It is up to the Ukrainians to decide their course of action, and us to support them Dear Editor In a thoughtful piece on Catholic ‘just war’ principles, Breda O’Brien wrote that an entirely just war might never have been fought. And she finds fault even with some aspects of Ukraine’s valiant defence against Russia’s…
Solidarity: The Work of Recognition, by Rowan Williams (Bloomsbury Continuum, £20.00 / €24.00) This is an important book. It throws light on a central political problem of our time: how to find a balance between belonging and autonomy. We need belonging because we need a narrative that to give shape to our lives, we…
National Heritage Week is coming up at the end of the month, running from Friday, August 15 to Sunday, August 23. Actually, the events run for nine days, so it is a sort of Irish week with ‘a tilly for the cat’. National Heritage Week is now in its 26th year. According to the organisers,…
“Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish” Matt 15:21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Matt 15:22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my…
In the first week of August, delegates from Dominican Lay Fraternities across Europe gathered at Maynooth College for their four-yearly assembly. Representatives came from 21 countries, stretching from Ireland in the west to Ukraine in the east, and from Norway in the north to Italy in the south. The assembly was formally opened with Mass…
By now most people are probably aware of the famous – or rather infamous – curse alleged to have been placed on the Mayo football team by a priest outside Foxford when they were returning from their All-Ireland victory in 1951 and failed to show respect for a passing funeral. According to the legend, the…
There has been so much in the media over the last few months about the bad effects, on children in particular, of mobile phones and social media. Some would decry it as the latest moral panic, but I think there’s a lot to be concerned about. One of the best items on the problems was…
The near-collapse and subsequent recovery of the Irish Dominican Province was not a matter of inevitable cycles but the work of both the miraculous and determined individuals, according to Fr Terence Crotty OP, who has written a history of the Order. Reflecting on the Province’s fortunes, Fr Crotty rejected the idea that decline and revival…
Baroness Nuala O’Loan has called for the Holy See to review what is happening to Catholics in China, citing human rights abuses, religious repression and the case of an underground Church priest she says was killed for his ministry. Writing exclusively in this paper Ms O’Loan states: “The 2018 Agreement [between China and the Holy…
The Diocese of Down and Connor honoured the hard work of two priests last week, with Mass celebrated by Bishop Alan McGuckian and a celebratory lunch in honour of their jubilees. Diocesan secretary and Parish Priest of Ballyclare and Ballgowan Parishes Fr Gerard Fox celebrated his Silver Jubilee, and Chancellor of the Diocese Fr Eugene…
Peter Costello
Aubrey Malone
Brendan O’Regan