For every generation of Christians, it is the saints who invite us to think differently and creatively about God, the universe, the person of Christ, human beings and how they all relate, one to the other. In the words of Bishop Robert Barron: “Each of the Saints in his or her own utterly unique manner,…
The Archdiocese of Chicago will pay out more than $5 million to a small number of abuse victims after a recent settlement, attorneys said this week. Lawyers with Jeff Anderson & Associates, a law firm that specialises in abuse cases, announced at a press event on September 10 that they had settled with the archdiocese…
I know officially the Catholic Church is against the death penalty, but what about Genesis 9:6? A: It looks like there are two dimensions to your question: the Church’s teaching on the death penalty, and how we are to read the Old Testament as Catholics. Starting with this latter aspect, it’s good to keep…
UK lawmakers on Friday voted down legislation to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives. Following an impassioned four-hour debate in the elected House of Commons, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was rejected 286 to 270. The outcome was somewhat surprising given that an almost…
We live in a world where, as Karl Rahner says, our lives are always an unfinished symphony. In this life there is no final fulfilment. Mostly we are unconscious of that, and also unaware that this creates a certain gap inside us that makes us grasp greedily at life. But certain things can help bring…
Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Matt 19:30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first. Matt 20:1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard.…
How did I end up in Canada for my sabbatical? The answer is simple: I went to Mass in Victoria when I was on holidays there, and it was the best parish Mass I had seen in 42 years. What made the Mass so good? For one thing, the church was full for the Mass,…
It is a truth universally acknowledged that when Andrew Scott is on the screen you’re not looking at anyone else. He has the presence of a Brando, a De Niro, an Al Pacino. And in Pressure (12A), he has their signature tune of being a simmering volcano to boot. I’m using a meteorological metaphor to…
In last week’s edition I had a special article about the media and the 9/11 attacks. Films are still being made about the tragedy. Colm Flynn’s excellent new programme Hope after 9/11 – Stories of Faith and Courage (EWTN, Saturday), explored the role played by religious faith, mainly through inspiring personal stories. The story of…
Ireland’s First Sanitorium: The St. Ann’s Hill Hydro, County Cork, 1843-1953, by Sinéad McSweeney and Ronan Foley (Four Courts Press / Maynooth Studies in Local History, €12.95/11.95) Cork’s famous “Hydro” was one of the most ambitious and successful health spas of its era in Europe. When its doors closed in 1953 it had been…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Aubrey Malone
Brendan O’Regan