The Irish Catholic invited the retiring Papal Nuncio to Ireland to reflect on his life and ministry I hope my attempt to answer some of the questions that might interest readers of The Irish Catholic about my personal experience in the priestly ministry will not disappoint them. My vocation to the priesthood was born at…
There are many people, and it is raining hard; we cannot stand in the open”, so states Ezra 10:13 in the Old Testament. Similarly, in 1971, Msgr James Horan, looking out from the sacristy in Knock Shrine, Co. Mayo, at the thousands of pilgrims in the pouring rain, “came to the conclusion that we would have…
Then Amnesty International was founded in 1961 by Peter Benenson, a Catholic lawyer, it had a very specific and narrow purpose, and that was to identify and champion prisoners of conscience who were being kept behind bars for their political or other beliefs, almost always by authoritarian regimes. The danger was that these prisoners would…
Martin Shaw on myth, maturity and the movement to service From the moment we reach for our phones in the morning, stories compete for our attention: news blurbs, targeted advertisements, television series, political narratives and the curated lives of strangers. Our difficulty today is not that we lack stories. If anything, perhaps for the first…
The sickening spectacle that is George Gibney, the former swimming coach who was in the news again when he was convicted of sexually abusing five young girls – he was originally charged with 79 counts of indecent assault. The takeaways are what they have always been, stay vigilant and watchful over kids. Even Jesus warned…
There’s no place like the Basilica of San Clemente in Rome, said Fr Paul Lawlor, a native of Tralee, archaeologist and current Rector of the Basilica. “It’s one of the most beautiful and fascinating churches in the world.” The Basilica of San Clemente is composed today of three layers: The upper 12th century Basilica, the…
The first thing that comes to many people’s minds when hearing the words ‘Generation Z’ is social media, and with good reason. We have never known a life without it, and unlike previous generations, we have spent our formative years scrolling through endless streams of news, opinion and global crises, carrying an unlimited amount of…
The pilgrimage group makes Lourdes an experience for all each Easter Each Easter, Rise and Shine Trust brings children and young people with additional needs in groups to Lourdes for a week-long pilgrimage, ensuring that the experience remains accessible to all. Among these groups is Group 103, designed for children with severe, sometimes life-threatening,…
On Sunday, the curtain falls on the inter-county season as the Sam Maguire Cup takes centre stage at Croke Park. A week after the Liam McCarthy found its destination, Gaelic football’s showpiece brings together two counties whose histories have been forever intertwined, with Kerry and Mayo meeting in an All-Ireland final for the first time…
Earlier this month Amnesty UK – a human rights charity – published, and then quickly withdrew, a report called ‘A growing threat: the anti-rights movement in the UK’. By the time this piece is published, the report may be re-issued, amended, or consigned to the dustbin. The report highlights the work of a wide-range of…
David Quinn
Renata Steffens