by Thomas Morrissey On January 3, 1922 the recently-appointed Archbishop of Dublin, Edward J. Byrne, wrote a personal letter to the president of Dail Éireann, Éamon de Valera. He was concerned lest the bitter differences over the Treaty might lead to division and disunity during the forthcoming critical debate on the Treaty. He wished to…
The Faithful should respect everyone’s right to share their views as the Church continues on its synodal journey, Bishop Ger Nash of the Diocese of Ferns has said in his Christmas message. He said that Pope Francis has called for a new conversation to take place within the Catholic Church in order “that we might…
Personal Profile Massachusetts native Fr Gary Chamberland CSC has been rector of the Notre-Dame Centre for Faith and Reason in Dublin at University Church, St Stephen’s Green for a little over a year-and-a-half. Undertaking the role in July 2020, Fr Chamberland has already faced unprecedented challenges during his ministry in Ireland, with Covid dampening the priest’s ambitious plans. But as Fr Chamberland’s pathway…
Tech billionaire and Time’s 2021 Person of the Year Elon Musk has urged people to have more children, saying that low and declining birth rates are “one of the biggest risks to civilisation”. Speaking recently at a Wall Street Journal event, Mr Musk said there “are not enough people”. “I can’t emphasise this enough, there…
Using mechanical tools improves our language skills Our ability to understand the syntax of complex sentences is one of the most difficult language skills to acquire. In 2019, research had revealed a correlation between being particularly proficient in tool use and having good syntactic ability. A new study, by researchers from Inserm, CNRS, Université Claude…
Brandon Scott investigates the cryptic connection between an Irish village and the Church of Scientology As the inhabitants of Ballivor Co. Meath come to terms with the news that the village is to be the site of a Narconon drug rehabilitation centre, a subsidiary of the Church of Scientology, questions continue to linger over the…
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…