filmmaking and Faith when Martin Scorsese recalls what he asked Pope Francis back in 2018: “Holy Father, How can a human being…
It can be hard growing up in a house full of boys, especially in one as fiercely competitive as the Kavanagh home just down the road from Turner’s Cross. Of the five brothers, Derek was the baby, looking up to Joe and Larry as they carved the path he would eventually follow in pursuit of…
Welcome occasional Massgoers with open arms The world and its mother came to Mass on Christmas Eve. Rarely was such a crowd seen, not only in the local church but in neighbouring parishes too. It seems Christmas Eve is now what ‘a good Sunday’ once was. And, unusually now, the church was full of children…
In a previous article, we explored how AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, are not really intelligent. We know this because they are wholly material and depend upon human programming, whereas human intellects have an immaterial aspect to them, which enables them not only to grasp concepts and learn, but to make free decisions. Therefore, though…
Martina Purdy