A Franciscan brother who teaches mathematics and physics in rural Kenya has been named Person of the Year by the United Nations in Kenya. Bro. Peter Mokaya Tabichi, who teaches at Keriko Secondary School near Nakuru, was recognised for his work in promoting education for all young people. He received the award during United Nations…
The Kirwan Murder Case, 1852: a glimpse of the Irish Protestant middle class in the mid-nineteenth century By Suzanne Leeson (Maynooth Studies in Local History/Four Courts Press, Dublin, €9.95) Ian d’Alton The Maynooth Studies in Local History is a prodigious series of scholarly works (this is number 141) focusing on the local as illuminating wider themes.…
God’s love for us is not ‘abstract’, but concrete – Pope Jesus’ love for each person is a concrete love, a love that is addressed to each person “with their first and last name”, Pope Francis has said. Celebrating Mass on October 31 in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae where he lives, Pope…
To help mark this year’s Week of Witness (25 November-December 1) in support of persecuted Christians around the world, Aid to the Church in Need (Ireland) has released a short film which follows how a commission from Archbishop Eamon Martin for a devotional statue to St Oliver Plunkett, that would also lead people to see…
Judge blocks US bill banning majority of abortions A federal judge has blocked an Alabama law banning most abortions, which passed in May, from going into effect on the planned date of November 15. The ‘Human Life Protection Act’, which Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed into law on May 14, would have made attempting or…
Dear Editor, I note that Mary Kenny (17/10/19) states that, as she mentioned previously, she believes the Vatican should revisit Humanae Vitae as “we know so much more about fertility control now than in 1968”. May I revisit this issue too and point out that previous to its publication and afterwards the Vatican had encouraged and promoted…
Notebook Fr Bernard Healy The approach of November in Rome is usually marked by additional bus services to the city’s cemeteries. Although religious practice rates in Rome are probably no more encouraging than in Ireland, the custom of the cemetery visit during November is still strong. The community of the Pontifical Irish College prays for…
At the 2019 Annual Edmund Burke Lecture, former President of Ireland Dr McAleese spoke on the topic ‘The Future of Ireland: Human Rights and Children’s Rights’. The lecture was held at the Edmund Burke Theatre and organised by Trinity Long Room Hub. She said the Holy See “has never considered the ethical, legal and moral…
Bishop Tom Deenihan has called on fellow members of the hierarchy to prioritise the handing over of some Catholic schools to the State to defend the Catholic nature of remaining schools. “I believe that the State needs, from both a practical and political viewpoint, movement from the Church in relation to divesting,” Dr Deenihan told…
While Bishop Phonsie Cullinan drew media attention for recent comments critical of yoga and mindfulness in Catholic schools, the hierarchy has said that secular mindfulness has awakened in people a sense of the spiritual nature of life. A Reflection on Mindfulness – Rediscovering the Christian Tradition of Meditation and Contemplation was apparently approved by the…