Dr Margaret Connolly’s remarks following her detention by Israeli forces after participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla were widely reported. It is not difficult to understand how anger and fear may have shaped her language. She endured what was undoubtedly an extremely distressing experience. But while this may explain the tone of her rhetoric it…
I began writing this on Friday, May 15 – Nakba a Day, the day where we remember the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the early creation of the State of Israel. In 1948, more than 750,000 Palestinians (some 75-85% of the population) were forced from their homes. Towns and villages were depopulated or…
Simon Lewis wrote a challenging article in The Irish Times recently about First Holy Communion. He was chatting over a few drinks to a psychologist, who was preparing for the sacrament by spending weeks doing up the house and garden and securing a bouncy castle, no easy feat. The worst part, she told him, was…
Magnifica Humanitas poses the question: What does it mean to be a flourishing human being in a time of AI? This letter is not a neutral consideration of that question, any more than the technologies of today embody neutral worldviews. This encyclical brings the vision of the Gospel to bear on the cultures of AI.…
It is remarkable to think that after the first weekend of June, just five intercounty hurling games will remain in 2026. Such is the restrictive nature of the split calendar that once the winners of the Mick Mackey and Bob O’Keeffe Cups are crowned, only a handful of fixtures will remain before Croke Park is…
Pope Leo’s first encyclical was published last week. It is called Magnifica Humanitas, and the best English translation of that is probably ‘The Grandeur of Humanity’. The main topic of the encyclical is Artificial Intelligence (AI), although the lengthy document deals with a lot of other subjects as well, including, briefly, just war theory (is…
David Lane, MD of Ecclesiastical Insurance Ireland (proudly part of the Benefact Group), tells The Irish Catholic podcast, Education Nation, why the company’s unique ownership model means its profits go to charity — and why that matters for Catholic institutions Most people regard paying an insurance premium as, in David Lane’s words, a grudge purchase.…
On June 6, Sheila O’Brien of Co. Cavan will set out on a journey from the north to the south of the island titled “Breaking the Cycle”; a cycle meant to challenge her and engage onlookers on the topic of domestic violence. Cycling from Malin to Mizen, against the wind and by herself, Ms O’Brien…
My current home in Victoria BC is at 740 View St, at the heart of downtown, just a half mile from the picturesque Inner Harbour (Google it!), dominated by the BC government building. I live in the rectory, a three-storey complex of apartments and offices, attached to St Andrew’s Cathedral. Rectory This rectory was re-fitted…
When he was elected Bishop of Rome on October 16, 1978, Cardinal Karol Wojtyła had a rather limited experience of the Catholic Church in the United States. He had met American churchmen at the Second Vatican Council, and a few of them visited Poland in the ensuing years. The Cracovian cardinal had made two visits…
Breda O'Brien
David Quinn
George Weigel