edited by Brandon Scott Sacramental Confession has healing abilities that priests should especially emphasise to help bring God’s love and consolation to a world damaged by two years of the coronavirus pandemic. That is the advice for confessors from Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, who stressed the urgency of their work for humanity. “In the season of…
edited by Brandon Scott Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to celebrate Christmas with a focus on Jesus Christ’s closeness, not on the consumerist, commercial aspects of the holiday. “Let’s not live a fake Christmas, please, a commercial Christmas,” the Pope advised. “Let us allow ourselves to be wrapped up in the closeness of God, this closeness…
Junno Arocho Esteves Adam Piekarski, a homeless man from Lódz, Poland, never imagined that the sketches he would draw in his free time while waiting for the public showers near Bernini’s Colonnade would lead to the opportunity of a lifetime. In November, the Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Office announced that its 2021 set of commemorative…
Dear Editor, We have a new strain of Covid, with more mutations, and possibly more powerful than our vaccinations. This is frightening, and people are very worried and scared. People are divided, some are vaccinated, others have chosen not to be. Older people, in many cases, are staying at home, and some have never emerged…
edited by Brandon Scott Bishop Antonio Staglianò of the Diocese of Noto in the Italian island region of Sicily left parents dismayed after he told a group of children that Santa Claus did not exist, subsequently sparking a week of backlash from parents and international media. After Bishop Staglianò’s comments on the Christmas character caused…
by Brandon Scott Soprano Celine Byrne has insisted that faith must be at the centre of Christmas celebrations, despite all the distractions. Speaking on RTÉ Lyric FM’s Marty in the Morning, Ms Byrne said that Mass is a huge part of her family Christmas. “I go to the church and light candles,” Ms Byrne told…
We unashamedly celebrate and feel proud about our exceptional Christian heritage, writes Alexander O’Hara Recent proposals to designate Saint Brigid’s Day, February 1st, as a public holiday are to be welcomed. It needs to be made clear however that we are celebrating a remarkable Christian saint, not a pagan goddess. The romanticism linked to pagan…
The Little Way Association receives numerous requests from missionaries throughout the world asking for help to feed, support and educate needy, deprived children. Due to COVID-19 they are faced with many sufferings. They tell us of orphaned children left alone with no one to love or care for them, of families so poor that they…
At Backpack Productions we offer our courses as online facilitated groups. These groups run via Zoom and included in the enrolment fee is access to recordings of the sessions or video material used, so that you can stay up to date even if the times don’t always suit you! Our Spring 2022 schedule includes the…
It has never been more important to stand up and defend our schools so our students can shape a better world, writes Philip McMaster In an era where it seems Catholic education is increasingly under attack, the forthcoming centenary of the foundation of St Joseph’s Grammar School in Donaghmore, Co. Tyrone represents a timely opportunity…