This summer is an inflection point on my personal journey through life – a 40th Anniversary of Ordination this month, a State Pension and a Travel Pass in August, as a 66th birthday looms, but no retirement in sight! The Dublin Diocesan Class of 1986 saw 17 men ordained; three have gone before us to…
Nearly eight years ago now, I honeymooned in Mexico for a couple of weeks. One of my abiding memories is sitting in a small-town square enjoying a local festival, watching the world go by, and being amazed by the sheer volume of children that were hanging out of prams, running around, screaming, shouting and laughing.…
As Haiti plays in the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1974, Brazilian missionaries in the Caribbean nation are helping local residents watch the matches – something that can be difficult for most Haitians, given that many have no access to electricity. For both Brazilians and Haitians, football is not only a sport…
Parishes deprived of a resident priest in Ireland survive only with great difficulty. The problem is that Irish parishes are centred on the priest to an unhealthy degree, and to such an extent that when the resident priest is removed, the parish flounders. I have witnessed this myself. Having been ten years in Newcestown &…
Moscow not only continues to systematically kill Ukrainian civilians and wipe out entire families in their homes with missile strikes; it is also deliberately targeting historical and architectural heritage. During the latest massive attack on Kyiv, the aggressor damaged a number of sites such as the Church of the Nativity of Christ, the Postal Station,…
The New York state Legislature passed a bill that replaces the words “mother” and “father” in some state laws with gender-neutral language, a move that New York’s bishops say will further “muddy what is true and good.” The bill, passed by the state Assembly in March and by the state Senate on June 2, now…
Colombia’s highly polarised presidential election has become a source of concern for the nation’s Catholic Church, which has released a number of statements during the process in an effort to steer Catholics away from the paths of violence and irrationality. The upcoming runoff, scheduled for June 21, will pit right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella…
The Bishops’ Conferences of Ireland, Scotland and England and Wales published a joint statement for the 2026 ‘Day for Life’, which will take place on June 21. The statement is titled, The Wonder of the Child in the Womb – Reflecting on the humanity of the unborn. The message to the bishops was delivered by…
Should the synod be looking outwards as well as inwards? Dear Editor, Like the editor of The Irish Catholic, I feel concerned about the list of topics chosen for discussion at the forthcoming synodal gathering. But my concern is that practically all of the topics proposed, and also the list of topics which the editor…
We need to invite and challenge each other to what’s best and higher inside us, writes Fr Ron Rolheiser I grew up in a rural area where most everyone was either a first or second-generation immigrant. And most of us were just above the poverty line, struggling economically and struggling to speak English properly. And…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser