Dear Editor, Whenever the media do a story that involves the Church it very often elicits very vindictive comments from readers. Recent examples included ‘that vile institution,’ ‘this evil cult’. I spent my youth in five different schools taught by nuns, priests and Christian Brothers. Some were strict and dished out corporal punishment which I…
The Sunday Gospel Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. Lent takes us from last Sunday’s encounter with Satan in the wilderness to this Sunday’s vision of the transfigured Lord on the mountain (Mark 9:2-10). Jesus took three apostles, Peter, James and John with him up a high mountain where they could be alone. From a mountain…
Lent is a time to reconsider the path one is taking in life and to finally answer God’s invitation to return to him with one’s whole heart, Pope Francis has said. “Lent is not just about the little sacrifices we make, but about discerning where our hearts are directed,” he said, “toward God or toward…
Prof. Massimo Faggioli of Villa Nova University joins Michael Kelly to discuss both President Biden’s faith and the wider involvement of Catholics in politics in the US.
Chai Brady, Ruadhán Jones and Jason Osborne If public worship is still restricted at Easter, a prominent TD has urged the Government to allow Mass to be celebrated outdoors. Clare TD Michael McNamara has said due to the religious significance of the period outdoor Masses should be considered if the Government is not willing to…
The pandemic has given many people the opportunity to reflect and think about the meaning of their lives which is a perfect jumping off point for the Lenten period, according to a Cork-based presentation sister. Former Provincial Sr Sheila Kelleher said: “I have heard people say that despite the difficulty of lockdown it has benefited…
In parts of Africa, mass vaccination against Covid-19 is so far off that it is not even mentioned, warned bishops across the African continent. The malnourished people in the Nuba Mountains, South Sudan are “moving skeletons,” and their compromised immune systems expose them “to all kinds of diseases, not just Covid-19,” Bishop Macram Max Gassis,…
A Catholic missionary priest in Madagascar known for serving the poor living on a landfill has been nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Madagascar Fr Pedro Opeka, 72, is a Vincentian priest from Argentina who has worked with the poor in Madagascar for more than three decades. He founded the Akamasoa humanitarian association in…
Assisted suicide reflects a “failure of compassion on the part of society” the Catholic bishops have warned in their submission to the Oireachtas committee reviewing legislation that, if passed, would legalise euthanasia. Good palliative care not assisted suicide “offers terminally-ill people the best possibility of achieving ‘a dignified and peaceful end of life’,” the Church leaders said…
One of the deepest things being lost today is the sense of wonder before the mystery of existence and reality as a whole, writes Philip Gonzales For both Plato and Aristotle philosophy begins in wonder. But, with Plato, I also think that philosophy should never seek to dispel wonder. Wonder, then, should be the very…