September often sees the return of old shows. Sunday Morning Live (BBC One) returned recently for a new season, and among the issues discussed on last Sunday’s show was the thorny one of accountability for crimes committed by soldiers. This has a particular relevance for legacy issues in Northern Ireland. As is often the case,…
The Bayeux Tapestry, by Sue Brunning, Lloyd de Beer, Michael Lewis and Naomi Speakman (British Museum Publications, £40.00 / €46.50) Today there opens in the exhibition galleries of the British Museum in London a much anticipated exhibition of the famous Bayeux Tapestry, a visual record of the Norman invasion of England in 1066 and the…
Faith and Football: Played for the Glory, by Marc Lyden-Smith, foreword by Cardinal Vincent Nichols (McCrimmon Publishing, £7.95 / €9.50; available on Amazon, or search mccrimmons.com/shop/books/faith) This is a delightful little book which will be greatly appreciated by sport lovers and especially football fans. It provides a comprehensive account of Sunderland Football Club in the North East…
The Political world of Sir Thomas Henry Grattan Esmonde of Ballynastragh, Co. Wexford, 1862-1935, by Brian Fennell (Four Courts Press, €12.95) The Catholic Church in Ireland that attained a position of dominance in many spheres of Irish life in the nineteenth and twentieth century has always been slow to acknowledge the debt owed for its…
A new case for the cause of canonisation of two Irish priests – who were shot dead in Belfast by the British Army – has been opened by the Diocese of Down and Connor. A spokesman for the Diocese has told The Irish Catholic that the process for “the cause of the saints” has been started for…
Sometimes a small incident can provide a sudden insight into a big issue. Thus, I was struck by a personal dilemma recently published about having a baby. “My best friend told me recently that she’s trying for a baby with her boyfriend,” wrote a young woman to Katie Byrne, the ‘Modern Morals’ counsellor for the…
Draft working document sets out proposals ahead of National Synodal Assembly A draft working document setting out proposals for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Ireland, seen by The Irish Catholic, has been prepared ahead of the National Synodal Assembly, which takes place in Gormanston, Co. Meath, on October 17. The document, marked ‘draft’…
Catholics need to move from inherited or “cultural” faith towards a deeper personal commitment to Christ, foreign-born priests ministering in Ireland have told The Irish Catholic. Fr Anselm Emechebe MSP, a Nigerian priest who has served in Ireland since 2009, said the challenge is for Catholics to take greater personal responsibility for a faith often…
The Church should welcome everyone who comes through its doors and that is the true spirit of inclusivity, says internationally recognised psychotherapist Stella O’Malley. But, she says, having seen a draft set of proposals from the Irish Synod Working Group, the Church is “cheerleading practices that risk serious harm to vulnerable people. It should be…
Indecent graffiti and offensive writing have been sprayed onto the stonework of a church complex in Bundoran by a group of unidentified youths. The community has expressed outrage at the incident, and an investigation is ongoing. Church representatives believe the damage was caused by a group of youths who gather on the church grounds in the evenings. The…
Brendan O’Regan
Peter Costello
Martina Purdy
Mary Kenny