Snow, a Novel by John Banville (Faber &Faber,£14.99/€17.50) Derek Hand Abandoning the nom de plume of Benjamin Black – the name under which appeared a highly successful series of crime novels – John Banville has finally embraced as his own the thriller genre with this murder mystery Snow. The creation of this mask and the sleight of hand it entailed,…
Fr Michael Pfleger, a popular Chicago priest and outspoken advocate against gun violence, gangs, poverty and racism, has stepped aside from his ministry after the Chicago Archdiocese said it received an allegation that the priest had sexually abused a minor more than 40 years ago. Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich announced the move in a…
Catholics and Lutherans reaffirm commitment to communion The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation underscored their commitment to walk together on their common journey from conflict to communion. The Council and Federation recently announced the publication of the updated Italian translation of the historic ecumenical document called the Joint Declaration…
Laudato Si’ Jane Mellet Happy New Year everyone! This month the young Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg celebrated her 18th birthday. In August 2018, Greta sat outside the Swedish parliament, striking from school, in protest of the failure of world governments to urgently address the environmental crisis our world is facing. It takes great courage…
The Sunday Gospel Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. If you have access to a streamed Mass this Sunday, you will notice that we have returned to the green vestments of Ordinary Time. Green is the colour of growth and we can call it the default colour of the year when our journey is inspired by…
Plague may have caused die-offs of ancient Siberians Ancient people brought the plague to Siberia about 4,400 years ago, which may have led to a collapse in the region’s population, new genetic analysis suggests. Evolutionary geneticists Gülşah Merve Kilinç and Anders Götherström, both of Stockholm University, led a team which extracted DNA from the remains…
Sainthood cause of priest imprisoned by Nazis and communists advances The sainthood cause of a Catholic priest who was imprisoned by both the Nazis and the communists has advanced with the conclusion of the initial diocesan phase of the cause January 4. Fr Adolf Kajpr was a Jesuit priest and journalist who was imprisoned in…
Dear Editor, I am a very regular RTÉ viewer and a supporter for years. I have enjoyed many beautiful programmes over the Christmas season – and even watched repeats, with great pleasure! However, I must object in the strongest possible way, to the sick joke re ‘God’s rape’ of an individual on NYE. I had…
Argentina has legalised abortion during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, despite strong Catholic opposition and polls showing deep divisions on the issue. Decision The Senate approved the bill 38-29 December 30 after a 12-hour debate as supporters with green handkerchiefs and opponents with blue handkerchiefs awaited the decision in the streets during the small…
Chai Brady, Ruadhán Jones and Jason Osborne A satirical sketch broadcast by RTÉ accusing God of rape has been dubbed “scurrilous” and “disgraceful” and has provoked thousands of complaints from viewers. The national broadcaster logged almost 5,000 complaints by the time this paper went to print regarding the New Year’s Eve broadcast which depicted a man…