Ireland is a country where the old Catholic world is never entirely out of sight. It lingers in holy wells, ruined monasteries, pilgrim paths, roadside shrines, Mass cards, family prayers, sacred caves and the ever-present Breastplate of St Patrick. For many, these are fragments of a culture past its prime rather than signs of something…
Nobody understands the frantic search for a pen and scrap of paper quite like those of us who write. Whether you’re a poet, an author, or a student – we all experience the priceless feeling of being randomly gifted a tank of inspiration out of nowhere, ideas telepathically floating into your brain from an unknown…
As the classrooms go quiet and the schools close their doors for the summer, the Education Nation podcast also takes a break. As we do, we want to highlight a gross inequity hidden within the system which has emerged in our preliminary conversations with guests for season 2. School principals in Special Schools are being…
‘In a world that is often disturbing, damaging and dehumanising we cannot fail young people’ Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Irish theologian Fr Eamonn Conway said that “The present moment in history is disturbing, damaging and dehumanising in many respects—but for that very reason the need and opportunity for a genuinely Catholic education have…
“Over the past number of years here in Ireland and around the world, and as recently as earlier this year in our own area, priests have died by suicide,” said Fr Michael Toomey during a homily last weekend as part of Men’s Mental Health Week. Fr Toomey is PP of St Carlo Acutis Parish Pastoral…
The role of the university in the fight for magnificence of humanity is “absolutely to be recovered,” said Bishop Paul Tighe of the Dicastery for Culture and Education during a June 17 panel on Pope Leo’s recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. Speaking during the panel with Dr Linda Doyle, Provost of Trinity College Dublin, and Loyola…
“It is deeply ironic that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, who are normally knocking lumps out of Sinn Féin, joined them in their quest to end the lives of even more little babies,” said Aontú Senator Sarah O’Reilly following the Dáil’s vote in favour of abolishing the mandatory three-day reflection period for women seeking abortion.…
After preparing for the permanent diaconate for the past number of years, Paul Ryan of Co. Clare was ordained as a permanent deacon to serve the people of the Diocese of Cork and Ross on Sunday, June 21 at the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Timoleague. The new deacon was ordained…
Bishop Niall Coll called on Irish society to protect the vulnerable and urged for free conscience at the International Eucharistic and Marian Shrine in Knock on June 20. The bishop highlighted pressing issues faced by people today, including the protection of the unborn, care for the seriously ill, those with disabilities, and the elderly approaching…
Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick, has called on Irish society to become “weavers of hope” and present a united front for the most vulnerable in our community. At the Limerick Diocesan Pilgrimage Mass to the Marian shrine of Lourdes on Saturday, Bishop Leahy explained that in a world experiencing rapid growth and change, Christians are called to follow the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Mass marked the pinnacle of this year’s Limerick Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes, which brought…
Renata Steffens