The Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education (MDCCE) aims to assess how the coronavirus pandemic has affected churchgoers with a new survey published last week. Dr Gareth Byrne, Director of the MDCCE, said: “It is important to document the response of churchgoers to the Covid-19 crisis and its impact on their faith lives and connection…
Almost nine out of 10 readers of The Irish Catholic online want a swifter return to public Masses as soon as it is safe to do so, rather than the July 20 deadline set by the Government in the Republic. In the North, where a ban on churches opening was lifted this week, there is…
Tin Can Cook by Jack Monroe (Bluebird Books for Life, £6.99) During this current term of trial, I was talking on the phone to a friend who is unmarried and lives alone and was finding life very hard. Feeding a single person economically – takeaways are costly – is difficult. He said he was very clever…
Religious freedom and political freedom are woven from the same cloth writes Ray Kinsella Reflecting on Ireland’s experience under the cosh of the Covid-19 pandemic there are very real reasons for concern. The scientific evidence justifying authoritarian edicts restricting freedom of movement and of religious practise – enforced by an unsettling show of force…
The Sunday Gospel Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. Some of the doors that have kept people locked in have been opened in recent days, but there is still a long wait until all doors will be opened. Religion has a huge role to play in sustaining hope by remembering the bigger picture of life.…
Entertaining tots with child-friendly apps There is a lot to be said for co-using technology with your children, especially as this gives you the opportunity to influence how they engage with technology. There are several apps that can bring out children’s creative side, or enhance skills such as problem solving, collaborating or communicating with others.…
Over the coming weeks some of our literary collaborators will give suggestions for ‘lockdown’ reading, books of all kinds to amuse and raise our spirits. This week, Des Egan on James Thurber… I have always had a soft spot for cartoons, even to the point of proposing some cartoon-plays consisting of a single sentence,…
The publishers of Magnificat magazine have launched an Adoration Companion to assist Catholics during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, a practice that seems to have increased during the current Covid-19 period. Fr Sebastian White OP who edited the Companion describes the book as “A treasury of teachings, prayers, meditations, and witnesses from the saints to…
Chai Brady and Róise McGagh Bishops have expressed cautious optimism for a return to public Masses before the Government’s July 20 target. At the same time, there has been a welcome for the decision of the northern Executive to put the reopening of churches as a key priority in easing lockdown in the region.…
Traditionally, the annual blessing of graves at Milltown Cemetery would have taken place on the second Sunday in May. However, because of the current pandemic and subsequent restrictions on movement and gatherings, it was necessary to adopt a different approach to the blessing of the graves this year. To mark the occasion, Bishop Noel Treanor [pictured] privately…